Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-06-04

common consent, place Alexander the Great,
Hannibal, Julius Caesar and Napoleon Bona
parte in the front rank. But each of them
had learned the art of war by continuous
service and unequaled opportunities, and
displayed the most brilliant qualities at
every period of their achievements.
Hannibal and Caesar had won universal
fame in the thirties. Alexander died at 81,
grieving because he had no more worlds to
conquer, and Napoleon, at 81, was master OF
Europe. But Grant, at 40, was an obscure
leather merchant in Galena. As a cadet at
West Point he had risen only just above the
middle of his class. As a subaltern on the
frontier and in Mexico, he had done no more
than perform his duty with the courage and
capacity of the average West Pointer. He
had pursued agriculture with his customary
conscientious. care and industry. He was
not afraid to do the work of the farm himself
nor ashamed to ride into st. Louis upon the
load of wood which he was to SELL, or to pile
it up for his customer, and yet almost any
farmer in Missouri was more successful.
Clients failed to retain him as surveyor,
his real estate Office had to be closed, and he
was not factor in the tanners firm.
But the moment that the greatest RESPONSE
bilities were thrust upon him. and the fate
OF his country rested upon his shoulders,
this Indifferent farmer, business man, mer-
chant, became the foremost figure of the
century. The reserve powers of a dominant
intellect, which ordinary affairs could not
move, came into action. A mighty mind,
which GOD had kept for the hour of supreme
danger to the Republic, grasped the scat
tered elements of strength, solidifled them
into q resistless force and organized victory.
He OWNED the purposes of the enemy as
well as he knew his own plans. His brain
became clearer, his strategy more perfect,
and his confidence in himself more serene as
his power increased.
Wonderfully Fertile in Resources.
He could lead the assault at Donelson, or
the forlorn hope at Shiloh, or maneuver his
forces with exquisite skill and rare original
ity of resources at Vicksburg, as the best of
brigade or corps commanders, or before
Richmond calmly conduct q campaign
covering continent, and many armies with
consummate generalship. At the critical
hour during the battle of Sedan when the
German Emperor and Bismarck were anx-
iously waiting the result and watching their
silert General, an eofffcer rode up and an
I nounced that two corps of the German
army marching from opposite directions
had met at q certain hour. The movement
closed in the French and ended the war;
Won Moltke simply said, "The calculation
was correct" Grant had not the scientific
training and wonderful staff of the Prus
sian Field Marshal, but he possessed in the
highest degree the same clear vision and ac-
curate reasoning The calculation was al
ways correct, and the victory sure.
The mantle ofprophecy nolonger descends
upon successor, and the divine purpose is
not revealed to mortals There exists, how
ever, in every age masterful men, VINO are
masterful because they see with clear vision
the course of events, and fearlessly act upon
the forecast. By this faculty the statesman
saves his country from disaster or lifts it to
the pinnacle of power, the soldier plucks
victory from defeat, and the man of affairs
astonishes the world by the magnitude and
success of his operations 1t was pre-emi-
nently Grants gift. Four days after the first
shot was fired at Fort Sumpter he wrote
from Galena letter to his father-in-law pre-
dieting the uprising of the North and the
fall of slavery.
Others saw only the commercial spirit of
the free States, he, far in advance OF the
public men'of the time OWNED that superb
patriotism which inspired millions to leave
the farm and the family, their business and
their homes to save the Union. Wh1le
statesmen of all parties were temporlzlng
and compromising with the slave power,
this silent thinker, in the rear ranks OF the
people, pierced with undimmed eyes the
veil which had clouded the vision OF the
nation for hundred years. His calm Judg-
ment comprehended the forces in the con-
fiict, and that their collision would break
and pulverize the shackles of the slave.
Proof of Grants Military Genius.
He possessed beyond most leaders the
loyal and enthusiastic devotion of his peo-
pie, and he was the idol of his army. In esti-
mating the results and awarding the credit
VI biiO iitSb CttHlpdlSn VI Iue wal, VIC uluoD ~
member that General Lee had defeated or
baffled every opponent for three years, and
that after q contest unparalleled in In des-
perate valor, frightful carnage and match
less strategy, he surrendered his sword to
Grant.
The number of men who have led their
generation and whose fame will grow with
time is very few in any nation. Their unap-
proachable position has been reached be-
cause no one else could have done their
work They appear only in those crises when
the life or future of their country is at stake.
The United States are surprisingly rich in
having possessed three such exalted 1ntell1-
genceS in their first century, Washington,
Lincoln and Grant. The Father of his Coun.
try stands alone among the founders OF
States and defenders of the liberties OF the
people, as pre-emineptly the chief in both
war and peace. 1t is the Judgment OF his
contemporaries and of posterity that none
other of the soldiers and statesmen of the
Revolution could have won the war for inde-
pendence as commander of the armies, or
consolidated jealous and warning colonies
into q nation, as first President of the Re
public.
Many Presidents, Only One Great Genera
There have been many Presidents of the
United States. and the roll will bo indat-