The Savannah morning news., 1903-11-21

~NSN LOAhs 4NON. Ex-senator NIeOTRe
f. Hoar's Autobiography of Seventy
Years" has been issued by Charles
Scribner's Sons. The two good sized
volumes into which the venerable SEN
ator from Massachusetts has compress
ed the recollections of his long and dis
tinguished career are. as was antici-
pated, valuable and interesting con-
trtbution to the political history of the
country, and the memories of his wide
and often close acquaintance with the
foremost men of letters of his time.
have also furnished many delightful
chapters.
Those who anticipated that Senator
Hoar would reveal the inside secrets
OF the momentous events of his career,
has covered, will be disappointed.
While he explains the motives that
governed him in his attitude in GER
tain matters of historic moment he has
carefully refrained from overstepping
the correct bounds of his position.
Mr.. Hoar contributes this story of
Gen. Grant the occasion being bril-
liant dinner at which were present
many distinguished men. Commodore
Alden had remarked there was nothing
he disliked more than a subordinate
who always obeyed orders What is
that you are saying, COMMODORE
said President Grant. across the table.
The commodore repeated what he had
said. There is a good deal of truth
in what you say" said Gen. Grant.
"One- of the virtues of Gems Sheridan
was that he knew when to act without
orders. lust before the surrender of
Lee, Gen. Sheridan captured some dis
patches from which he learned that
Lee had ordered his supplies to GER
tain place. l was on the other side OF
the river. where he could get no CONS
munication from me until the next
morning. Gen. Sheridan pushed on
at once without orders, got to the place
fifteen minutes before the Confederates,
and captured the supplies. After the
surrender was concluded, the first thing
Gen. Lee asked me for was rations for
his men. l issued to them the same
provisions which Sheridan had cap
tured. Now if Sheridan. as most men
would have done. had he waited for
orders from me, Lee would have got
off. II listened with wonder at the
generous modesty which, before that
brilliant company, could move one Oh
the brightest laurels from his own
brow, and place it on the brow Oh
Sheridan
In brief sketches, Mr.. Hoar has es-
timated the more prominent men WIN
whom he served in Congress, paying
friends tribute to them. The CHAP
ter on Reconstruction is especially IN
teresting. He says:
ut was the desire of many Repub-
lican leaders, especially of Mr.. sum-
ner. and Gen. Grant, that there
should be a provision at the National
charge for the education of all the
citizens in the Southern states, black
and white, so far as the states were
unable or unwilling to afford 1t, such
as had been provided for in the state
of the North for all their citizens. 1t
was never contemplated by them to
| give the right to vote to large num-
| Der of illiterate citizens, without am
pie provision for their education at the
| pubIic charge. Gen. Grant accom-
| panied his official announcement to
| Congress of the adoption of the Fiji
| teenth amendment with an earnest
| recommendation of such provision
| Earnest efforts were made to accom-
plish this result by liberal grants from
the national treasury. Many liberal
and patriotic Southern Democrats sup
ported it. But it was defeated by
the timidity or mistaken notions or
| economy of Northern statesmen. In
failure of the policy of reconstruction
so far as it has failed. do not be-
lieve that self government with uni
versal suffrage could be maintained
long in any Northern state, or in any
country in the world without ample
provision for public education.
The autobiography touches with a
singularly gentle pen most of the men
il mentions There is but one eXcep-
t. Mr Hn1T reaches
Benjamin F. Butler. A chapter OF
thirty-four pages is devoted to Gen.
Butler. Senator Hoar says:
mo person can adequately compre-
hend the political history of Massa-
chusetts for the thirty-five years be-
ginning with 1850 without knowledge
of the character, career and behavior
of BENJAMIN F. Butler. 1t is. of course,
disagreeable, and in most cases 1t
would seem unmanly to speak harshly
of a political antagonist who is dead.
In the presence of the great reconciler
Death, ordinary human contentious and
angers should be hushed. But If there
be such thing in the universe as
moral law, if the distinction between
right and wrong be other than fancy
or a dream, the difference between
Gen. Butler and the men who con-
tended with him belongs not to this
lie aIOnG. II IGldlSS ~ AidhSClo INV Z
permanent than human life. 1t en-
tiers into the fate of republics, and
will endure after the fashion of this
world passeth away.
II cannot tell the story of my life
at a most important period without
putting on record my estimate of him,
and the nature of his influence over
the youth of the commonwealth. Be-
sides, it is to be remembered that he
took special pains to write and to leave
behind him a book in which he gave
his own account of the great contro-
versies in which he engaged, and bit
terly attacked some of the men who
thwarted his ambitions. This book he
sent to the public libraries. including
that of the British Museum, where he
had good reasons to expect it would be
permanently reserved.
II shall say nothing of him which
1 did not say in public speeches or
published letters while he was living
and in the fullness of his strength, ac-
tivity and power. History deals with
Benedict Arnold, with Aaron Burr,
with the evil counsellors of Charles !.
and Charles H., with Robespierre, with