Life — November 17, 1898 — page 6: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

«LIFE * grievance aguinst the East, upon which ho looks as a buge ogro with a distinct and vicious prejudico against tho rest of the country, From Fort Donelson to the final review at the end of the war, the West spreads itself through this story as something of which Grant was typical, and which, at tho end, cleaned up the Rebellion without making any fuss about it. The ragged but busi- ness-liko look of Sherman's army as it passed in roview Is to Mr. Garland typical of tho great West—doing things, but not caring much for style. Recont events have pretty well blotted out any illusions as to tho basic differenco between East and West, either as soldiers or as citizens, We aro all pretty much alike—given to fighting bravely and persistently when that is required of us; prone to kick at tho shortcomings of officials; a little bit vain of ouraccomplishments, and not very discreet in expressing our opinions, East or West, white or black, our soldiers in the mass showed the common human traits—tho only thing that stood out plain and clear being that the man who had studied the business loug and arduously wasa much better soldier than the man who picked it up for patriotism or adventure. * . . HE biography, a8 a whole, shows the right kind of hero- worship, but no trace of an effort to whitewash the subject. Grant is a very real man as Mr. Garland pictures him—well witbin the comprehension of simple minds—and all the moro to be admired for his simplicity. The author, it seems to us, fails in truo perspective by exagger- ~ “TL SAY, ME BOY, WHAT'S THE DISTANCE TO THE HOLE, DONTCUERKNOW ft" “TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE YARDS, 81m." “go Rasy! Do IT IN TWO, DONTCHERKNOW, JUST A * YONG DRIVE, AND A PUT." HIS is a good time to read over again the big things accom- plished by General Grant. Anyone who turns from an account of Shafter’s Santingo campaign to a perusal of the “ Life and Char- acter of U.8. Grant" (Doubleday & McClure), by Hamlin Garland, will have a realizing senso of the smaliness of the war against Spain, The battle of San Juan would hardly fill a page in the lifo of Grant, and might stand a show of gettingintoa footnote, Grant occasionally lost more men in a single battle than were in Shafter’s entire army, and yet won the battle! Tho best life of General Grant is, and always will be, bie own “Personal Memoirs"—but there are many things that a man, especially a great man, can’t say about himself, either with good taste or good judgment. Mr. Garland has supplied some of these in an entertaining way. Ho displays the novelist’s fondness for the dramatic contrasts in Grant's career, rather than a military stu- dent's interest in Grant's strategy. It is the great gure ina human drama, and not the great Commander, who is pictured in theso pages. ECAUSE Grant was a product of the West, he is an especially Caddy (the batt having been driven about Afteen feel): AND NOW congenial theme for Mr, Garland, who for years has had a FOR A H-1L OF 4 PUT. Ccomicbooks.com