The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1880-08-12
HANCOCK TO SHERMAN.


/ this letter was written IN reply TO Two let
| ters on the situation received from Gen.
Sherman:
CARosDELET ?. o., ST.. Louis, NO,
Dec. %, IS7G.--MY DEAR GE,5EEAL:
Your favor Of the 4th inst. reached me in
New York on the 5th,-the day before /
left for the West. INTENDED to reply 70
it before leaving, but cares incident to
| departure interfered. Then, again, since
my arrival here have been so occupied
with personal affairs Of a business nature
] that l have deferred writing from day to
day. until this morning, and now / find
myself in debt to You another letter. In
acknowledgement Of your favor Of 18th,
| received few days since, have con-
cIuded to leave here on the 29th (to-mor-
row afternoon) 50 that may be IN New
/ YOrI, on the 3lst inst. It has been cold
and dreary since my arrival here. / have
worked 'like a Turk q presume that
means hard work. in the country in max
ing fences, cutting down trees, repairing
/ buildings, ETC., etc., and am at least able
to say that St. Louis IS the coldest place
/ in the winter and it is the hottest IN sum
mer Of any that [ have encountered IL a
| temperate zone. / have known St.Louis
/ in December to have genial weather
throughout the month. This December
has been frigid, and the river has been
frozen more solid than / have ever known
| it. When / heard the rumor that I was
ordered to the Pacific coast thought it
| probably true, considering the past dis
cussion on that subject. The possibili-
ties seemed to me to point that way.
Had it been true 1 should Of course have
presented no complaint nor made resist
ance Of any kind. I would have gone
| quickly, if not prepared to 90 promptly.
| / certainly would have been relieved from
| the responsibilities and anxietics con-
| corning presidential matters, which may
iail to those near to the throne or in au-
thority within the next four months, as
/
which 1 could not cantrol, and action
concerning which [ might not approve.
| Was not sexactly prepared to go TO the
| Pacific, however, and | therefore felt re-
| lieyed when [ received your note inform
! ing me that there was no truth IL the
rumors. Then I did not wish to appear
to be escaping from responsibilities and
possible dangers which may cluster
around military commands in the East,
especially III the critical period fast ap-
preaching. Ais well that ends well.
The whole matter of the Presidency
seems to me to be simple, and to admit
Of peaceful solution. The machinery
for such n contingency rs threatens to
present itself has been all carefully pre-
pared, 1t only requires fabrication, ow-
I ing to disuse. The army should have
nothing to DO with the election or inaug-
uration Of Presidents. The people elect
the President. The Congress declares in
joint session who he Is. We of the
army have only to obey his mandates,
and are protected in so doing only so far
as they may be lawful. Our commissions
express that. | like Jefferson's way of
| Inauguration. 1t suits our system. He
rode alone on horseback to the Capitol Il
fear it was the sold Capitol, y tied his
| borse to a rail fence, entered, and was du-
| ly sworn, then rode to the Executive
Mansion and took possession. He in
augurated himself simply by taking the
oath of Office. There is no other legal
Inauguration in our system. The people
or politicians may institute parades in
honor of the event, and public officials
may add to tho pageant by assembling
troops and banners, but all that only
comes properly after the Inauguration,
not before, and it is not part OF it. Our
| system does not provide that one Presi-
dent should inaugurate another. There
might be danger in that, and it was
stndiously left out of the charter. But
you are placed i'll an exceptionally i'm
portant position in connection with COM
ing events. The Capital is in my juris-
d;ction also, but l am q subordinate and
not on the spot, and if L were so also
would be my superior in authority, for
there is the station of the General-in-
Chief. On the principle that a regularly
elected Presidents term of office expires
with the Sd of March (of which [ have
not the slightest doubt, aud which the
laws bearing on the subject uniformly
recognize, and in consideration of the
possibility that the lawfully elected Pres
ident may not appear until the 9th of
March, great deal of responsibility may
necessarily fall upon you. You hold
over. You will haYe power and prestige
to support you. The Secretary of War,
too, probably holds over, but If no Prcsi-
dent appears he may not be able to exer-
else functions in the name of q President,
for his proper acts are those of a known
sUperior-a lawful President. You act
on your own responsibility, and by VIZ
tue of a commission only restricted by
the law. The Secretary of War is the
rnouthpiece of the President. You are
not. If neither candidate has constitu-
tional majority of the Electoral College,
or the Senate and House, on the occasion
of the count, do not mite in declaring
some person legally elected by the peo-
pie, there is a lawful machinery already
provided to meet that contingency ard
decide the question peacefully, 1t has
not been recently used, no occasion pre-
seuting itself, but our forefathers provid-
ell it. 1t has been exercised and has
been recognized and submitted to Us law
full on every hand. That machinery
would probably elect Mr. Tilden Presi-