President Grant's Little Story.

Manawatu Standard, Volume IX, Issue 91, 20 March 1885, Page 4

President Grant's Little Story.

"By the t ;way, 7 ' he ; went on, " I remember an incident that clearly! iUustEa|es, his , (General Qran£s)| character. , When I was Secretary; of the Navy some hundreds of the sailors of the better class came to me and asked to have some rank; given; them.' 'They •didh l> t; care 'about' 1 an increase. of pay, they said, but' they wanted, .relative ran&. „ ■ , ; 1 v "I coukPntdo anything for tliem] but they came several times, and ■we're rather importunate, and i finally le(J a delegation of them over I'o the "White House' and let thqm present iheir petition to. president Gtant m. person. . They told, him what they wanted^ and urged for a redress' of theTr' 'grievances ' plainly j " AUasti!an;,olp boatswain came to the front, and • hitching up his trousers arid turning over his incumj. bant quid, he said ; ' Mr President, I can put this' 'ere matter ' so's yoti can see it plain. Now,, here 1 heft parent ; m fact, a" ;fa|her. My son is a midshipman^ He outranks me, ddja't you obser^k i j,io?hat aint rightj^dn"t^you see-?/ ;ij^ | " 'i|ii4ee.d, r said -.'Craftt, ' who ap-poinieU-him a^middy fY! i •' . " • The s Secretary here,'-tlie bo^uli said ;. and encp.uriaffiep! by tjie quedtion'he' went -"btt " «' It 7 afn h t righ(, %&ss?#' &§l -Ihat^l #&i# Jg% neath im ?, , W.hy. ef I was to gio' onto his shif , ibo^ I brought up tpipbejenc^i would boss, „ his own father! Just ;think of that ! Xn r lie has better quarters'n me, and better ;grub, nice: furq]turei an? . , $$< that ; sleeps m a^nice^oftt becPn all that. See? 1 ' ■ ... ; i: jft^^Yesj-'ithe ■•' President;.^-gaid; *ye^,' r the ; *orldis'full of inequalities. I know of a case- quite similar t° "T;lifi old bosun chuckle^ quietly, andgave another hitch to his lower .gearA v .... ;\ \ si -^ i ,. n , J - ! ui l know, of an o^d fellow,' sa^d Gen. Orahtj 1<: W bo v is postmaster jof a little town m Kentucky . He Jivies m a plain way, m a Ismail house. He is a nice bid man, but he isn't jmuch :Jn, rank. , ; His ison iputranjcs him more than yorir son does you. >'His S9ndives m Washing^n, .iftthe biggest house there, and he is siirirounide^ by the pices|, .pf, furniture, aud eats and anything he .takesia nptipn ,tQ. He, could, remove : ihis .'father', from, officl m'• a . minute if he,i;wante4 to. As\d,,the old man->-that?s . Jesse. ; Gr^nt, M you know^ — doesn't seem to „cay& about the inequality m rank,. 1,-, suppose lie is glad to see his boy get- along, in tfae world:' , • ■** The 1 old bo'suh looked down at the carpet and tried to bore a hole m it with his toe, and his comrades all laughed /at-, him joyously, ahd ■ slapped him on . the back, and filted o ut m great glee. It was the last I ever heard of the petition or the petitioners. The old: bosun flung' | his q'widinto a cuspidor as he left. :! Proba bly he had concluded to give 1 up thi?/l'ing*"