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

| pro bably compel the government to hold
the Southern States for long time as con-
| quered territories, while he believed that
! every effort should be made to bring them
| back into the Federal Union. His Judgment
was so clear upon this subject that he de-
clared mis- intention to resign his commits
sion in the army if his prisoners We're not
protected. The result was the quashing of
the indictments and the creation of dispo-
sition on the part of the South to accept the
results of the war.
| AS President he showed In his first inau-
gural that he foresaw the financial errors
which were likely some day to be advocated
when he wrote: "to protect the national
honor every dollar of government indebted
ness should be paid in gold unless otherwise
expressly stipulated i'll the contract. Let it
| be understood that no repudiator of one
farthing of our public debt will be trusted in
public life.' Twenty years ago he said
cat some future day the nations of the
earth will agree upon some sort of Congress
which shall take cognizance of international
questions of difficulty and whose decision
Will be as binding as the decision OF the
Supreme Court is upon u.s. The spirit OF
the age seems to be gradually tending to-
ward fulfilment of that prediction.
Early in his first presidential term he took
| vigorous measures to have competent sur
veys for an interoceanic canal, believing
| that it was essential in connecting our ex-
tensive Atlantic and Pacific coast by short
er water route. His foresight told him that
it was impossible to defend such canal
in case of war unless we. had commodious
naval station in the Gulf of Mexico. He re-
| allied the TACT that other nations hold pos
| session of fortified islands from Bermuda to
| the West Indies; he believed that some day
we would build competent navy, and that
we would Lbe sgreatly embarrassed by not
having even a coaling station on any of the
islands in the, Gulf. He therefore negotiated
a treaty for securing possession of San Do
mingo, with its magnificent bay of SANTANA,
which would afford harbor for the largest
navy afloat. The treaty gave us, virtually
without cost, an island occupying a COM
ma n ling position, with many products
necessary to this country and with SO sparse
population that there are.only sevensinhab-
itants tosthe square mile. The Senate de-
| feated the treaty by depriving it of the nee
essary two-thirds vote upon the question of
| its ratification. sNow, twenty seven years
thereafter, when we have an ironclad navy
and have begun an inter-oceanic canal and
1
| have recently been threatened with grave
complications IN Cuba, Venezuela and else
where, there are few patriotic American cit
| Zens who do not regret that at that import
ant crisis the Presidents policy did not pre-
| vail.
In defining the qualities of public men, it
has been said that the politician looks for
ward to his next election. the statesman
looks forward to his next generation.
Measured by this definition, Grant, mani
tested the highest order OF craftsmanship.
He was naturally of a hopeful disposition
and cheerful mind and entered heartily into
social gaieties, but there were periods in his
life when his heartstrings were attuned to
strains of sadness. He underwent physical
hardships and mental fortunes which would
have crushed character less heroic. Like
other conspicuous leaders, it was his fate to
suffer the bitter experience of detraction,
Misrepresentation and betrayal. 1t may be
said Of him, as was said of a predecessor:
s.There were times when twenty men ap-
piled for the same office, and after he had
reached the selection he found that he had
made nineteen enemies and one ingrate.'
He was assailed more bitterly than anyone
whoever sat in the chair of state save WASH
ington He was brought to realize that
ssReproach is a concomitant to greatness as
satire and invective were an essential part
of Roman Empire" and to learn that in
public life ssall hours wounds the last one
\ killed. Envy and malice made him at
times the target for their poisoned shafts,
but their fragments fell at his feet, as shat
tered as the regulations of those who aimed
them, and even the wrath of Lbs enemies
L anJInfa6 in