Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1880-07-08

and restore the office to its rightful owner"
knew there were many Republicans whose
hearts were AZ closely knit to the peace of
| this country AZ my own. Whether that act
would be popular or unpopular did not ask
! thought only on the people | loved and
determined that confusion and trouble should
not come to them if traightforwardness
and tenacity of purpose could prevent it.
Now, gentlemen, when we Pro,
| posed that course, and when that
Electoral Commission was formed, and when
the whole country gave a sigh of relief, what
was the course Of the Republican administra-
| tration and what was the course Of the candi-
date whom they have named to succeed Mr..
| Hayes in his ill-gotten place? i, and those
with me, were thinking of reason, of justice,
of appealing to everything that would tend to
perpetuate this government in the respect of
| its people. What was General Grant doing?
| What was his argument? The only argument
he ever knew and ever obeyed-the argument
of the bayonet | am speaking now Of histor-
ical facts that will not egainsaid. Week after
| week when we were anxiously deliberating
the fair, peaceful lawful method Of getting
out of our difficulties, not in the Mexican
fashion by upsetting our government but in
| the American fashion of reasoning as to our
rights, what was the course of the Admins
tration? 10 assist us? No But everywhere
| we saw the trains coming into Washington
bringing armed men. One-third of the Amer
ican army was assembled in that city, and
| more than one-half of it within twelve hours
| of that city. II meant but one thing the
military power was to be held above the civil
power and in case of any disturbance the gov
| ernment was to be seized and held by force.
Where was Mr.. Garfield them What part
did he take? | ask any Republican | ask
you Intelligent Democrats and Republicans,
what was his attitude and language at that
time? He said, "Why we have the army,
wo have the navy, we have the treasury we
n,,l ID t,.1
| with this language which believe he used
"If you had such cards would not you play
| them2h Gambling with the destinies of the
nation And when the electoral bill came be-
fore the House of Representatives of which
| Mr.. Garfield was member, distinguished
member, for he il a man of fine abilities, he
| is an intellectual man, a cultivated man, and
30 much the greater reason that we demand
| of him high and patriotic actions. and no
| much the worse for him il when lie is tested
he proves that he wants that conscien-
tious subordination of partisan feeling
| to the great ends of the country.
| where was he on that occasion? When | and
| my associates ON that committee We're striving
| our best, we were composed equally of DEM
| ocrats and Republicans, when thirteen men
out of the fourteen joined i'll signing that
| report and recommending that bill, every man
OH that committee except Oliver L. Morton,
and You know what lie wanted he fought
that bill because he preferred that there
should be Il confusion, in which the Republi-
can party could prolong its hold upon power
and u new tenure of power be given to him
| self and his associates. Mr.. Garfield used his
fine powers i'll opposition to that measure Of
peace and Justice, and spoke against it with
vehemence and fought against it, and de-
clared that bill had no warrant under the
| Constitution. And after that, in the face of
the Constitution which he, like me, had sworn
to support, he went upon that committee and
took the oath to execute the provisions of that
law. | leave it to him, to any man to recon-
cile his conduct He did his best to obstruct
that measure of peace, that measure Ameri-
can and not Mexican he did his best to make it
| a failure, and nnhappily was but too successful
i'll the end And so say to you, men OF Dela-
ware if for the last four years you have lived
in peace, if you have been at liberty to attend
to your daily avocations, to build up your
fortunes and enhance your prosperity, do not
think the men are worthy of your
support and confidence to-day who
would have preferred that the armed
hand of power, the mailed hand of
ULYSSES Grant should have taken charge of
this country than that we should have forms
of law at least that we have lived under.
| want you to carry in your
minds the drift of this-wlich is the
party which seeks for peace and concord?
