Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1898-05-21
Naval Heroes and the Presidency.

way in which frequent newspaper rel
erences has been made to him as a
presidential possibility it is brought
| forward as remarkable fact in
| American history is that no naval Off
| Ger has ever been president, and, so
| ever been seriously proposal for the
office, unless we except Hon. T. b. Reed
| who was q naval paymaster in the late
war. England has had a sailor king"
within the memory of man, but either
| our naval heroes have religiously kept
out of politics of their own accord or
they have never been given a good OPP
portunty of entering.
It's really worth thinking about-this
| discrimination against our laureled vic
| tors whose victories are won on the
water Our wars have made many
Presidents, if not most of our Presl-
dents The Revolution gave the coun-
try President Washington. The war
of 1872 gave it President Jackson. The
Indian wars gave it the first President
Harrison. The Mexican campaign gave
it President Taylor. The war for the I'm
ion gave it President Grant and Hayes,
Garfield, Benjamin Harrison and Will
liam Mckinley were helped toward the
White House by their war records.
Every man of them all did his fighting
on land. Moreover, Tyler and Arthur
held military commissions though
neither of them saw active service att
the front. Monroe was a captain in the
Revolution and Pierce a brigaderl
general in the Mexican war, though ii
is doubtful if their war records had
much to do With making them Pres
dents.
A still further indication of the in
huence which land war eXerts uponl
politics is afforded by the nominations
for the presidency which a number of
soldiers have received but who failed
VI citttIOH NOiiSltIt tpbS atiiloIIS tIltSt
We're Brig. Gen. Charles Cotesworth
Pinckney of the Revolution, Brig. Gen.
Lewis Cass, Lieut. Cen Winfield Scott
Lieut.. Col. John c. Fremont, Major
General George b. Mcclellan and Maj.
Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock. Many
other soldiers have found their reward
in the vice presidency, among them be
ing Col. Aaron Burr, Brig. Gen. George
Clinton. Col Richard NJ. johnson and
Maj. John G. Breckenridge. not to add
Hannibal Hamln and Henry Wilson,
who connected themselves with the
military in 1861, without, however,
going to the front. These men, both
the successful and those who lost the
prize were all officers. and a soldic ROT
the ranks never rose to be comman-I
der-in-chief.
But where have been the naval nor
ocs? our record in naval warfare has
been most glorious. Why was not Hull,
Porter ever brought forward for the
Presidency as we'll as those who have
won Victories for the same flag on the
land? In the early years of the repub-
lie the stout old commodores' con-
tributed much more glorious pages TO
its history than the generals, and a
good many more of them. Yet, which
one of the commodores ever got within
seeing distance of the White House,
Which one of them for that matter,
so much as dreamed of casting an am
bilious glance in that direction? Far
ragut, the admiral was as illustrious a
figure as Grant, the general. He had a
far more striking and picturesque per-
sonality. His fame is no less immor-
tai The people wondered delightedly
| at his matchleSs eXploits-the river
fight, the bay fight. They honored him
in their hearts as he deserved to be
| honored. But they never even thought
| of making him President, nor did he
ever dream that they would. The man
who goes into the American navy for
life bids an everlasting Soodby to
political ambition at the waters edge
1t is not easy to understand the rea-
son for this popular neglect. Naval Of
ficers in early life have the same oppor-
tunities and training as army officers.
| They are finely educated at one OF the
best schools in the world. When they
graduate they go to sea, and they
spend much of their lives in visiting
foreign countries, where they necessar-
lily enlarge their knowledge and rid
themselves of prejudice. They prob
ably do not, as a rule, take the same
interest in politics as army officers,
who are usually in the midst of the
Whirl Of politics. But when the peo-
pie want d hero, it does not matter
. whether he knows much about politics
or not, Taylor knew as little about