Great Falls tribune., 1922-04-24

was one of the great surprises OF MS
tory. From an obscure citizen he be-
came one of the very greatest mill
tary leaders of the ages. From the
west he came into the east as con-
auering commander Of armies that had
experienced set-bNk after setback.
and led them to victory. From the
terrific and destructive ways of war
he turned again to the peaceful paths
of reconstruction with firmness. a
moderation, magnanimity that places
places him beside Lincoln and Wash
ington.
sixty years ago the nation was
ringing with the name of Grant. How
soon the past greatness. with its IN
valuable inspiration to people, passes
into the shadows of the yesterdays
However. it is part of mans great
ness that the succeeding generations
can use his career purely for lllnstra-
ton. as Theodore Roosevelt once said:
and if the careers of Washington and
Grant are not vital and full of mean
ing to us, if they are merely part OF
the storied past. and do not stir lis
to eager emulation in the ceaseless.
endless war for right against wrong.
then the root of right thinking is not
in us; and where we do not think
right we cannot act right.
Hero To the End
Something of General Grant S
greatness is discovered in the two
pathetic, even tragic. events OF his
career. namely. the bond Of habit
which was beclouding his early life,
and later the bond Of debt which seri-
ously begloomed him. Chief Justice
Taft calls attention to the shadow and
inter encouragement that rested on
when he developed a weakness for
strong drink and resigned his com
mission in the army. But one Of The
many wonders Of his life was the
overcoming of this weakness by which
he became victor over himself.
Grants struggle against the pow
erty and dishonor. entailed through
the rascality of trusted manager OF
the banking enterprise in his last
years, stands out gloriously as he en-
deavored to redeem himself and his
family through the stricken period just
before his death. He was hero to
the end.
"The military victories Of Grant
have immortalized him in our national
and world annals. Though he was the
man who was not wanted in the early
period of the war. he became the man
indispensable before it's close. He goes
into history as '.the Hammerer.' Lin
coin said. He rights
Taft says that Grants idea OF war
was fight aud continuous series Of
battles: his greatness is seen in his
willingness to assume responsibilities.
and his power to stand the strain when
defeat and disaster seemed to threaten
the success of his plans.
Fixity Of Purpose
Roosevelt declares that foremost
of all is the lesson of tenacity. Of stub
born fixity of purpose. In the union
armies were generals as brilliant as
Grant. but none with his iron determi-
nation; and this quality he showed as
president no less than as general.
''Grant dared to pay great price
for great prize. blood and suffering
for the victory of nation indivisible.
Though his friends declare that he was
a man Of such sensitive nature that
he could not bear to see even animals
subjected to pain. vet his conception of
war and it's necessities was so clear,
that the dreadful losses sustained by
him ip the Wilderness, at Spottslyvania
at Cold Harbor, and in his other cam
paigns. did not turn him from his pur-
pose to hammer away at Lees army