The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-04-28

he could cOmlndld AiiiiioSAl. tleXOiaDlG
as he was in battle, war never hardenedshis
heart or weakened the strength of his
natural affections. He, retained 4 singular,
sensitive nature, a rare tenderness of feel
ing; shrank from the sight of blood, and
was painfully alive to every tormTof human
suffering.
While his career as a soldier eelipsed by
Its brilliancy his achievements as states-
man, yet when we sum up the events of The
eight years during which he was President
OF the Republic, their magnitude and inn
portance challenge comparison with those of
any other Chief Magistrate SINCE tho inaugu-
ration of the government When he took the
heim OF state the country was IN "a condition
Oh foment and Reorganization, Which is
Always consequent upon long continued
CIVIL war. The fifteenth amendment to the
constitution had not yet been ratified by the
States. In the South secret societies and
armed bands Of lawless men We're creating
terror and defeating the ends of Justice The
prosperity OF the country was still; tagging,
lhelpupiic debt was oppressive, and inna-
tionlsts and repudfators were weakening the
hatlonat credit Our merchant MARINE, had
dwlndledsSto q mere shadow Of its former
sell; pe4itiead faneor had,envenonedsWho
sectlons OF II the cotiatfy. Indian W aTssS were
brewing unsettled disputes with foreign
powers threatened the national peace, and
the new3kChieff Magistrateswas confronted
with problems. SO fprnli dable that they were
enough to appal the ste,ifest heart and dis
courage the most hopeful mind. In the let
ter of acceptance of his nomination for the
Presidency he uttered one of the sublimest
sentences ever I penned by statesman's
hands: sLet us have peace" or all the
many aphorisms which emanated, from him
this has been deemed the most fitting to en-
grave indelibly over the portals of his
tomb. 1t is typical of his nature, emblemat-
ic of the eternal peace enjoyed by his soul.
He began his administration vigorously and
firmly, but he declared that he would have
emo policy of his own to enforce against the
will of the people, In his first inaugural
address he urged measures to strengthen
the public creditand give to the world an
unquestionable pledge of financial honesty.
His early experience among the; Indians
while he was serving on the frontier had
eminently fitted him for inaugurating prac-
tical methods for improving their condition.
He took up honestly the work of civilizing
and christianizing them, placing them on
reservations. treating them wards of the
nation and fitting them for ultimate citizen-
ship. and thus avoided wars and saved yasts
sums Of money Under his administration
the Fifteenth amendment to the Consti,u-
ton was ratified, and all the States were re-
admitted to the Union. In 1870 he recon-
mended the refunding of the national debt,
and an act as passed soon after providing
for bonds at 4 per cent, much reduced
rate of interest, and they were successfully
negotiated. For the first time in our history
he brought about genuine reform in our
civil service, and in the face OF the most
persistent opposition organized the first civil
service board. By bringing to swift justice
the chief offenders, he succeeded in suppress
sing the armed bands that were spreading
terror throughout part of the States, and
compelled absolute obedience to the national
authority. In the third year of his admin is
rration amnesty was declared and nearly
every person in the South was again clothed
with all his civil rights. The soldier ha q
become the pacificator, the destroyer had
become the restorer. In his foreign policy
he manifested his sense of justice when The
pr oclaimed, 81 would deal with nations as
equitable law, requires individuals to deal
with each other; would respec the rights
OF all nations, demanding equal respect TO +
our own" He eyinced his firmness when by
untring effort he secured from foreign pow
ers ample apologies and PREPARATION which
had long been withheld. He brought about
settlement of tn, Alabama claims and the
San Juan boundary question, proclaimed
thereby his dislike for war, inaugurated the
principle of peaceful arbitration in national
III
lesson in modern diplomacy. When the
craze for the imitation of our national cur
rency had unsettled the judgment of legisIa-
tors, he penned a veto SO logical,so forceful,i
that it preserved the credit of the govern
ment and saved the honor of the nation 1T
was a second Appomattox, gained, not
with the sword. but, with the pen. In 1874
he urged in a letter widely published at the
time the resumption.sof our specie pay
ments, and his views attracted much at
tention. The Resumption Act was passed
the next winter. He suppressed the formid :
able baud of conspirators known as the
ssWhiskey Ring and brought to justice the
offenders. His vigorous order for their
prosecution ended with the famous words,
"Let no guilty man escape.'' No matter
what efforts may have been made to rob him
of the credit of this work, the honor of it
belongs primarily to him. In 1875 lie
summed up his political faith in the famous
Des Moines letter, in which he showed that
he knew neither rank nor race, saying.
"Let us labor for the security of free though t
free speech, free press, pure morals, unfet-
tered religious sentiment and equal rights,
and privileges for all men,, irrespective of
nationality, color or religion" He said in
speech at Warren, Ohio, that he was for the
"party which assured protection to life and
property, the public credit and the payment
of the debts of the government, state, coun-
ty and municipality; which encourages the
poor to strive to better their children, en-
aiding them to compete successfully with
their more fortunate associates. and which
toleratesf no privileged Characters An
American citizen who cannot subscribe Ito
that political creed must be wholly given
over to the worship Of pc rversity. y
His writings treat Of every subject en-
braced between the broadcast lines Of war
and statesmaIlship. His style is conspicuous
ly unpretentious, and while it makes eno
pretention at elegance of diction and con-
tains little of ornament, it evinces a terse-