Year: 1875

Meanwhile no one doubted his integrity
to party principle or party discipline. 1t
was not until the Southern question loomed
up, with its forebodings Of dang to the
permanency of the work Of the Republican
party, if not to the Republic itself, that he
began to show strong indications of waver-
ing intent. The Third Term goblin con-
tinued to haunt him, and he found fault
with the President because he did not
speak out on the subject. Being garrulous
himself, and lacking dignity to the extent
that he talked at all times and on every
subject, he could not understand why any
one else should find silence to be dignifed
and discreet. Every one in Washington
during the last session of Congress will re-
member the ''too unanimous" manner in
which he made his chatty presence felt.
One strain-the necessity OF reuniting the
party, of persuading Grant to speak, Of
harmonizing everything and everybody,
anu Vi dlldN
ally poured from his lips into the ears of
friend and foe alike. Sam Bowles, of the
Springfield Republican,; Henry Watterson,
of the Louisville Courier Journal. White
law Reid, of the New York Tribune, and
perhaps Murat Halsted, Of the Cincinnati
Commercial, all open and syowed enemies
of the Republican party, and some of them
traitors or deserters from It's folds, were
his confdants. Through their pens into
the columns of their cynical and unscrupu-
lous journals, and thence with somewhat
demoralizing effect to the public, he filtered
his fears, anxieties and gloomy prophecies.
He made this somewhat famous qusdrilat-
erel his organ in everything the word or
gan implies. Forgetting that he was the
creature of accident and assuming in his
abundant self conceit that he had won ais
spurs as President Grant won his by actual
aAd brilliant services to the country, he be-
came ambitions of debating the policy of
his party, and to succeed in this ambition
was foolish enough to take issue with some
of its wisest and most experienced leaders
regarding vital points of legislation in
tended to remedy the unfortunate condition
of affairs in the Southern States. He ad-
mitted that the conspiracy to strike
from the constitutions of those States all
acknowledgment of the superior authority
of the General Government had obtained
strong foothold and was in danger of
being successful. But, without suggesting
any other remedial method, he Joined the
cahal which claimed that the proposed leg
islation then pending for that purpose was
an adroit subterfuge to secure the success
of the Third Term project. Ignoring Pres


ident Grants patriotic record, and refusing
to recognize in it any assurance of patriotic
service in the future, he willfuly turned
his back upon the cOlored and white Re-
publicans of the South who had aided so
materially in his elevation to his present
office, and clasped hands with the men who
were engaged in a selfish and villainous
scheme to overthrow the power of the Ad-
ministration. Inshort, he became the earn
est adviser of the worst enemies of the
Republican party because they were insid-
iously at work within its ranks to secure
the destruction of its consistency, or out
side of its ranks to secure the destruction
of its principles. He probably did
not appreciate his course in this light
and is therefore entitled to the credit %
Of being mistaken. But, now that the
Third Term ghost has been sllayed, it may
be explained that his policy then seemed
to be to destroy the chances of President
Grant becoming a candidate for renomi-
nation. This scheme was favored by
others than Mr. Wilson, and the methods
resorted TO for that purpose were of the
most questionable character, including
covert or 'muttered- under-the- breath"
efforts to force into existence an anti-Ad-
ministration party in Congress.


Since then Mr.. Wilson has been on his
travels, and, as usual, has talked and talked
to everybody, talked about everything, and
in short talked as only he can talk. The
numerous incidents of his journey were
duly reported, and were the occasion of
comment by THE NATIONAL REPUBLICAN
and other journals. He assumed that in a
brief six weeks he saw and learned every
thing that could be seen and learned re-
garding the condition of affairs in the South.
While in Missouri he discovered things to
be lovely, as he did everywhere else,
simply because some of the people came for
ward and welcomed him with courteous hos
pitalitY, and because they assured him of
a kindly interest in his affairs or of for
getfulness of the past. But at that very
moment the Missouri Constitutional Con-
vention was taking significant action re-
garding the question of the right of seces-
sion. A resolution to the effect that neither
State or the Federal Government has the
constitutional right to dissolve the Union
was rejected by the convention by vote
of 4s TO "a decided vote affirming the
right of State to secede. This startling
fact, showing the untrustworthiness of his
observations, was also commented upon. In
answer to these comments he has written
letter, which we print elsewhere this morn
ing, as we have always printed his some.
what numerous communications regarding
himself and the South. In that letter, how