The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1880-07-15
earfleld,s Letter Of Acceptance.

Mentor, Ohio, July 12.--General
Garfield has forwarded to Senator
Hoar the following letter ofacceptance
of the nomination rendered him by
the Republican national convention
Mentor, July 10.-Dedr Sir: On
the evening of the 8th of June last L
had the honor to receive from you, in
presence of the committee of which
you were chairman, the official an
nouncement that the Republican
national convention, at Chicago, had
that day nominated me for their cam
didate for president of the United
States. l accept the nomination with
gratitude for the confidence it implies,
and with deep sense of the response
bilities it imposes. / cordially endorse
the principles set forth in the platform
adopted by the convention on nearly
all the subjects of which it treats.
My opinions are on record among the
published proceedings of Congress.
venture, however, to make special
mention of some of the principal
topics which are likely to become sub
jects of discussion, without reviewing
the controversies which have been
settled during the last twenty years
and with no purpose or wish to revive
the passions of the late war. 1t
should be said that while Republicans
fully recognize and will strenuously
defend all the rights retained by the
people and all the rights reserved to
the states, they reject the pernicious
doctrine of state supremacy which so
long crippled the functions of the ma
tlonal government and at one time
brought the Union very near to de-
struction. They insist that the
United States is nation with ample
power of self preservation; that its
constitution and laws made in pursu-
ance thereof are the supreme law of
the land; that the right of the nation
to determine the method by which its
own legislature shall be created cannot
be surrendered without abdicating one
of the fundamental powers of the gov
ernment; that the national laws re-
lating to the election of Representa-
tives in congress shall neither be vio-
lated or evaded; that every elector
| shall be permitted freely and without
intimidation to cast his lawful ballot at
such election and have it honestly
counted and that the potency of his
vote shall not be destroyed by the
| fraudulent vote of any other person.
| The best thoughts and energies of our
people should be directed to thoce
great questions of national well being
in which all have a common interest.
| Such efforts will soonest restore per-
feet peace to those who were lately in
arms against each other, for Justice
and good will will outlast passion;
but it is certain that the wounds of
the war cannot be completely healed
and the spirit of brotherhood cannCt
fully pervade the whole country until
every citizen, rich or poor, white or
black is secure in the free and eloquent
enjoyment of every civil and political
right guaranteed by the constitution
and the laws. Whenever the free and
equal enjoyment of this right is not
assured discomfort will prevail, immi-
grafton will cease and the social and
| industrial forces will continue to be
disturbed by the migration of laborers
and consequent diminution of pros
perity. The national government
should exercise all its constitutional
authority to put an end to these evils,
for all the people and all the states are
members of one body, and no member
can suffer without injury to all.
THE TROUBLES IN THE SOUTH.
The most serious evils which now
atfiict the south, arise from the fact
that there is not such freedom and
liberation of political opinion and ac
ton that the minority party can
exercise an effective and wholesome
restraint upon the party in power
Without such restraint the party rule
becomes tyrannical and corrupt. The
prosperity which is made possible in
the south by its great advantages OF
soil and climate, will never be realized
until every voter can freely and safely
support any party he p!eases. Next
in importance to freedom and justice
is popular education, without which
neither justice nor freedom can be per
manently maintained. Its interests
are entrusted to the states and the in
voluntary action OF the people. What
ever help the nation can justly afforC
should be generously given to aid til,
common schools, but it would be un
just to our people and dangerous tC
our institutions to apply any portion
of the revenues Of the nation or of the
states to the support of sectarial
schools. The separation of the churcl
and the state in everything relating
to taxation should be absolute.
THE FINANCES.
On the subject of national fnance
my views have been so frequently ant
so fully expressed that little is needed
in the way of any additional state
ment The public debt is now so wei
secured and the rate of annual interes
has been so reduced by refunding tina
rigid economy in expenditures, anC
the faithful application of our surplu
revenues to the payment of the prin
cipal of the debt, will gradually, bu
certainly, free the people from its bur
dens, and class with honor the tinan
cial chapter of the war, at the sam
time the government can provide fo
all its ordinary expenditures and dis
charge its sacred obligations to tn
soldiers of the Union and the widow
and orphans of those who died in it
defence. The resumption of speci
payments, which the Republican
party so courageously and successful.
accomplished, has removed from tn
field of controversy many question
that long and seriously disturbed th
credit of the government and tn
business of the country.
Our paper currency is now as ma
tional as the flag, and resumption ha
not only made it everywhere equal t
coin, but it has brought into use ou
store of gold and silver, circulatin
medium is more abundant than eve
before, and we need only to maintain
| aInolitu nf oil O,r 1nllorS tn inGnr