Middletown transcript., 1876-05-20
Letter from Washington. .
wAsHrsaros,' D. G., May le, 1876.

from the jaws Of defeat. As an army
correspondent during the war. l had al
opportunity, on more than one battle
field, to observe bis gallant bearing
/ shall never forget, when the cannon'
volleyed and thundered at the last day
battle on Gettysburg heights. will
what cslmnsss and intrepidity Hancocl
held his second corps, which stood tbe
brunt Of Lees assaults for four long
dreadful hours. up to its work. True,
the Union ranks would sway and
| waver, and sometimes fall back before
the terrific onslaughts Of Lees legio Is
but, encouraged by the presence of their
commanding General, who rode, sword
in hand, up and down the line, entreat-
ing them to hurl back the enemy. the
men invariably rallied, and regained
their former position. Finally. the
General received terrible wound in
the thigh. and. pale and bleeding. was
carried under tree on the battlefield
where be established his headquarters,
refusing to be taken to the rear until
after the contest had been decided |
saw Hancock again at Spotsylvania
Court House. one foggy morning.
twelve years ago, just after be bad
made bis famous charge in which be
captured 5000 prisoners, among whom
were the Confederate Generals Stewart
and Edward johnson and again, after
wards, in the bloody scenes around
Petersburg which formed the prelude
to the surrender at Appomattox and
in every instance he displayed skill
and gallantry as commander, which
won for him the admiration Of the en-
tire Army of the Potomac And yet.
many Of those who admire Hancock
most question the propriety Of bis nom !.
ination at St. Louis. on the ground
that, while his record as soldier is
untarnished, and his devotion to Dem
ocratic principles nnquestioned, he has
had no experience in the administration
Of civil affairs to qualify him for the
proper discharge Of the high and i'm
portant duties Of Chief Executive. A
prominent Democratic representative in
Congress said to ne, the other day,
when Hancock was mentioned as can
didate, 1--WE can't afford it, Hancock is
a good man. and a strong man in many
respects; but we want no more men
on horseback The country has had
enough Of Grantism to make it disgust
ed at the bare suggestion Of the nomi-
nation Of another military man. We
have enough good men like Tilden.
Thurman, Bayard. Hendricks, and
others, in the ranks of civil life, with
out going to the army for q candidate.
THE PRESIDENCY.
The organ Of the White House Ring
boldly announces that the Republicans
expect to elect the next President, be
cause it will be impossible, on account
Of sectional differences, for the Demo-
cratic party to unite on any candidate
Who can be elected It asserts that the
Democracy can be relied on to make
mistakes enough to insure its defeat
tbs good policy to find cut what your
enemy wants you to do. and then-not
to do 1t. And this is just what the
Democratic party is going to do. Itis
not to be denied that mistakes have
been made in the past; and it is very
certain that our opponents would like
to have US make more in the future
In this, however, it is safe to assume.
they are doomed to disappointment. If
the spirit which animates the reprcsen-
atives Of the Democracy one me is at
Washington. and the tone Of the Press
throughout the country, are to be taken
as indications of party sentiment, there
never was more earnestness manifested.
or greater determination, to sacrifice
all other considerations to success This
is especially the case with the South.
which has no Presidential candidate of
its own to urge, and only asks that the
nominee shall be the man who can draw
the largest support from the Liberals
and Independents Tilden's strength
in the Southland almost every South
ern State is claimed for him-comes
solely from the knowledge Of bis
strength in the doubtful States Of the
East. without whose votes neither party
can elect its candidate. Either Bayard
or Hendricks would be preferred, on
personal grounds, by many Southerners
who are pronounced Tiiden men. They
argue that if we carry New York, New
Jersey and Connecticut, we can sue
ceed without Indiana and Ohio; but
that, if we carry the last named States
and lose New York. we shall be de-
feated. Liberal Republicans like Gen.
eral Banks, and also the Democratic
members Of Congress from Massachu-
setts, assert that Tilden would even
carry that State; and these assertions
have had great weight with Southern
men here. These are simple facts. If
the assumptions are false. they should
be met at once. It will not do for the
party to make mistake; and there is
no doubt rs to the drift Of Southern
opinion now.
1.-THE OLD MAN" IMPATIENT
Almost everybody in Washington
knows and speaks Of Grant as "the old
man." The term originated at the
White House with some Of the messen-
gers or clerks, several years ago. and
now the employees there invariably refer
to the President as "the old man.
Sam Bard, (Which was postmaster" at
Georgia, who has a world
wide reputation as a newspaper starter
and an inveterate third-termer, was
wont to affectionately style Grant "the
old man," before the latter dispossessed
him of bis Office "Ah," be used to
say, with sly wink, when efforts were
being made to oust him, .me and the
old man are hunkydory. Why, you
don't know how intimate we are! I
seldom 60 up to the White House dur
n1 n{4,no houre o1uovc coll ooo;o11v