OCR Text |
Show GRANT AND JOHNSON. The statement of Mr. Chauncey M. Depew concerning the relations of General Gen-eral Grant and President Johnson; and how Johnson at first wanted to hang all who had been in arms against the Union and how Grant was against it, has succeeded suc-ceeded in creating a furore. Mr. Depew's statement is vouched for by some, and by some it is denied and doubted. As has been suggested by some newspapers, why was not all of this brought out at the time of the impeachment of Johnson? Colonel Fred Grant essays to give an explanation of this matter, and his explanation ex-planation is about as , clear as mud. A special to the Tribune says : It had been asked, he said, by the Herald, why this aotion of General Grant had not been brought up at the impeachmrnt trial? He said he knew of no reason definitely, but he did know that the General was very much opposed to the. impeachment proceedings, and that his father had told him that one great difficulty that oocupied the minds of the thoughtful men at that time, was as to who was to take Johnson's place, if he were impeached. . The worry of thoughtful men as to who would take Johnson's -place if he were impeached is rich, in fact altogether too rich for most men. At the' time the attempt at-tempt was made to impeach Johnson the great majority of the party in power were never very much troubled as to who should succeed a man whom they desired to remove. Why did not the thoughtful men think of this before the attempt to impeach Johnson was made ? Colonel Grant further said: He knew of no documents in existence that were absolutely oorroborative of the facts of the conversation that Depew had with his father, but he had no doubt thai there were some public men yet living, who were contemporaneous with the period referred re-ferred to, and who were made acquainted privately with the action of Johnson. . It is strange that only yesterday Col. Grant did not know of any "documents in existence that were absolutely corroborative corrob-orative of the facts of the conversation that Depew had with his father," when only last Tuesday he wrote Mr. Depew as follows: r V Mx Deab Mb. Depew: I am in receipt of your letter and thank you for your response to my request. I have read your account with great interest. It is substantially correct, cor-rect, and I have been able to verify the facts from documents, letters and personal recol- I lections. . Very truly yours, ' F. D. Gbaot. j In this letter he plainly and without hesitation says: "I have been : able to verify the facts from documents, letters and personal recollections." These accounts ac-counts don't agree, and it will be a very hard task to make them do so. The man who knows all about it now is said to be General Sherman, and. he t "declines to answer." In his Memoirs" he was outspoken out-spoken enough, and he,did not mince his words about men -or matters. All will readily recall his words about Joe Hooker and Lookout Mountain. ' "Whether the force of public clamor will succeed in making General Sherman speak, time' alone can tell. Had he the volubility of his brother John ! But the end of this controversy about Grant and Johnson is not yet. The Louisville Courier-Journal will publish General Grant's testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on July 7, 1867, and then the public may judge whether or not Johnson was such a traitor and scoundrel as Mr. Depew paints him in relating his conversation with General Grant. In his testimony before the; House Committee General Grant no doubt told all he knewl General Grant frame and greatness cannot be j added to by trying to belittle President Johnson. |