Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1888-03-22

Lne memoirs, nor @ any part III their
composition. Badeau refused to agrees to
this, as he says that he made frequent in
tarpoiationss corrected grammar, looked
up facts and dates, aided Gen. Grants
memory, and changed the style of the
composition in many places, with Gen.
Grants approval. The ideas and state
mcnts Of fact are all Gen. Grants, and
Gen. Badeau has never claimed n
authorship in the work, except as an as
sistant. He says the original agreement
wiSs THAT he should receive $40, 900 out of
the profits, II they reached $4,000, but
this agreement was based on the idea
that be would be occupied only
three months, whereas he was occupied
nearly d year. Gen GRAFT always recog-
nized his services fully, but Col. Grant
seemed afraid his connections with the
work would hurt its sale, and when Gen.
Badeau asked for a new agreement, In
consideration of his more extensive sery-
ices than at first contemplated, Col.
Grant wrote a letter which has been pub
lished severely condemning Gen. Badeau,
aspersing his character, disYnissing him,
etc, and got Gen. Grant to sign it. Gen.
Badeau says Gen. Grant was at this
time in such a state, from disease and
drugs, as not 60 be responsible for the
tone of the letter, which was wholly I'M
worthy and unlike him. 1t is essentially
a letter of Col. Grant.
Gen. Hadeau says Col. Grant is re-
sponsible for the ventilation of this
whole matter, for il he had paid what
Gen. Grant had agreed, the world would
have never heard of 1t. But he insisted
that Badeau had nothing to do with the
Memoirs, and to this Badeau could not
consent. AS to his exact connection
with the book, Gen. Badeau says:
"The thoughts were Gen. Grants, and
in most cases the original draft Of the
language, but | suggested much. / drew
scenes II incidents to his memory,
and verified his statements.
/ often persuaded him to
change, withhold, or modify,
and then, when the subject matter was
| settled, ! took this rough material to my
own room and made any changes / saw
fit, in language or style. / took whole
pages, | transferred others from one part
Of the book to the other, ! modified ex-
pressions, and thsre was not a page In
the first volume, nor n In the second,
down to the Wilderness campaign, which
did not contain q dozen alterations .or
notifications OF mine. I essentially re-
constructed the work. Gen, Grant had
very good power Of clear and forcible ex.
preston in matters with which he
wss familiar, or in which he
was interested, and passages
OF his were often felicitous.
These always retained, and always
sought to preserve his simplicity and di
rectness, and even ruggedness of Ian.
guage, never to betray my own share In
the work, but he never knew whether
what he wrote was good English. He
had, besides, no idea whatever Of build.
ing up or treating a theme 80 as to lead
up to a point, or to make q complete
picture OF argument. This was no dis.
credit to him. Literature was not his
occupation or his talent. He was q
soldier, not an author. There was moth,
ing ~dishonorable in our relations, either
to him Oh to me-, but the book could moi
have been made what 1t is without me,
There was no n else whom he would
have allowed to do what I did. Gen. Grant
once said to me-: sBadeau, / know ]
could not do this work without you. ]
think could tell a plain story, SO that
people would understand what I meant,
but ] could not write such a book with.
out YOU. You have been invaluable and
indispensable to- me-not only IN verifca
ton and revision, but in suggestion, and
/ am grateful y
Gsn. Badeau also states that when II
was, theaght In May, 1885, that Gen.
Grant was dying, Col. Grant suggested
to Badeau to finish the book and let Col
Grant sign his lame to the finishing por
ton. This Badean refused to do, and
when he told Gen. Grant about it the
general said he knew nothing of the
colonel's intention to make such q pro
posal. Badeau said he would never dc
for another what he was doing for Gen
Grant,