The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-01-24

speaker of the House and ] was bound
10 give careful attention TO what he said.
lie insisted that a veto OF the bill would
prove the ruin of the Republican party,
and that the country Overwhelmingly sup
ported that measure. He was aggressive,
almost fierce, in his insistenee that sign
the bill.
VETOED INITIATION BILL.
General Grant said. In reply TO Blaine.
that while the existence and supremacy of
the Republican party were of the highest
Importance. yet. in considering bin of
this kind. there were other points OF view
than the interest of any party And, fur
thermore, he was satisfied that whatever
action he took upon the bill would be based
upon his understanding of what was the
best for the Nation, and he was sure that
would be best for the party. Blaine seemed
nos to like very well the answer Grant
gave him, and he was almost menacing in
his attitude and In his comment.
Grant at once sent to New York to ask
that certain men OF recognized authority
and experience in the world or finance
meet him at some convenient place. since
he desired TO ask some questions which
they, in all probability. would be able to
made for a meeting at the Union League
Club. General Grant came over TO New
York and met at the club about forty men.
some of whom had been of the utmost
sistance TO the government in time of
great financial peril during the civil war
and all of whom had earned fine reputa-
tons for commanding ability in the field
General Grant said 10 these men that
he desired to ask some questions so that
he could obtain light ii possible which
would enable him to come to a correct
Judgment with respect to the so-called i'm
flation bill. For four or five hours he sat In
the center of this group listening with in
tense earnestnesS To every opinion that
expressed, now and then asking questions,
not in any argumentative way. but solely
Tor the purpose of getting Information. But
in all his questioning he revealed to no one
OF these men whether he had or had not
come to any determination respecting his
action upon the bill. They were all amazed
at the clearness, directness and force of
the questions which he put to them, espe-
cially as he confessed that he had no un-
derstanding of the details of finance or
even of banking under national system.
When the meeting was over not one of
these men could tell whether Grant had
made up his mind what he ought to do al
though he afterward said that his course
was made perfectly clear to him during
that evening. He went back to Washing
ton day or two later. wrote out the now
famous and historic veto message. using
the argument which seemed to him TO justi-
fy the vetoing of the bill, and sent il to
Congress without having consulted any
one.
This meeting at the Union League Club
Grant afterward often spoke of as some
tIiilS liitl was OF Dfe-em10ent service to
the Nation and to the Republican party as
We'll for before he met the men who were
gathered around him that evening he was
inclined to accept as correct in all proba-
bility the view taken by Mr. Blaine.
A LONG AFTER-DINNER SPEECH.
Judge Davis was reminded by this anec-
dote narrated by Mr.. Wales of later ex-
perience associated with General Grant in
the same room where some years before he
u
had met the New York bankers and finan-
ciers to whose counsel the country owes
the veto of the imitation bill Judge Davis
says that company of perhaps forty,
some of the members of which had shared
i'm that earlier consultation, invited General
Grant to be their guest at a dinner upon
his return from his tour around the world
me dinner was served i'm the same room
where he had met the New York bankers
When the coffee and cigars were brought
General Grant was asked by one OF the
hosts to tell the company something about
his trip around the world Every one had
heard OF him as a taciturn man who was
believed incapable of making an address
of any kind.
But there was no hesitation on Grants
Fart, no stage fright as he rose to respond
TO the request. lit was just 10 O'Clock
when he began. In a few moments he
or whom were men distinguished as
orators, absolutely absorbed. Neither Grant
nor they seemed to be conscious OF any
other thing than that delight which the
| perfectly spoken words gives both to him
who utters IL and 10 him who hears it
hey even forgot Grants personality in
the absorbing charm of his address. Judge
Davis, who has heard all the supreme ora
tors of his generation. said that no one
or them had so perfectly dominated him
as Grant did upon that occasion The
thought was most lucidly expressed and
the same quality afterward discovered in
Grants memoirs which have given them
very high literary distinction was most
noticeable in this address. He had the
power of pictuFing all that he had seen
and then describing it so that IL had al
most the same mental impress which the
visible presence OF painting would have
given.
said to him: General. do you know how
long you have been speakng?" and Grant
replied: 81 should say about half an hour"
! and To that Judge Davis said that ii would
have been impossible for him TO have given
any estimate of the time had he not hap
pened to have glanced at his watch when
Grant began to speak you have been
speaking exactly two hours, General
And when Judge Davis told the other
members OF the company that Grants
speech had occupied two hours almost
every one was incredulous, not having had
any sense of the lapse of time. So that in
fact he really seemed to have been speak
ing but few moments.
And this was the man." said Judge
Davis, VINO was proclaimed everywhere
as the silent man. the maker of apho-
thegms and of laconic utterance, who was
| Incapable of making a speech
Commodore Van Santvoord narrated an
other aneedote that may have some timely
significance. He said that Grant was
speaking day of the vast difficulties
that he met with in the Eastern Tonnes
see campaign at one time, In connecting
the army with it's base of supplies He
had been compelled for some days TO con-
centrate all his energy upon that prob
lem, and at last was rejoiced to learn
that the danger had been wholly overcome
Just as he had received reports one morn
ing, showing that the army and its base
of supplies were In full and welI-protected
communication there rode up to his tent
an officer of the rank of brigadier general
who began to criticise. even TO demand, ex-
PLANTATION of what had been done.
Grant heard him patiently and at last
said To him: All these things were
done 10 put our army In communication
with its base" But the brigader general
continued. i'm violation of etiquette at
! least to make strong criticisms and pro-
! tests ''He was a reformer then" said Gen
| Grant and he is reformer now. And his
name is Carl Schurz"
Wees OF the Author.