| which prefers the lawful methods of arbitra-
ton 10 the forcible ones of military seizure !;
| tpt1NtitNA
put an end TO sectional animosities and anita
gonismsl Is it the one which Mr.. Garfield
represents? He is no unknown man !;
he has had long and brilliant
congressional career. He has long
been leader in his party. In the midst
| of these eXcesses, of force, of bills to suspend
the writ of hdbeaS corpus, of military arrests,
of every act illegal and arbitrary that only
promised to pr0long power in the hands of
his party, look to the record and say-how did
| Mr. Garfield vote and act =? There is not n
question i'll which he has not been with this
party of force. There is not question upon
which he has net held up the hands of those
who would exalt the military above the civil
| power. There is not question that tends to
] create distress and animosity between sec
tions of this country i'll which lie has not
been found on the same side
Now, all this We propose to end and we
propose to end it by placing in power man
who, althougha distinguished soldier, never
forgot that his citizenship was higher title.
1t is the logic, the inevitable logic of the cleo
| | ton of Winfield Scott Hancock, that the civil
/ shall be supreme above the military; that
sectonalsm shall not be allowed as party
cry that that which is called and known as
the ''bloody shirt shall be folded up forever;
| and that the American people shall be
: brought together as one people, under one
7 government and with equal rights and equal
: | affection towards il. That is the result of this
I
Y to follow, and he has proved it. If, as a
/ | Maior-Genera he refused to exercise arbi-
3 trary power would he do it as
f n President? Will the man who has once
4 resisted the seductive power fail to do 50
| again? Mr.. Hancock not only earned the
1 gratitude of men who love liberty i'll any land
v by refusing to exercise arbitrary power when
r it was offered to him, but i'll 30 doing he
l. incurred the auimOsity Of those whose pul-
i poses he refused to carry out, and who had ii
= In their power to make his position in the
Q army very uncomfortable. lii military circles
i one special misfortune is that the Leaders
d carry INTO the army and navy partisan feel
J. ings, and make the officers feel that
" they have not the right of citizens to oppost
: them if they would lind promotion; and
II therefore. they must at the cost ol
e independence, become PARTISAN.
Il | have felt this most deeply, and | have
d but now u ease that ! could well speak Of, ol
e an officer who incurred the displeas
d nrr of General Grants administers
l. tion, and when he was asking il
e vain to know what he had done to be pro
scribed, was told by Il leading Repnblical
sc because he had been dining witt
II Democrats. That is the tone and th'
5, spirit that pcryades those i'll whose hand
is power has long existed. II is a spirit danger
70 ous to the army and navy. Why, my friends
III think for Il moment, what is an American
" soldier an American officer. He is an honor
le able member Of the defense of his country
II he is not a ruler of his country he il sinpl.
Is n creature of his countrys laws The powe
N delegated by government to man who lead
Ii | troops il only to be exercised under law ant
T. for the purpose of sustaining law and whel
ie different spirit shall break out,a spirit askin
s. for proclamation of outlawry against cltl
Zcns in the district he was sent to control
le then indeed has the army changed from bein
re an honorable defense to the nation and ha
re become Just cause OF apprehension.
ly II you say "General Hancock il soldier"
M say ''1rue. but he il more than that-he is cit
O. zen who values his right of citizenship abov
as his powers as soldier. There is nothing dan
n gerous to liberty when powcri is placed in sue
IL hands, but what an example have we had i
er the last fifteen years See how the Republi
nm can party have been unwilling to give II
of power. They have denied the results O
,is election defeated its results and brought thi
r- country to u crisis where every thoughtfr
~. man held his breath and what was ii all don
he for? Simply because they had the power an
IL were unwilling to give it up at the end @
,ir their term of office.
~ Now, if you ask why l love General Har
mi cock and why want to see him in power !
nm this country, it is because / know when he
1 there the liberties of my fellow countryme
-99i will be safe. He has proved it and his life
Of to-day the most brilliant and honorabl
nj example of fealty to the commands of til
al written constitution of any man we have no
in in America.
o. | do not mean to say that there are M
ara many who love liberty as well as he. do II,
lts mean to say that there are not MANY who ma
he know more of the details and complication