The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1920-09-28

His secretary Of the treasury, A. I.
Stewart, the New York merchant,
could not serve because the law de-
barred an importer from that offlce.
His secretary Of the navy was to
fame unknown outside his city or
Philadelphia. It took the mails three
weeks to find, in his obscurity, an
attorney general that the president
appointed without knowing where the
man lived. In selecting a chief JUS
tice he pursued the same hit-or-miss
plan and had to send in a third name
before the senate would give its as
sent.
Two Of the seven places in the cabi-
net were given to Galena, the presi-
dents little home town, the secretary
ship of state falling to Congressman
Elihu B. Washburne, and the secre-
tary Of war to John A. Rawlins. There
were sound personal reasons for the
selection Of General Rawlins. who had
been Grant vigilant watchdog in the
army, standing between him and the
bottle and between his too trusting
nature and false friends. These lat
ter needed now more than ever to be
warded off, and the untimely death
of this frank and loyal friend early in
the administration left place which
remained sadly vacant.
The many scandals of the admins
ira ton were mostly traceable to the
betrayal of Grants childlike conf
dence in unworthy friends. BLACK
Friday" in Wall street cast It's shad-
ow on his family circle itself A
brother-in-law had inveigled the guile
less president into the net Of Jim
F'iske and Jay Gould, who attempted
| to corner gold on the strength Of in
side informa ton which they had
| wormed out of him. A quickly as
/ Grant discovered the trick he smashed
| the corner.
| The whisky Ring" involved the
presidents private secretary. A mem
Der of the cabinet was impeached for
| squalid transactions, but by accepting
his resignation Grant let him dodge
| the conviction.
| The Civil war was followed by the
most corrupt period in our political
life. Rascally politicians noisily dis
tracted the people from the real evils
with sham battles against the rebel
brigadier" The "bloody shirt" was
made to cover a multitude Of sins,
while patriots went in loudly for the
old flag and an appropriation"
Although Grant himself was above
just suspicion, the next highest Off
cial, Vice-President Colfax, was driv-
en- into retirement under cloud. and
the third highest, the speaker Of the
house, James G. Blaine, was accused
of bartering his influence for private
gain.
| Reconstruction remained for 10
years after the war a prolific source
Of political decentralization. Lincoln
plan having been torn up in the saw
age strife between congress and
Johnson, the southern states were
converted into rotten boroughs for pc
litical adventures from the North
and for the white riff raft of the
South. Out of the first batch of Il
southern senator's, 10 were northern
carpet baggers" who had rushed
south to exploit the negro vote, and
an even half of the congressman were
squatters from the north
I A liberal section of distinguished
Republicans revolted against Grants
election to a second term, but they
were mostly leaders without follow
ers. The popular revolt did not come
until the panic of 1873 had plunged
the country into six years of hard
times, and tidal wave in the cleo
ton of 1874 swept the Democrats into
control Of the house.
Great occasions aroused Grant to
independent action in peace as in
war In vetoing a currency initiation
bill, in calling for the resumption OF
| specie payments and in the peaceable
settlement of the "Alaba ma" claims
against Great Britain-the first great
international arbitration-he meas
ured up to the expectations of the
people, who never lost faith in the
soundness of the man because he had
failed as a politician. First in war
he did not prove himself first in
peace; but deep down beneath the
bitterness of parties and factions
Grant remained always, through good
report and bad, first in the hearts OF
his countrymen.