The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-04-28

dDpuL d SGlllGllltlll OL LHG EAistpeAAN claims and the San Juan boundary question, proclaimng thereby his dis like for war; inaugurated the principle of peaceful arbitration in national dis putes and taught the world it's grand est lesson in modern displomacy,
 When the craze for the imitation of our national currency had unsettled the judgment of legislators, he penned a veto so logical, so forceful, that 1t pre- served the credit of the government and saved the honor of the nation. It was a second AppomattoX, gained, not with the sword, out with the pen. In 1874 he urged In a letter widely published at the time, the resumption of our specie payments, and his views attracted much attention. The resupmtion act was passed the next winter, He suppressed the formidable band of conspirators | known as the 'Whskey Ring and brought to justice the offenders. During his administration, so mo- mentous in events, that two oceans were united by our great transcontinen- tai railways, taxes were reduced over $500, ,000, 900, the national debt was reduc- ed over $450, 100000, the interest on the debt from S160, 900 to $100 ,000, and the balance of trade was changed from $130,000000 against the country to $780, 1000 in its favor. At the close of his eight years of honest, earnest, patriotic labor, he left no unfinished work to turn over to his successor. There was peace within our borders, peace with all the world, prosperity among all the people, | and tho nf Af1oaripa CfNn6 hiohar than it ever stood before on the honor roll of nations.
 He was a many sided man, and pos sessed so many conspicuous, and some times contradictory, characteristics, that even to those who served with his most intimately in camp and cabinet he still remains something of an enigma. He was a chosen son of Liberty, but he be- lieved in liberty secured by law, and that the peoples prosperity depends upon public tranquility.
 "One of his most conspicuous attrib- utes was his foresight. His mental power in this respect has scarcely a parallel. and to this gift he largely owed his matchless success. He never wasted time in dwelling upon the events of the past, but closed them out from his thoughts and concentrated his mind upon plans for the future. His far l sightedness manifested itself in all his preparations, both in his military and civil career, and his predictions of events at times amounted almost to prophecies. At the breaking out of hostilities, while many eminent and eX- perienced men were declaring that the war would last but a few months, and orators were waving their white hand kerchiefs and proclaiming that they were large enough to wipe out all the blood which would be shed in the com- ing struggle, Grant announced his be- lief that the war would continue for years, and that preparations should be commensurate with its formidable pro- portions.
 Before any battles had been fought he said to staff officer: I believe that Virginia will be the principal field of military operations in this rebellion; that the cavalry will play an important part in that section Of the country, and that the decisive battle of the war will occur there This prediction was veri- fled in every particular.
  lucky would remain neutral, Grant de clared that no state could remain neu
 tral in a national war of such magni. tude
 AS early as the capture of Vicksbure
 he expressed entire confidence in the
 belief that it was not military neces
 sity to deal harshly with the enemy
 and that all possible leniency should be shown to the southern people, as
 they would soon again become our fel low countrymen.
 He early foresaw that to overcome the rebellion it was not only necessary to maintain large armies in the field but to have vigorous support of the war in the northern states. Over { , million loyal voters were absent at the , front, and thus deprived of the right O suffrage, and prevented from offsettine , by their votes the votes of the disloya
 element in the north, and he wrote , remarkable letter to the secretary O war, setting forth plan in great de , tail, providing method which would
 enable the soldiers to vote in the field The plan, accompanied as it was b,
 such checks and safeguards that thu
 votes would be entirely free and un
 trammelled, so strongly commended 1t self to the authorities that it was car / ried out and proved complete sue
 cess.
 "At Appomattox he did not demand , Lees sword, and allowed the men tt
 take their horses home to work thei , little farms and when the Union bat , teries began to fire triumphal salute , he sent out an order, saying: The wa
 is over, the rebels are our countrymel again, and the best way to rejoice afte , the victory will be to abstain from al . demonstrations in the field.'
 With his uncommon range of menta vision he foresaw that the granting o
 those conditions would induce other ar !, l mics throughout the south to accep :. the same terms, and thus prevent , guerrilla warfare from being carrie 4 on for an indefinite period in the inte
 rior, and would induce such inf1uentia ? men as Lee and other Confederate ar my commanders to use their inf1uenc in aiding in the rehabilitation of tn
 southern states.
 "He was quicker than any one else t , see that reconstruction would be a tasl
 almost as formidable as the suppres
 sion of armed rebellion He refraine | from entering the cantl1red oanitaI lii