EDITORIAL NOTES.
MR. DANA'S NEW VIEW OF MEN AND EVENTS OF THE WAR.
In the chapter of his "Reminiscences" printed in this number, Mr. Dana changes the field of his activities from Vicksburg to Chattanooga. He is the same keen observer and frank reporter as before. On the way he has a curious meeting with Andrew Johnson, which he describes with full appreciation of its picturesqueness; and at his new post he comes into the closest relations with Rosecrans, Thomas, and Garfield. Again his story proves that but for the publication of these "Reminiscences," which Mr. Dana himself regarded so indifferently, most important and interesting parts of the history of the war would never have been told. Indeed, no such contribution has been made to it since the publication of Grant's "Memoirs." Mr. Dana was, as Lincoln said, "the eyes of the government at the front." Whatever these eyes saw, Mr. Dana's pen at once recorded, without distortion or reservation; and Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Stanton placed the greatest dependence on his reports, often shaping their policy regarding the most important matters in accordance with them. "Your telegrams," wrote Mr. Stanton to him on June 5, 1863, when Mr. Dana was reporting from Vicksburg, "are a great obligation, and are looked for with deep interest. I can not thank you as much as I feel for the service you are now rendering." The following passage from a letter written recently to the editor of the Magazine by General James H. Wilson, Mr. Dana's intimate friend during and since the war, shows how close Mr. Dana's acquaintance always was with the men and matters of which he wrote:
"It was my good fortune to serve with the armies Mr. Dana visited as special commissioner. We told him the worst, but the whole truth, of everybody and everything that could be found out, and then showed him the strength and the virtue of Grant, and the vital importance of strengthening his hands and of supporting and assisting him in the great work he had undertaken. We rode thousands of miles together. In his own field of work during the great rebellion he rendered the most valuable service to the government, and especially to the meritorious generals of the army. His services to Grant were, in my judgment, decisive as to his career, inasmuch as they secured for him the unhesitating support of the Secretary of War and the President at a time when, if it had gone against him, his career must have ended. He was not merely a commissioner to headquarters, but was willing at every cost and every risk, whether of death in battle or capture by the enemy, to go with me to see and learn for himself. No government was ever more ably or gallantly represented than ours was by Charles A. Dana, and the worthy men of the army never had a better friend or a more earnest advocate than he was. Finally, he enjoyed the absolute respect and confidence of every surviving officer of merit who came in contact with him in the days of the rebellion.
"His reminiscences cannot fail to be a most valuable contribution to the history of the period in which he played such an important part, and I congratulate McClure's Magazine on its good fortune in obtaining them."
Colonel A. K. McClure, editor of the Philadelphia "Times," is another man who was thoroughly acquainted with Mr. Dana and his work during the war. We received from him, on the first announcement of Mr. Dana's papers, the following note:
"I am delighted to notice that you have got from Dana some chapters on his connection with the War Department during the Civil War. He is the one man who knows most about the inside war movements and has said least of all the men connected with the government, and I have many times urged him to write his recollections."
A MEMORIAL EDITION OF THE WORKS OF HENRY GEORGE.
The friends of the late Henry George have felt that the best monument that could be raised to his memory would be a fine and dignified edition of his works, one which would preserve his writings in lasting and fitting form. Such an edition has now been undertaken by Mr. George's publishers, the Doubleday and McClure Co., in cooperation with Mrs. George. Besides the books already published and "The Science of Political Economy" (the last work written by Mr. George), the edition will include a volume of hitherto uncollected miscellaneous writings and the authorized biography, the latter to be written by Mr. George's son, Mr. Henry George, Jr. There will be ten volumes in all (printed by the DeVinne Press), with several photogravure portraits, etc., including a fine reproduction of the bust by Richard F. George. Only 1,000 sets will be issued, each one numbered.
"THE POET NANSEN."
A recent article in the Chicago "Inter-Ocean" bearing the above title says: "Certain words and phrases will cling tenaciously in the memory of thousands who have heard Dr. Nansen recount the thrilling story of his expedition as evidence of the poetic strain in the hardy scientific explorer.
"The inspiring ring with which he pronounced 'Forward' as the English translation of the name of his ship gave an uplift to his auditors. Then, when the company feared lest the ice pressure would crush the good ship's sides and so slept upon the ice, there was a wealth of suggestion in the simple statement: 'But the ship was stronger than our faith in her.' No picture of the solemn white stillness of the North could be more vivid than the words, 'The peace of a thousand years rests there.'
"A climax to the stirring story was the motto, fit for all humanity, or to be graven in stone at the base of a statue to the son of the vikings: 'To struggle and seek, to find, and never to yield."
