Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-03-21
BADEAu'S STATEMENT.
WHY HE CONCLUDED TO SUE GEN.
GRANTS HEIRS.

Col. Fred Charged with bringing AbOu
An the Trouble-whpt the "Old Com
mander'S" Amanuensis Claims In ReIa
tIon To the Memoirs-Tho oner Fred
Grant Made and v II Was Declined
NEW York Marct VI Gen Radeau pub
fishes in The sun his statement of claim for
compensation for aid in preparing Gen
| Grant, memoirs. lie says Col Grant has
not published all the correspondence or facts
| IA the matter He supplies the missing let
| tiers. which show that Col. Grant at first re-
| fused 10 entertain any claim, then offered
| 800 in settlement, then 5000 and finally
| 5000, provided Gen. Badeau should sign a
statement that he never wrote "A line of the
memoirs, nor had any part in their compost
| ton, This Gen. Badeau refused to agree TO,
as he says that he made frequent interpola-
| tons, corrected grammar, looked up facts
aud dates, aided Gen, Grants memory, and
changed the style of the composition in many
places with Gen Grants approval.
Cen Badeau says that the ideas and the
| statements of fact are all Gen. Grants, and
| Gen. Badeau has never claimed any author
SHIP IN the work except as an assistant. He
says the original agreement was that he
should receive $1,000 out of tho profits if
they reached $3O,OOO But this agreement
was based on the idea that he would be occu-
pied only three months, whereas he was occu
pied nearly year. Gen. Grant always
recognized his services fully, but Col
Grant seemed afraid that his connec-
ton with the work would hurt its sale
and when Gen Budeau asked for II new
agreement in consideration of his more ex-
tcnsvc services than at first contemplated,
Col, Grant wrote letter severely condemn
ing Gen, Badrau, aspersing his character, dis
missing him etc, and got Gen. Grant to sign
il. Gen, Badeau saws Gen Grant was at
this time in such state from disease and
drugs ~ not tn be responsible for the tone of
the lctior, which was wholly unworthy of
and unlike him. 1t is essentially a letter Of
Cob Grant. Gen. Badeau says Col Grant is
responsible for the ventilation of this whole
matter, for il he had been paid what Cen
Grant agreed to pay, the world would never
have heard of it, But he insisted on false
statement 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. l
brought scenes and incidents to his memory,
and verified his statements. | often per-
Suaded him To change, withhold or modify,
and then when the sub ject matter was set
tied | took this rough material to my room
and made amy changes | saw fit in language
or style. took out whole pages. trans
IerIed others from one part of the book to
another. ! modified expressions, and there
was not IA page in the first volume, nor one
in the second down to the Wilderness cam
pagn which did not contain dozen altera
tons or notifications entirely mine.
pSIppiully constructed the work (,pn
Grant had very good power of clear and
furcible expression in matters with which he
was familiar, or in which he was interested,
and passages of his We're often fecitous |
These always retained and always sought |
to preserve his simplicity and directness and
even ruggeduess of language; never to be-
tray my own share i'll the work. But he |
never knew whether what he wrote twas
good English. He had, besides, nOidea what |
ever of building up or treating Il theme so as
to lead up to point or to make IA complete |
picture on argument
"Ths was no dscredit to him Literature |
was not his occupation or his talent He was |
II soldier, not an author There was nothing |
in our relation, either to him or |
to me. But the book could not have been |
made what it is without me. There was no |
one else whom he would have allowed to do
what | did. Gen. Grant once said to me:
Badeau, ] know | could not do this work
without you. ! think | could tell plain
story so that people would understand what |
meant; but | could not write such book as
his without you. You have been invaluable
md indispensab lie to me- not only in verihca-
ion and revision, but in suggestion, and am
grateful"
Gen. Badeau also states that when it was
.hought in May, 1885, that Gen. Grant was
dying, Col. Grant suggested to Badeau to fin
sh the book and let Col. Grant sign his name
o the finishing portion. This Badeau refused to
10, and when he told Gen. Grant about it the
general said he knew nothing of the colonel's
Intention to make such Il proposal Badeau
aid he would never do for another what he
vas doing for Zen. Grant.