New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-09-12


" the whole body of the people of Pennsylvania "
| since his name has been associated with the
| Presidency, mot only boast of their desire 10
| forget that he ever fought for the Govern
| ment at all or if he did that the only
effect of his behavior TO lose his citizenship III
his native State, bur finally that he did nothing out
his duty and that Others had done better or as well
ate inspiration seems be getting confused
| agaln): unjust and malignant politicians vi
| there is ANYTHING Colonel Forney turns from Win
| loathing il is potican) once "clamorous TO oe
first to approve and applaud now show how BAD.
busy. and brutal thew can be-; there is baleful
| theory much insisted upon now." that W.nheld
Scott Hancock deserved no credit for standing by
the Union because he was Democrat, "and there Is
a magn Intmatiou in the party mind to-day to
forget brilliant and unseltish service III
consideration OF this hateful and most discreditable
| suspicion There q malign intlmatl0n III the
! public mind to suspect Mcclellan also OF beng
| Democrat. Nothing in the history OF our civil
war is more interesting than the supposed opinions
| OF the officers Of the Regular Army. General NC
Clellan had to suffer from the suspicion Rd"sTio"S'y
encouraged Jy his ddUsrsdries hat he "ds Dem0crdt
But it must be admitted, III extenuation OF tue
sc,ndalous report, that General Mcclellan gave
some color to it himself. Republicans can find no
! plea for Directing to the election of Hancock as
President except that he is Democrat. rms, SAYS
| Colonel Folncy il a "cqUmny that would have
aroused the utmost Indignation OF Stephen y. Doug
! las. How what citizen, who chershes either OF
these iliusriOus Names remembers thesad laie al
: Abraham Lincoln and the lilusuous career Oh
| Stephen A. DOugias. can remain VITA party VINO
regard General Hancock unworthy because he Is
| a Democrat SURPRISES belief" And ho asks If we
| have any right II say that the Democrats shoud
! not now have their turn at the Government Are
x,4tt
SO God-likc? | think not" Be>iaes, he argues,
without Democrats we should have been
beaten in the civil war" If the Colonel will men
ton III his next edition. jcsO ,cOaM haze boGtCa as
IL that case he viii aud to Tie interest and value Of
his book.
Colonel Forncy has positive ideas in politics. The
Government he thinks ought 10 change It's princ
pcs every few years "Alternation in adminstra-
ton and not mere rotation in office IS the salt Chat
savors and saves at once" Public trusts ought TO
be frequently divided NJ among the people; The
! boys ought to be educated at West Point ana An
napols tbotb; ";he modern maHcians steam and
electricity. add to their individual and general
knowledge: and at the end of every decade the
| citizens have a better knowledge of each other as
well as of the vcmites IN which they were re-
sprctIve|y born and lived" Winch is
beautiful remark. even if its partncncy and clear
ness are UOt al lEdi hilEuu ''C u'o'S'A' N''''''
| FoIucv saws he can understand why statesman
! might c hungeTed for in the Presidential office:
f}u, modern politics to have lost that hish
ideal and the accepted of the hour Is one
trained TO the articles of Washington life, to the
inirgucs of local politics, 10 associations with ques
touabe favortes TO confidential comnlttaIS to
reckless combinations. and to thai dreadful practice
winch. il the hard school of the costly Injuries of
the cap tll and to the guilty expenses, too often
kills and captures mp6cunious politicians. Well
General Hancock is not such man. Here. at least
he falls short Of party crpecfot'on."
On the Alb of July. 1851, Hancock made elo
quent Union speech at Los Angeles, California
| Colonel Forney calls it magnificent and conIa-
geous speech, and is greatly impressed by the mag
| nanimlty and patriotism displayed by the young
officer in standing up for the Union, in a commu-
| nlty where the .mOcIats gen rally Southern
sympathizers and the Republicans were compare
lively few When it delivered" continues
the biographer " he had heard of the preparations
for rebellion but from the North he lad no distinct
information that the dissolution of these States had
been really contcmplated.' This ABSURD mlsstIte-
| ment is contIaicjed by the speech Itself As
| matter of taot news AZ tat time was
carried between New-Yorl and San Francisco,
by telegraph and overland express, in twelve or
fourteen days; and on the 4th Of July. SCI. Cali
forna not only Anew of tne formal orAaniza i0n of
| the Confederate Government, the capture of Fort
Snmtcr Harpers Ferry and the Gosp0rt Navy
Yard. The proclamation OF the blockade and the
Ic>idcn, inst and second calls for troops, but was
actively engaged in eIilis.ing volunteers If Han
cock had failed 10 stand mp for tle Union he would
have been he only Northern officer of the Regular
| Amy who proved capaba OF such biSei as. Ii
show. what Colonel Fo.ncv thinks 0i the Demo
crate party hat he should consider lancock's 10y
! atty under these circumstances worthy of 50
| much cxtravagant remark. l'nt, to tell the
! Truth the speech was not very jhdicious one.
| Uarcccl, aG ressod the socessonists III the tone
winch was common at that tine among the Demo
erals of the North. H promised, if they would
come hack that they should nave all they wanted
exc nj the rignt to secedc. Your rights we viii
respect" sIil he ; "vour Wrongs we will aSsis Won
70 f,drDsS" lnas uucl as the only wrong OF which
they complained was the limitation OF slavery to
the Slave states this is pledge Of when tie
l.s, .aid the bctter Culonc Fouey, however, is
40 doubt much please with it. If there
- one d0c;rlne," hc cries that has tlulnphcd
over all opposition. is tie doctfne that the Pc0ple
Of lie Territories IKE the popIc Of tie States, shall
eijast all their internal oGdirs siarcy iaciadtd.'
tn. war thcrcf re. the part ot the North, was
entirely wrong! JclfcrsonD Davis. and not Abraham
! Lincoln represented the true American principles:
and Mr. Buchanan according to Cn,onc. F,rney.
might havc.sayed the cOa9tTy if ne had more com
pct,lv trusted himself 70 the support OF tie
proud and chivalric wcn of the South !" hr. Bu-
chauan msscI his oip r.unity. But " Hancock
seemed To lave The iniuitIye gift OF appearing at
tie right moment
! If we lave wandered away from Hancock in the
pnrsut of Fofney, it should be explained That the
book con aims IA graf deal more about the author
than the ostcn, .bl: subject of 1t. The fascinating
inciacnt," of Hancock tas Mr.. Torney won.d say
are only to be found by very lively skipping back
ard forth and dOdging Of pages where the al
ticuIate inspiration" has met with distractions
The batlle OF Williamsburg was " a sort OF uncon-
scious vestbulo of the long conflict that lay III the