THE GREELEY CAMPAIGN-1872 173 



and quietly took the responsibility of allowing the sol- 

 diers of the Southern army to return with their horses 

 to their fields to resume peaceful industry. These 

 statesmanlike qualities were developed more and more 

 by the great duties and responsibilities of the Presi- 

 dency. His triumph over financial demagogy in his vetoes 

 of the Inflation Bill, and his triumph over political dema- 

 gogy in securing the treaty of Washington and the Ala- 

 bama indemnity, prove him a statesman worthy to rank 

 with the best of his predecessors. In view of these evi- 

 dences of complete integrity and high capacity, and bear- 

 ing in mind various conversations which I had with him 

 'during his public life down to a period just before his 

 death, I feel sure that history will pronounce him not only 

 a general but a statesman in the best sense of the word. 



The renomination of General Grant at the Philadelphia 

 convention was the result of gratitude, respect, and convic- 

 tion of his fitness. Although Mr. Greeley had the support 

 of the most influential presses of the United States, and 

 was widely beloved and respected as one who had borne 

 the burden and heat of the day, he was defeated in obedi- 

 ence to a healthy national instinct. 



Years afterward I was asked in London by one of the 

 most eminent of English journalists how such a thing 

 could have taken place. Said he, "The leading papers of 

 the United States, almost without exception, were in favor 

 of Mr. Greeley; how, then, did it happen that he was in 

 such a hopeless minority 1" I explained the matter as 

 best I could, whereupon he said, " Whatever the explana- 

 tion may be, it proves that the American press, by its wild 

 statements in political campaigns, and especially by its 

 reckless attacks upon individuals, has lost that hold upon 

 American opinion which it ought to have; and, depend 

 upon it, this is a great misfortune for your country. f ' I 

 did not attempt to disprove this statement, for I knew but 

 too well that there was great truth in it. 



Of my political experiences at that period I recall two : 

 the first of these was making the acquaintance at Sara- 



