The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1876-07-26
TILDEN AND REFORM.
Frank w. Bird. the Founder of
the Republican Party, En-
phatica1Iy Endorses the
st. Louis Ticket. =

Faneuil, in support of the st. Louis
nominees and the platform on which
they stand, upon the return Of the
Massachusetts delegation, the pre-
siding officer, Judge Woodbury., said
it had been expected that T. w.
Bird would be present and tell what
Liberal Republicans thinks about
Tflden and Hendricks. But he was
iii and sent the following letter,
which was mighty sharp, smart and
biting, and would do any one good
who should read it in the morning {:
~ EAST WALPoLE, July 10, 1876.
AIessrs Charles Levi woodbury., Thomas I. jerks
and George P Baldwin, Committee, &c.
GENTLEMEN / have the honor to
acknowledge the receipt of your in
vitation to address the ratification
meeting at Faneuil Hall on Thurs
day evening. / very much regret
that my health is such that cannot
accept it. 1t would give me great
pleasure to join with my colleagues
to the St. Louis Convention in rem.
dering an account of our steward
ship. The result, whatever agency
Massachusetts may have had in it,
is one of which every true friend of
reform may well be proud. Our
candidate for the Presidency realizes
our Massachusetts, ideal of a Demo
cratic ruler; the candidate for the
Vice-Presidency, not perhaps quite
up to that ideal, is yet statesman
Of pure life, of tried capacity and a
spotless public record. I should be
glad to be with you in the old
cradle to give a few of the reasons
for giving my hand and heart to the
ticket; but, for a while at least, /
must school myselfto silence. do
not see how any sincere and earnest
friend of reform can hesitate be-
tween the candidates presented by
the two parties, especially when the
party supporting each is considered
/ am sure [ do not look at the ques-
ton as a partisan. In May last a
meeting of notables was held at the
Fifth Avenue Hotel, in New York,
to consider the duties of American
citizens in the ensuing campaign
They were gentlemen of the highest
character and of the most unselfish
motives. AS to their practical wis
dom in affairs, there may be some
difference in public opinion; but
there is no difference upon this point,
that they were capable of forming
the highest ideal of a President and
capable of clearly describing that
ideal. This they certainly did in
their address to the country. After
describing the condition of public af-
fairs to which Republican misrule
has brought us, they describe the
candidate needed 'sOur duty in
this respect is plain and imperious;
it suffers not trifiing or equivocatiou |
the WORKOUT clap-trap affairof prom
ises in party platforms VIII not sat |
isfy it. Neither will mere fine pro-
fession on the part of candidates;
not mere words are needed, but acts;
not mere platforms but men," These
would well describe Bristow or Til
den; does Hayes meet their require
ments? Again, they say. I'VE shall
support no candidate who, however
favorably judged by his nearest
friends, is not publicly known to
possess those qualities of mind and
character which the stern task of
genuine reform requires, &c. If
this was not designed as a sketch of
Mr.. Hayes, it surely describes him
and his position. Again. they ask,
"Can he (the candidate) with GER
tainty be depended on to possess
the moral courage and steady reso-
luton to grapple with abuses which
have acquired the strength Of estab-
lished custom, and to this end firm
ly. resist the pressure even of his
party friends ?" This means Bris-
tow or Tilden. They repudiate the
availability which consists in this !.
"That the candidate be neitL 81
bad as to repel good o,t;1ans 40 nor 20
good as to d. o LUZ rs 80 ~ - ;,
Anden's nomination discourages
the Tammany and canal rings. We
do not yet learn that Mr. Hayes's
nomination discourages any of the
rings which have made this Admin
istration infamous. They clinch
their whole argument with the fol-
lowing: THE man to be intrusted
with the Presidency this year must
have deserved not only the conf
dence Of honest men, but also the
fear and hatred of thieves. He who
manages to cultivate the thieves
cannot be the candidate for honest
men. Every American citizen who
has the future of the republic and
the national honor seriously at heart
should solemnly resolve that the
country must now have a President
whose name is already a watchword
of reform; whose capacity and
courage for the work are matters of
record rather than of PROMISE &c.
This perfectly fits Mr.. Tilden. Does
it fit Mr.. Hayes? And yet most of
our independent friends in hot
haste proclaim their adhesion to
the Republican party solely on the
ground of 'the worn-out clap-trap
affair of promises in party plat
FORMS" and of ''mere fine professions
on the part of candidates" Not (
only this; but they propose to enter
the canvass under the lead of
Zach Chandler man repudiated
by the Republican party Of his own
State, and elected Hayes, apparent
ly solely because he is member OF
Grants Cabinet. Never before.
think, was Cabinet Minister placed
at the hand of q National Commit
tee in Presidential campaign; but
this Administration makes its own !
presidents, and it certainly is very
for the party which In
3orsaa Gannral Grants Adnninisfya