Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-06-25

New YORK, June 18, 1880
To he Delegates from he state o
New York to the Democratic Nationa
Conventions: Your first assemblin!
is an occasion on whicl, it is prope
for mo to state to you my relation
to the nomination for the Presiden
cy, which you and your associates
are commissioned to make in behal
OF the Democratic party of the Uni
ted States. Having passed my earl,
years in an atmosphere filled Will
traditions OF the war which secured
our national independence, and o.
the struggles which made our con
tinental system n government for the
people, l learned to idolize the ins,i
tutions of my country, and was edu.
Gated to believe it the duty of q
citizen Of the Republic to take his
fair allotment of care and trouble in
! public affairs. l fulfilled that duty
to the best of my ability for forty
years as a private citizen, although
during all my life giving at least as
much thought to public affairs as to
all othe objects. have never ac-
cepted official service except for a
brief period for special purpose,
and only when occasion seemed to
require of me that sacrifice of pri.
vate preference to pubic interest.
My life has been substantially that
of private citizen. 1t was, pre-
sumo, tine success of efforts in which
as private citizen l had shared to
overthrow the corrupt combination
then holding domination over our
metropolis, and to purify the judici-
ary which had become its tool, that
induced the Democracy of our State
in 1874 to nominate me for Govern
or. This was done in spite of the
protests of the minority that the
part had borne in those reforms
had created an antaSopism fatal to
me rs candidate. l felt con-
strained to accept the nomination as
the most certain means of putting
the power of the gubernatorial Office
on the side of reform, and in remov-
ing the impression wherever it pre-
vailed, that faithfully to discharge
ones duty as a citizen is fatal to his
usefulness as n public servant. The
breaking up of the canal ring, better
management of our public works,
large reductions of taxes and other
reforms accomplished during my
administrative term, doubtless oc-
casioned my nomination for the
Presidency by the Democracy Of the
Union in the hope that similar pro-
cesses would be applied to the Fed
eral Government. From the respon-
,sibiiity of such an undertaking,
appalling as it seemed to me, l did
not feel at liberty to shrink.
In the canvas which Cnsued the
Democratic party represented reform
in the administration of the Federal
Government, and the restoration of
our complex political system to the
puro IDEAS of it's founders. Upon
these issues the people of the United
States, by majority Of more than a
quarter of n million, choose Il MAORI
ty of electors to cast their votes for
the Democratic candidates for Pres
ident and Vice President. 1t is my
right and privilege here to say that
| was nominated and elected to the
Presidency absolutely free from any
engagement in respect to the exer-
else of its powers or disposal OF its
patronage. Through the whole pc
iiod OF my election to the Presiden
cy did everything in my power to
elevate anl nothing to lower the
moral standards in the complexion
of parties.
By what neiarious means basis
for false count was laid in several
States, reed not recite. These are
now matters of history abou! which,
whatever diversity of opinion may
have existed in either of the great
parties of the country at the time OF
their consummation. it has practi-
cally disappeared. BY the suppress;
sion of documentary evidence and
by The substitution of fraudulent
and forged papers, a pretext was
made for the perpetration of false
count. The constitutional duty OF
! the two Houses OF Congress to count
the electoral votes rs cast and tc
give effect to the will of the people
as expressed by their suffrages wa'
never fulfilled. An electoral com
mission, for the existence of which
have no responsibility, was formed
and to it the two Houses OF Congress
abdicated their duty to make th'
count by law, enacting that thu
count of the commission should
stand as final unless overruled b.
concurrent action of the two Houses
Its false count was not overruled
owing to the completely of the Ike
publican Senate with Republica
I Il.