Year: 1874

4 MAOh S0Sth6O OmoS0b Dl8EA00s


We reprint this morning a few extracts from


tho private papers Of the late Chief Justice
Chase, as they appear in the forthcoming work
OF one Of his biographers. They confirm our
fears in regard to the impolicy Of their publ
cation The purely personal matters, like Mr..
Chase's earlier impressions of his first wife,
Catherine Garniss are mere twaddle-snch
wretched twaddle that we are surprised Mr..
Chase should have written it, in the first in
stance or that any biographer should have
had the bad taste to print it. Still, the diary
of a man like the late Chief Justice cannot fail
to be very interesting to most readers, though its
publication is almost equally certain to do in
justice to its author. Like writing letters on
matters purely personal. keeping diary is
both foolish and dangerous-foolish in reveal
ing that which ought not to be told and dam
gerous in the loss of respect which is almost
sure to follow. Mr. Chase in the published
extracts, is only another illustration of this
truth. The extract dated September IL, 1872,
is in every way discreditable to his memory.
II it had been published by misdirection one
could excuse his unjust reflections on MIR.
Lincoln General Mcclellan and others as
hasty opinion, jotted down in some moment
Of evaporation; but it is given to the world
by his ''chosen biographer," to whom, with
other matters like it, it was committed for
publication. True, it Is solemn warning to
Congress to-day, which is pursuing like
policy without the excuse Of the war period;
but opposed as we are to the issue Of United
States notes, we can have no sympathy with
opinions so harshly expressed. TO accuse
President Lincoln and all his counsellors and
the General commanding the army with an
utter disregard of the good of the country is
inexcusable. Nor will the country believe
that either Mr.. Lincoln or General Mcclellan
rushed from expense to expense and defeat to
defeat, without heed, to the abyss of bank
ruptcy Mr.. Chase seemed to think himself
alone capable of seeing. Neither is it credit
able to Mr.. Chase that he should report Mr.
Stanton's dissatisfaction with the President
for "humiliating submissiveness to General
Mcclellan while so bitterly finding fault with
the issue of paper money, in which he was
allowing himself to become so active an in
strument. The same view of sneering dissat-
isfaction is found in Mr.. Chase's report Of the
Cabinet council at which the Emancipation
proclamation was adopted. There is nothing
in this report discreditable to Mr. Lincoln
while it's undercurrent is far from doing honor
to Mr. Chase. The disgrace, however is not
in the jotting down of these hasty opinions,
but in their publication. The Chief Justice
could never have intended that such use should
be made of them. These were essentially the
private opinions Of man who was not in a
position to express them publicly; but if they
were to be published at any time the only
proper time for their publication was tie au-
tumn Of 1862. We desire to hold no one re-
sponsible for the Legal Tender act, but to avert
as much as possible the consequences of that
disastrous measure. 1t would have been a
pleasure to learn from his biographer that Mr.
Chase was always opposed to it, and that his de-
cislon as Chief Justice was in harmony with
all his feelings as Secretary of the Treasury,
but to get the proofs in such shape as this is
immeasurably painful. 1t was because we be-
ieved that hastily formed opinions like these
would be thrust upon the public that we dep
recated the publication Of Mr.. Chase diaries
in the beginning We regret it now more
than ever, for the injustice done to others is
only tithe Of the injustice done to the men,
ory of Mr. Chase. The sinner life of the
man has been revealed with wantonness un-
known in history, and the Chase diaries will
long remain monument of human folly.


The Spring Exhibition Of the Acad-