I have made this plain to you. I do this because I
believe it's best for our country. I assume its full responsibility and
I expect great things of you."
The President bowed and left the astonished General and his still more
astonished aide gazing after his long swinging legs returning to the
White House.
He had done the most unpopular act of his entire administration. His
decision had defied the fiercest popular hostility. He faced a storm of
denunciation which would have appalled a less simple and masterful man.
The Cabinet meeting which followed the startling news was practically a
riot. He listened to all his excited Ministers had to say with
patience. When they had spoken their last word of bitter disapproval he
quietly rose and ended the tumultuous session with two or three
sentences which none could answer:
"There is no one in the army who can man these fortifications and lick
these troops of ours into shape half as well as he can. McClellan is a
great engineer--of the stationary type, perhaps. But we must use the
tools we have! If he cannot fight himself, at least he excels in making
others ready to fight."
He waited for an answer and none came. He had not only averted a Cabinet
crisis but his remorseless common sense and his unswerving adherence to
what he saw was best had strengthened his authority over all his
councillors.
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