Year: 1874

General Grant lofily rejects all consi6sra-


tion of the third tern because it is an issue


''raised by the newspapers, and he is of


opinion that it sdoes not comport with his


dignity as Presidentof the United States to


publish his views on the subject" And five


members Of General Grants Cabinet "heartily


approve" of these expressions, while one,


more imbecile than the rest, declares his pri-


vate conviction that the newspapers have in


vented the third term issue solely to ''create


the impression that they are a power in the


land greater even than the Executive" Alas


what little, what very little men we are gov
erned by. II there we're any honesty or any
real dignity in these declarations of five Cab
met officers and President, even then the
assumption of superiority in this attitude
would be piece OF ridiculous impudence.
Granting the sincerity of Grants declaration
that the newspapers have raised this issue;
yielding for the moment our own position that
the newspapers have exposed this issue, not
made it; accepting Grants own ground, we
may justly inquire out of what sort of supe-
rior human clay is he made that he stands SO
far above the newspapers? What is the exact
shade of the blue blood which animates these
distinguished gentlemen? What atmosphere
do they breathe? "Upon what meat doth this
our Caesar feed, that he has grown
SO great?" One might suppose from the
tone assumed toward the press. which stands
on level with the people, that all these men
were not merely the representatives Of genera
tons of kings, but creatures of some superior
order exempt from the ordinary conditions Of
humanity. Whence comes the dignity which
lifts General Grant so far-so very far-above
other men? Was it given to him by some
willy politician in the scramble for places?
And, if SO, which lucrative Office was it that
he bestowed on the donorp Or, if not given,
did he buy it, and from which one of the
purses given him by office-seekers did he take
the money! Since he displays his dignity SO
bravely we should like to know more about it.
Was it sense of his dignity as President Of
the United States, and of what comported
with that dignity, which induced him to go on
junketing trip on the City of Peking-a
show steamer of q company. that applies
for government subsidies and gets them2 It
was not contrary to the dignity of Washing
ton to say that he did not wish to be Presi-
dent again, for he did not wish to, and would
not have lodged behind his dignity if he had
had further inclination for Office. But he
had none of the kind of dignity which trou-
bles Grant It is strange that men who have
reached high station understand the nreas so
little. Do these people really believe that the
newspapers of country invent subjects for
discussion? Do they fancy that each man
invents and creates separately the air he
breathes? It would be just as reasonable to
believe one as the other No newspaper is
vital that does not stand at the level Of the
people and does not deal with the topics that
make up the daily life of the people. All the
newspapers in the world could not have given
the third term the importance it has in our
politics to-day. 1t is the perception by the
people Of what the newspapers pointed out to
them which has made the topic terror to
these Cabinet drivellers There is no con-
cealing that the republican party is splitting
on this issue into fifty thousand pieces, and
the men to blame are General Grant and his
advisers. II republicanism goes down, and
if the country suffers from the accession to
power of the democrats, the men responsible
before history will be those who preferred
themselves to the cause in whose service they
offender will be Grant himself.