St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-02-12
the depopulating, the annihilating as it
were, he wrote:
WAR Is CRUELTY, YOU CANNOT RE-

In many respects he was an eXemplar
of common sense.
An amusing illustration of this was
afforded in his reply to the Christian
commissioners, vino wanted an order
from him permitting them to use GER
tain means of transportation for carry
ing tracts and TeStamentS and so on to
the army. Certainly not" said he,
''crackerS and oats are more necessary
to my army than your moral and re-
ligiOuS agencies"
During the war Sherman was unqueS-
tiOnably bad-tempered man.
He was petulant and cross.
He was nnappr0achable. He was I'M
der ban for long time, his peculiari
ties being so marked that, in spite of
the high positions held by near rela-
tives, and in spite of his unQuestiOned
integrity and purpose, it was with some
difficulty that he was retained in place.
After his successes began, however, his
peculiarities were regarded with the
same leniency that those of other great
men are regarded. His petulance was
called ambition, and his rudeneSS was
considered as simple evidence of bluff
integrity. As one of the foremost con-
trlbutorS TO the ultimate success of the
armies of the nation he must be re-
garded With respect and his name held
in reverence. His great achievements
are matters of history. His personal
peculiaritieS are simple incidents of in
tereSt, and while he is still with us, be-
fore he joins the great army upon the
other side of the river, it cannot but be
interesting for the young people of the
day to study him, to note him, to look
at his past greatness i'll the light of his
present meekneSS.
He il a nplita tn-11U no was ruIp
in other day.
He is as docile and as Sweet-tempered
now as he was violent and boisterous
then. No mans presence is hailed with
greater enthusiasm in public gatherings
than his. lie is not a speaker in the
ordinary sense of the term, but as con-
tributOr to the enjoyment of an even
ing his jerky delivery, common sense
maXims, and his odd personality. with
characteristic manneriSmS, are always
cordially welcomed.
FIGHTING PHIL SHERIDAN STILL. LIVES.
You have seen him in Boston within
the past few days, little round, fat,
good-natured, elderly gentleman. If
he be still with you, look at him. Take
every opportunity to study his head, to
observe his figure, and, after you have
made up your mind about him, turn to
the pages of your country's history and
see if, from the present, you can infer
the past.
You cannot do it.
Sheridan was born to be leader. His
was not the nature to sit on the top of a
hill and direct movements on the plains
below. A full-blOoded stallion with fire
in his eye afforded the best seat for
Sheridan. He was fighter, he was an
eXemplar. He was jumper into the
breach, he was the sort of soldier that
dashed ahead and yelled Come On!'
He was tried in various lines during the
war without any special degree of sue
cess. except in his own branch Of
service, the cavalry, in which he was so
far ahead of all others that comparison
would be absurd.
His individuality was something enor-
nous.
Like many short men, he sits high in
the saddle. He and his steed form an
entity. Motion and emotion were part
and parcel of the essentials to his exist
ence. During fight he was here, there,
everywhere. The old story of his
tweDty-mile ride is familiar to every
school boy. His inspiring presence was
all that was necessary to re-eStabliSh a
broken line. to Stiffen up the morale. to
turn flight into pursuit. The front
line, where the fire was heaviest, was
his place: action distinguished him
continually. He waved a sword. he
rode here, he rode there, he shouted, he
yelled, he screamed, he swore, he was
the very incarnation, the impersonatiOn
of excited beligerency.
He was a thorough soldier.
In other words. he finished every
thing he began. There were no loose
ends about his work, and, above all. he
shared with Grant faculty which so
few men have, and which everybody
recognizes as a great factOr--he was
generous in praise of his subordinates,
utterly and absolutely without envy or
jealousy. All he sought was success,
all he asked was honest aid and loyal
cooperation for desired end. If hard
ships were to be endured, if blows were
to be taken, if discomfort and uneaSe
were part and parcel of the days menu,
he took his share with the rest, never
complaining unless he was held back.
Burning powder was to him an eXcitant
not to be withstood. He fought because
he loved to fight. The records of the
war bore abundant testimony to his
usefulness, to his skill, to his courage,
to his fidelity, to his personal bravery,
to his generosity: above all. to his dash
ing, driving, pushing belligerency.
Yet to-day how changed!
His Office in Washington in the war
department
IS 4 MODESTLY FURNISHED APART
MENT,
with appropriate hangings, where. seated
behind a desk in the discharge of per-
functOry duty,he is regarded by visitors
as kind of curiosity in cage. Old
women come in, seat themselves and
stare at him by the half hour at time.
You see we are apt to forget that gen
GRAFTON has been born since all OppOrtu-
nifty for military distinction ended, and
or the thousands who peer in at the gen.
eral of the army, as he sits at his desk
during the course of any year,
ninety-nine hundredthS are people
who know nothing of him, except that
he rode once on a black horse 20 miles
away to battle. They have heard re-
citationistS repeat the story. they have
read it in books, they have seen pictures
representing flying steed with little
man on his back waving his sword with
one hand and holding his cap in the
other, and they associate in some dim
way Sheridan, as he sits at his work,
with the Sheridan who made that ride.
We have few historic characters left.
The historic period passed away when
Lincoln died, and the historic figures
are silently fading and becoming lost in
the great background of simple record,
and it would seem to be hardly neees-
Sary to urge that every remaining Op-
portunitY be utilized to its fullest eX-
tent.
Cutting a Maiden's Hair.