St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-10-06
WhitelaW a "Rat" in Labor
and a "Rat" While in the
Fields Of Dixie.
His Fighting at the Front
Mostly Done With His Pen
Against Grant. !,
At Washington He Volleyed
and Numbered Against
President Lincoln. u
He Called Secretary Seward
"Mephistopheles Of the
Administration. II II

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5. Whitelaw
Reid, the Republican candidate for vice
president. did his fighting during the
civil war with his pencil, at sufficient
distance from the picket lines to avoid
that disturbance of the nerves which
''scream of shot and burst of she'll and
believing of the mortars' are apt to
produce. His rhetoric was. therefore,
that of man master of his own mud.
Mr.. Reid was the war correspondent
of the Cincinnati Gazette, in which
journal he gave he country the benefit
OF his genius in craftsmanship and mill
tary strategy in the form of criticism
upon the misconduct of Mr.. Lincoln
and the incapacliy of the generals in
the field. Of the battle of Pittsburg
Landing he said every man fought as
he pleased, and four days later, April
Is. 1862, he wrote:
''lf worthless officers had attended to
enforcing this sort of discipline, as the
regulations require. instead of playing
euchre and drinking whisky, the blood
of the men murdered in their tents that
Sunday morning would not now be rest
ing OH their heads. But it is astounding
that high officers. knowing the prObaDili-
ties of attack, took no visible measures
to prepare for il. l have heretofore
spoken of Gen. Grants saying, as early
as Friday, that he thought an attack
very probable. Knowing the forces at
Corinth, and that his troops thus men,
aced were between an OverpoWering
enemy in front, and deep river in the
rear, probability of attack was certainly
serious enough matter to demand prep
aratiOn.'
MIR. Strategist Reid.
What pity it seems that Mr.. Lincoln
did not act upon the plain indications
Of this correspondence, and place the
Southwestern army under the sagaciouS
command Of this great strategist. thus
at once Kidding the country of the in
capacity of Grant and the other ''worth-
less officers" who played euchre and
drank whisky!
At later date Mr.. Reid characterized
Mr.Seward as''the Mephistopheles of the
administration" Writing from Wash
ingtOn, under date of July %. the pres
ent Republican candidate for vice presi-
dent says:
''No one need to be told that the presi-
dents course has hitherto leaned largely
to the policy of the Cancellation party,
and there are few who are not now sat
istied that but for that policy the war
might by this time be ended. Mr..
Seward has all the time had more in
huence over the president than any
other member of his cabinet. OF nearly
every conservative demonstration by
the presldent-the modification of FREE
mont, the disapproval of Hunter-the
persistent promotion of men like
Buell., who are more famous
for their zeal in protecting rebel
property than in moving against
rebel armies to the important COM
mandS; the threatened veto of the con-
fiscation act and the hating manner in
which provision has been made by
proclamation for carrying out its pro-
visions-it might be said the hand of
Joab is in this thing Secretary Sew
ard, his mark, was visible in every one"
In 1862 congress passed an act declar-
ing that slaves escaping into the Union
lines should be ''deemed captives of
tude" where they belonged to persons
engaged in rebellion or giving aid and
comfort thereto"
ROasts MIR. Lincoln.
Mr.. Lincoln's method of enforcing
this law fell far short of meeting Mr..
Reid'S approval. Under date of july
20 Mr.. Reid wrote from Washington:
Congress has accepted the issue, and
at one blow has decreed the extinction
of slavery in the cotton states. Is the
administration manly enough to face
the inevitable result now, or must we
spend few more scores of millions and
sacrifice few more thousands of lives,
only then to start in at the point at
which we now stand? We all know how
Mr.. Lincoln waits for the popular de-
mands to push him forward. The theory