The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1870-05-26
President Grant Insults General
Hancock.

| IL one of the most distinguished and patri
otic officers of the army, We hope we may
| be able to speak in measured language. and
to keep within the limits of that decorum
which public journal would wish to OBJ
serve towards the chief magistrate Of the
country.
The pure character and brilliant services
of General Hancock, and the unusual esteem
in which he is held by his countrvmen.
should at least protect him from superclilous
nsolence. lie participated in almost every
important battle which was fought east of
the Aleghanies, and in all the palptating
reports which came from those bloody
fields to stir and thrill the hearts Of the
people in all the numerous histories OF the
war which cooler and more critical writers
have gwen to the public. General Hancock
has stood in the foreground one OF the
most prominent ard most admired figures on
the canvas. His character is adorned with
every soldierly virtue. All the successive
commanders of the Army of the Potomac
Mcclellan. Meade, Burnsi 'e. Hooker. aud
Grant himself-leaned on him as one OF
their chief supports. He was always alert.
vigorous, dashing. capable, selfpos' esSed.
judicious never blundering, never courtlng
applause by any species Of charlataDry.
never shrinking from any responsibility
Justify the confidence and exceed the eX
pectations Of his superior fficers. He pre-
sented one Of the rarest combinations of
modest reserve and brilliant services in the
whole army. None of our distinguished
officers, not even General Meade, would
have seemed so secure against any kind of
insult. And yet General Hancock has been
insulted insulted by person from whom
insult was least to have been expected, the
commander chief Of all our armies.
Some time since, General Hancock wrote
to Lieutenant General Sherman, iDquiring
why he was not promoted to the position
made vacant by the death of General Thom-
as, which belonged to him in the order of
precedence. His letter was shown to Presi-
dent Grant, who dictated the substance of
the reply. Shortly afterwards. General
Hancock received from the Lieutenant Gem
eral curt answer corchcd in the following
insulting terms
- am requested by the President to inform
you that there as nothing iR your personal
- official relations to his administration. that
. could Justify your pronaotiOn noe, or lead
$ you to erpect ii hereafter"
Even if the President had determined TO
ignore the Just claims of this distinguished
hition Of insulting insolence? He might
have closed the door against General Han
cock without slamming it so rudely IN his
face. A cold, stiff civility would have been
! irritating enough. without a display of
! spiteful personal feeling, or a gratultous
I threat to obstfuct General Hancock S rise in
( the army so long AS President Grant re-
mains in power. No other President than
Grant would have thus grati6ed his personal
malignity at the expense of official decOrum.
/ Any other President, even if he could have
acted on so ignUbe motive, would have
! had the decencv TO veil it under the specb'uS
! forms OF official etiquette. An answer
I might easily have been made to General
Hancock, which, while extinguishing his
| hopes, would not have stung his pride or
wounded his sensibiIities. But the Presi
! dent could not restrain himself from offering
! an affront aud the sharp pen of General
| Sherman gave terseness and point to the
! insult.
| So far as we can recollect, this is the fist
/ time that General Grant has authorized an
expression in writing of the principles or
/ which he makes his appointments, and of the
! extension of those principles to promotions
! in the army. He does not regard his power
as public trust to be administered for the
public advantage, but as a species of private
property, which he uses to reward personal
/ services. discharge obligations OF personal
! gratitude and wreak personal vengeance on
! those whom he hates or disllkes. La his be-
! stowal Of civil offices, he has notoriously
acted on this assumption. His most im~
portant civil appointments have been re
! uuitals for those gifts Of houses or money
which a fastidious selfrespect would have
! prevented his taking Mt all, and which men
yp & ApIr
johnson, would have scorned to receive, and
have felt it degradation to reward by the
prostitution of a public trust. Political
usage authorizes the bestowal of civil offices
as reward for party services but General
Grant has disregarded party claims, and
distributed his patronage on grounds of mere
personal favoritism. Neither partisan nor
personal considerations ought to have any
influence on promotions in the army. When
the country is engaged i'll war, all party
distinctions should be sunk in a common
sentiment of patriotism; and as officers of
the army are expected to fight with equal
zeal for any administration by which war
may happen to be declared. it is absurd to
exact from them any other allegiance than
an allegiance to the country. Military
merit and the efficiency of the service should
be the sole ground Of military prom otion.
But President Grant refuses to General Han
cock the promotion which is due to him,
both in the order of precedence and for dis
tiuguished sci vices, because There is moth
ing in his personal relations to General
Grant" which entities him to the favor or
partialty of that funcrionaryI He is told
that General Grants personal dislike is a
fatal bar, now and for all future time, to a
recognition of his claims
The grounds of General Grants malignant
hostility to this brilliant and esteemed off
GER. are best understood by himself. All that
the public know is that Hancock was sta
toned at St. Louis at a time when he and
his family were for years witnesses oi
Grants daily degradation in the streets OF
that city that he wrote noble letter in
defence of civil rights when he was one OF
the commanders in the South under the