Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1878-02-13

in their antagonism to Hayes, ignore
every other feature of the situation.
l believe was one of the first per-
sons to whom Burke confided his
views as to the necessity of q com.
and ! know that he did not
wholly abandon his hope Of demo-
cratic success until Hewitt made that
foolish speech in reply to Henry
Watterson. After that he said It was
no use, the tide was all setting one
way, and the only thing the South
could do was to save its local gov
ernments from the deluge. This
view pervaded the Southern repre-
sentation in Washington, ana formed
a soil in which the seed Of Hayes let
ter to Foster sproutcd easily and
grew rapidly.
The text of the letter was cir
culated, and the Southern men
held several informal confer.
ences at various places, the net result
ofwhich was the conference at Worm-
ley's between those Southern Demo-
Gratis and those friends of Hayes
whose names Mr.. Foster mentions in
the interview printed yesterday. /
speak of "the conference at Worm
ley's," because the phrase has come to
have an accepted significance. In
point of fact, however, there never
was any set conference" from which
any decisive script of agreement"
resulted. The volume of newspaper
talk about "that conference at Worm
ley's", and "that agreement, sealed,
and delivered" is
MAGNIFICENT wooF OF FICTION
woven upon meagre web Of fact.
There were many conferences" all
informal, and oil devoted to oral in
terchange of views, convictions, and
condolences between representatives
of the Democracy and friends of Mr..
Hayes. There was no written agree
ment. Mr.. Burke drew memoran-
dunn, or the minutes of pouyparler
as they say in diplomacy, formulating
the Southern understanding of the
propositions and pledges as to South
ern policy which the friends of Mr..
Hayes had orally advanced. This
memorandum, which was read at a
conference at Wormley's, which has
no other claim to the distinction of
the conference than the fact that the
memorandum was then and there
read, with the inquiry, els this what
you mean ?" and with the reply from
Hayes friends, eyes, substantially"
Garfield is said to have made sup
Elementary memorandum embodying
certain dissents of his own from the
form of the document, but not from
its vital substance. But the main
point is, that this much exploited
document" wasnotbing more than a
memorandum reciting the Southern
understanding of the scope and pur-
port of assurances made verbally by
Foster and other friends of Hayes,
which assurances may be summarized
in an expression written BY Mr..
Hayes himself to one of those friends,
to-wit: That, if inaugurated Presi-
dent, he would not employ the forces
of the United States, physical or NOR
al, to sustain or prop up any State
Government which was not sustained
or acquiesced to by the mass of the
people of the State itself,-or words
to that effect.
THERE WAS NO BARGAIN.
The Southern men accepted the honor
of Charles Foster and Stanley Mat
thews as q guarantee for the good
faith of Hayes, without collateral Sc
curity of any kind; and, on the
strength of that guarantee. they resis-
ted the policy of f1libustering, allow
ed the count to proceed, accepted the
decisions of the Electoral Commits
sion, and acquiesced in the inaugural
ton of the President who was count
ed in. They would not so have &C.
cepted the honor of John Sherman or
of Garfield, however; and those two
worthless were not at any time reck-
oned as responsible characters in the
drama, but were cast as supes. Fos-
ter and Matthews were held sponsors
for Hayes, and nobody else was re-
garded by the Southern men as speak
ing for him with either sincerity or
authority. The letter of Hayes to
Foster was the sole link that connec-
ted the former personally with the
transaction. 1t was the basis of the
understanding. 1t was the text of
political Scripture from which Mat
thews and Foster preached their
glowing sermons of peace and good
will. Undoubtedly they both went
wide of its verbiage and long of it's
spirit in their own applications Of the
letter and their translations of Hayes
views, but they made no promises
which Mr.. Hayes has not made his
tory of.
1t is not necessary to reproduce the
text of either the letter or its explain
atory memorandum. The conditions
of both have been fulfilled, and the
public can read them in the events
which marked the first three months
of the Administration of Mr.. Hayes.
say this letter was the sole link, on
the authority of Mr.. Hayes himself,
who declares that, from the day of his
defeat at the polls to that of his in
auguration, he never wrote q line or
a word by mail, by messenger, or by
telegraph, in any manner bearing
upon the count or calculated to influ-
ence action, official or personal, ex-
cept that letter to Foster; and here
by challenge the production of any
such document by anybody whomso-
ever, in Mr.. Hayes handwriting or
by his sanction. A.C. B.