New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-10-23

cuse the gross injustice which is done
20 a great man in the very direct in
timation that Greeley maintained his
antagonism 20 Lincoln and 20 has poll
cies after the abolition Of slavery, the
end Of the war and the death Of the
President; when IL is a commonplace OF
history that Greeley Acknowledged his
own error and vindicated Lincoln's su-
perior wisdom in a public apology which
for sincerity, completeness and elo-
Quence has seldom been approXimated
II possible, still more amazing and IN
excusable -because dealing with later
event, Of which Mr.. Thayer might be
supposed 10 have personal recollection
is the statement that the news OF
Dewey's victory al Manila was delayed
several days That victory vas won
on Sunday morning, May I. That very
day all New York was eXultant over
the tidings, and the Monday morning
newspapers published columns OF TIVE
news and Of editorial comment.
There are other infelicities. A let
ter Of Hays 10 Frederick W. Seward
about the Alaska boundary dispute -
printed with the explanation that y
was written "to a correspondent o.
The Tribune" We have no objection
TO the gratifying reminder that Nj.
Seward was a frequent contributor 20
the columns Of this paper. But tho
important point in this case was not
that Mr.. Seward had written to The
Tribune, but that he was the son and
had been the right hand aid OF the Sec
rotary OF State who made the Alaska
Purchase treaty; a point which Mr..
Thayer ignores Similarly, reference
Is made TO Paul Dana as "a New YORK
editor" without mention OF "The sun;
and 70 William F. G. Shsnks as "a
Journalist In Brooklyn" and TO George
w. Smalley as the New York CORE
spondent OF The London Times. with
out thought or apparent knowledge OF
the fact, In this case most pertinent
and significant, that they had been
Hays colleagues on The Tribune staff;
and a man who In his day was at least
as prominent In literature as Mr.. Thay-
or himself is dismissed with his very
name misspelled as "a reporter named
Crofut." These blemishes relate, II IS
true. chiefly to other figures in the book
than Hay himself. Yet they inevitably
suggest the authors grave shortcom-'
ings, and raise the question to what
extent he can be esteemed as inerraht
about Hay himself. since he thus errs
about Hays close associates.
In style and arrangement the book
leaves much TO be desired; in respects
which make il peculiarly incongruous
as biography Of so fastidious mas
ter of style and arrangement as was
Hay. II purports TO be Hays Life and
Letters" but in fact Il Is neither life
nor letters. There are important pas
sages in Hays career which demanded
treatment in well-digested biography,
but which are left 10 a bald reproduc-
tion of his letters, without explana-
tory editing or adequate annexation. On
the other hand, in some places the au-
thor gives US pages OF his own. with
only scAnt ref renee TO letters or dia-
ries of which the full text would have
been immeasurably more profitable.
There are too frequent injections %
extraneous matter, irrelevant and die
tracing We can see, for example, no
profit nor pertinence in the prolix re-
hesrsal of the hackneyed and thread
bare Mcclellan controversy, not even
though il gives Mr.. Thayer opportun,-
~ 10 speak Of that commanders "ele-
phantiasis of the Ego" and-not alto
gether discreetly-of his "abysmal fail
ure" What had that TO do with Hay
He was not intimately associated with
Mcclellan, nor in any degree RESPONSE
BILE for anything which he did or which
happened 10 him; nor were the strip
ling Secretary's opinions Of him and
his campaigns so authoritative as 70
warrant the giving Of pages in this
book 70 those "old, unhappy, far-of
things" In arrangement. such a work
as this should obviously be eth sr
chronological or topical, but this is
neither. In making quotations OF let
tiers and diaries, quotation marks either
should or should not be used, in tho
latter case, Of course, some other
method being employed to indicate in
stantly and infsllibly where the quo
tations begin and end; but here they
are sometimes used and sometimes not.
with the result that the perplexci
reader Is left TO wonder, and TO ascei
tain for himself by investigation,
which Is Hay and which is Mr.. Thayer
The volumes are, however, despite
these and many other grievous faults,
replete with fascinating interest. re-
Elected from the attractive personality
and luminous writings Of their subject.
Hays illustrious chief, whom he so
Loyalty and alphabetically served In
his prentice years, was described by
Lowell as "the first American" No less
truly American and "racy Of the soil"
was Hay himself. Born in the West,
he never for moment lost the ex-
pansiveness Of vision. the contempt for
caste and artificial conventionalities
and the love of and faith in the com
mon people which are supposed TO be
the heritage of the prairie and the
plain Educated in the East, at one
OF the foremost seats of learning,
where Culture for cultures sake" was
most esteemed and inculcated he cher
ished In every event Of life the high
ideals and exquisite sensibilities Of his
academic days. We shall go far be-
fore we find another who more truly
than he exemplihed the best Of the
American national character. who was
more unfaltering in his faith in and de-
votion 20 American ideals, or who was
more efficient in serving the welfare Of
America both in domestic and in for
eign affairs.
He made his almost precocious entry
into public life at the most tremendous