The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1876-08-02
What Montgomery Blair Thinks
of Schurz's Position.

| OF SchuTZ>S y fOSlG1Ons
i The following letter has been ad
dressed to Mr.. Raine. proprietor O
the German Correspondent of Balti
more. by Montgomery Blair:
MY DEAR Mr.. RAINE: see thai
Mr.. Schurz has eaten the words oi
his New York pronunciamento,
wherein he said he would support nc
man whose name was not Of itself q
reform platform. and that he consid-
cred ''reform'' the paramount issue
of the day. He could not have CIV
en- a more positive pledge to sup.
port Tilden against any other man
than Bristow than he did in those
words. l confess am disappointed
in the course taken by Mr.. Schurz.
/ never regarded him as possessing
Democratic ideas at all, but | did
think him man of honor, and when
he had committed himself so fully /
did not think he would retreat from
his position upon such pretexts as
he now resorts to. The excuse for
it is that Hendricks is on the Tilden
ticket. and Tilden may die, and he
regards Hendricks as unsound on
the money issue. and the platform
recommends the repeal of so much
OF the Resumption act as fixes 1879
for resuming. AS he does not pre-
tend that resumption can be accom-
plished by that time, and admits
that he opposed the act himself as
impracticable, it is manifest that this
is mere pretext; and this is rem
dered yet more plain when the plat
form in all its parts commits the
Democracy to resumption at the
earliest moment, and when the party
puts at its head the man of all 9th
ers in this country most committed
to the policy of the speediest resump-
ton.
Contrary to the truth as shown by
the proceedings of the convention,
he alleges that Hendricks was nomi-
mated by compromise. Mr.. Hen
dricks's friends voted and worked
against Tilden to the last moment,
and it was said on the Thursday
morning when Hendricks was nomi-
mated that he would not accept, and
such was the belief of Governor Til
denis friends, and. for that reason
another name was agreed upon by
them as the candidate for Vice Pres
ident. How could Governor TiIden's
friends oppose the nomination of
Hendricks if Hendricks's friends
chose to put him up behind Tilden
on the Tilden platform? No decent
man would doubt that Hendricks
would faithfully abidc by that plat
form If, in the providence of God,
he should come into TiIdens office,
as it was interpreted by Ttden and
the convention which adopted it, and
would carry out the reforms and
Hard Money policy to which he is
there committed. This is certainly
a full answer to Schurz's arguments,
founded on the remote contingency
that Hendricks might, by Tilden's
death, become President. But
Schurz made no qualification in his
pledge to support the man whose
name was itself an assurance of re-
form that he should not die. He
knew that there was but one man in
each of the parties whose name and
recent record answered that descrip-
ton and, therefore, when he now
puts in that qualification, it is mani.
festly an afterthought and pretext
for evading the pledge he then gave
the public.
/ heard at st. Louis that Mr..
Schurz did not intend to remain in
this country; that prospects opened
to him in his native land more invit-
ing to his ambition than any now Of
fered here, and that he would prob
ably avail himself of them.
This explains how he can indulge
his vindictiveness towards the party
which superseded him in the Senate,
and separate himself from the great
body of his countrymen in their pres
ent struggle to improve their condi-
tion in their adopted country by re.
ducing the taxation Imposed upon
them, and correcting the abuses of
administration which threaten to
subvert republican government here.
Yours truly. -
MONTGOMERY BLAIR.