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_From the “Seattle Press.”_
ONE of the brightest men in America passed away on Monday. Henry W.
Grady, the editor of the Atlanta _Constitution_, Georgia’s leading
paper, and which has come to be regarded by many as the ablest paper in
the South, had within a very brief period impressed his personality upon
the current history of the nation. Five years ago he was little more
than locally known. Being a guest at a dinner of the New England Society
at Boston, he made a speech which was the happiest inspiration and
effort of his life. It was the right word spoken at the right time. It
lifted him at once to the dignity of a national figure. It was the
greeting of the New South to the new order of things. It touched the
great heart of the North by its warm tribute to the patriotism and
faithfulness of the martyred President, Abraham Lincoln, being the first
Southern utterance which did full justice to the memory of that great
man. It was not a sycophantic nor an apologetic speech, but the voice of
one who accepts accomplished results in their fullness, recognizes all
the merits of his opponent, and bravely faces the future without
heart-burnings or vain regrets. Mr. Grady’s speech was published in
almost every paper in the land, in whole or in part, and, to borrow an
old phrase, “he woke up one morning and found himself famous.” Since
then all that he has written, said or done has been in the same line of
patriotic duty. He has been no apologist for anything done by the South
during the war. He never cringed. He was willing that he and his should
bear all the responsibility of their course. But he loved the whole
reunited country, and all that he spoke or wrote was intended to advance
good feeling between the sections and the common benefit of all.
Mr. Grady was a partisan, but in the higher sense. He never descended to
the lower levels of controversy. His weapon was argument, not abuse. And
he was capable of rising above his party’s platform. He could not be
shackled by committees or conventions. He nervily and consistently
proclaimed his adhesion to the doctrine of protection to American
industry, although it placed him out of line with his party associates.
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