St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1880-10-01
Gen. Hancock Speaks.
HE is OPPOSED TO REBEL CLAIMS.


Mr.. Theodore Cooke, of Cincinnati,
has addressed letter of inquiry to Gen.
Hancock concerning the rebel war
claims, asking him what he will do re-
garding these claims should he he elect
ed President. Hancock speaks very
decidedly, and apparently to the point.
He has spoken, because he has prOba-
bly, found that he must speak in order
to satisfy his own party in the North.
He has nothing to say in Il public way
to please the South, for that of course
is already understood. If Gen. Han
cock would be able to stick to these
declarations the matter wonld turn out
well enough. But this thing he can
never do, and it will yet turn out that
he has spoken prematurely upon this
subject. The following is the CORE
spondence between Mr.. Cooke and Gen.
Hancock upon
THE REBEL WAR CLAIMS.
CINCINNATI, Sept. 20.
To Gen. ". s. Hancock, Governors
Island, NeW York -
Dear Sir,-I inclose slips cut from
the Gazette and Commercial of this
city, both of them newspapers of large
circulation and influence in Ohio and
Indiana, referring, as you will see, to
the much harped upon subject in our
politics of rebel claims. These news
papers and Republican stump speakers
are constantly asserting that, if you are
elected President, the claims of dis
loyal people of the South, for losses
sustained in the wal, will be allowed
and paid by the United States. They
further direct especial attention to the
fact that this charge has been made
against the democratic party, and that
you, it's candidate for President, have
not denied it. This warfare is made in
all seriousness, and maintained with
great earnestness, and repeated day af
ter day in the press and in speeches.
You are known to the country as a
frank, honest soldier, now the repre-
sentative of the democratic party, and
having the right to speak for it. What
ever you may say the people will hear
and believe. / submit the matter to
your good Judgment as to what you
should say, or whether you should
make any public utterance at ALL
Very respectfully yours,
THEODORE COOKE.
General Hancock replied as fol-
lows:-
GOVERNORS ISLAND New YORK,
Sept. %, 1880.
To Theodore Cooke, esq, Cincinnati,
Ohio:
Dear Sir,-Your letter of the Goth
instant has been received. l regret
that you are disturbed about that bug
bear "SOuthern war claims" The peO-
pie cannot be misled by it. To sup
pose that "rebel claims" or claims in
the interest of persons who were in re-
bellion can in any way or in any degree
be countenanced is an imputation of
dislOyalty such as used to be made
against democrats, even when they
were in arms defending the country.
So far as it touches me, l denounce it.
The government can never pay a debt
or grant pension or reward of any
sort for waging war upon its own exis-
tence, nor could / be induced to ap-
prove or encourage the payment of
such debt, pension or reward. Nobody
expects or wants such unnatural action
To propose it would be an insult to the
intelligence and honor of our people.
When the rebellion was crushed the
heresy of secession, in every form and
in every incident, went down for ever :;
it is a thing of the dead past. We
e. 1 e
President, l would veto all legislation
which might come before me providing
for the consideration or payment of
claims of any kind for losses or DANA
ges by persons who were in rebellion,
whether pardoned or not. In relation
to ''Union war claims,n the govern
ment's obligations to its defenders come
first; they are lasting and sacred.
The public laws of civilized nations do
not, in general, recognize claims for in
juries to property resulting from the
operations of war; nevertheless, our