Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1888-04-07
THE GitAsT-t,tpEAU HOW


H,.y YORK, March 9S.-Col. +. H..
Grant makes public tonight a very long
statement in reply to Gen. Adam Badeau's
address 10 the American people upon the
controversy which has arisen between
Gen. Badcau and the family OF the late
L. :. Grant as 10 the services rendered Ivy
Gen. Baieau in connection with the
writing of the Personal Memories OF L.
:. Grant" Col. Grant says that j, IS
his last word in the matter prior to the
hearing Of the case in court, and that,
for that reason he presents ille history OF
the case in cAtcnso. Under the cir
c~umstances, therefore. ne goes over
much ground which has already
been covered by publication in daily
papers, and gives much space 10 CORE
spondencc participated in by himself and
the lawyers in the case, chiefly in the
negotiations with a view tnthc settlement
Of the case without resort 10 the courts,
10 personal dcnounciati0n of Gen. Bad
calI. and To arguments going to show
Ni,ll Rft. ibtttI}lt = r'tNlA'N WIZ VI a
much less important character than Bad
can claims that they were. IN relation
- the letter which Gen. Badeau wrote to
Grn. Grant. asking compensation al lhc
rllc OF $1,000 per month and 10 per cent.
Of the profits OF tie book, The answer to
which vas lis dismissal M 81 letter which
Gen. BddCdu attributes 10 Col. Grant. II
being in bis handwriiHg with Gen. Grants
autograph AZ the end COl. Grant says:
Gen. Badeau handed his cruel letter
OF May , to Gen. Grant on the day of its
date III Mrs. Grants presence, but not IN
mine, and Immediately l,ft the house, re-
turning on thc 4th. Gen. Grant read it.,
and when ! came in was agitatcd and
trembling. He unlocked the drawer of a
bureau, where he had placed ii, and tax
Ing the letter out handed il 10 me, saying:
ReaG this and tell me what You think of
It, ! did read IL and said that | thought
il despiCablc. My father then, without
any suggestions from me-, began to write
the answer with his w hani, being So
weak that he could OF write more than
a few lines without stopping. He an
swcrcd one point after another and gave
me the sheets Of his manuscript. and,
when he had finished, | copied them and
read the copyto him. he directing changes
and corrections.
Col. Grant adds that this demand of
Gen. Badeau was a source Of grief and
annoyance 10 his father for the remainder
of his life, and adds
''As 10 the letter left by Gen. Grant to
be sent 10 Gen. Badeau underccrtain cor
ditions to which reference is made in
paragraph seventeen of the 'addr, S. it
has never been used with the authority of
my fathers family as a threat. Its pro-
viso Is not in the terms stated by Gen.
Badeau, nor IS the paper such as he has
any right TO demand. The letter was writ
ten eleven days before my fathers deatIf
at a period of keen physical sat.
fering. and when the memory 81, Gen
Badeau's letter Of May ? made Influential
anguish greater than that Of hiShody."
Col. Grant denies that his. fNmilv pre-.
vented Webster 4 Co. fE6m publishing
Gen. Bcdcau's book. ARA quotes a letter
from himself TO thai firm saying that
they should not consider any supposed
objections Of Mys Grant in the matter.
Further on Cri. Grant says:
"The sts "meni of Gen. Badcau in the
twentv-trst paragraph that | ever pro
posed, fhat he should finish my fathers
mepfoirs and lot me sign my name to it is
Ell unqualified f%alschood."
Again he says: II cannot nc too often
repeated that had Gen. Badcau been will
to accept the sum of SO. 600 for his ser
vices as an amanuensis upon the first i21
pages, or about one-half Of the first vol
ume Of The Personal Memoirs. as to which
bis services were rendered, such "a they
were, he would have been paid the fail
sum of $4,000"
In another place he saws: In the
twenty-sevcnth paragraph Of his Address
to the American People, Gen. Badcau
states that Gen. Grant has confessed to
putting his name unwittingly to an inn
poriant document. 1t is true that Gen,
Grant did sign a letter placed before
him with false representations as TO
lis contents More than half his
life had been spent in executive posi-.
tons requiring him to entrust
matters of detail to s~uhordinates, and
moreover trust was instructive to his
loyal nature. He could not have acted
on broad lines during the strenuous
times in which he played a conspicuous
part had he assumed all clerical duties OF
detail, and it became the habit of his life
10 sign letters Of routine which were sub
mitted TO him in numbers upon a state
ment of their contents by persons IT
whom he had confidence. 1t is true lha'
James d. Fish relied largely upon this
letter To escape conviction for his shar,
Of the frauds that wrecked th'
Marine bank and the firm Of Grant &
Ward. But Gen. Badeau does no
call attention to the fact that his prcscn'
counsel were the counsel fOl
Mr.. Fish. that they proposed to postpone
criminal trial OF their client on account oi
Gen. Grants condition; that the news
papers were Tiled with ambiguous giving
| out do not mean 10 say by those gen
: tlemcn-that letters were in existence
which would seriously compromise Gen
Grant, but that my father answer Wa
: TO cause those letters to I've published, t,
y insis' that the trial should not be post
poncd ON his account, and to 30 FORWARD
i 10 meet the imputation Of his honor
!. The remainder Of The devote,
chiefly 70 correspondence ia the ncgOtja
lion for II settlement, and, in u Of hi
letters 10 an attorney in thc case, be sai'
that three courses were open 10 Gen
/ Badcau 10 get his money: F1rst. 10 slgl
. a paper disclaiming my credit for Gen
: Grants book; second. tosucfOr his claim
in the courts: third, 10 arbitratc the mat
! ter. IN agreement to settle for IS, 00
-I -, 900 t,-n. 1A,t AntlA1 ~