Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-08-02
Aancaster fntelltgenrer.
MONDAY EVENING. JULY q. 1890.
Hancock to Sherman.

Hancock to Sherman.
Gen. Hancock's letter to Gen. Sher- |
man under date of Dec. %, 1876, has
been published. and we print it in most |
fitting connection with Judge Black s |
recent letter from Paris, expressing his |
opinion of Gen. Hancock as statesman |
and soldier, patriot and an honest
man. The one admirably supplements
the other, and both come most oppor- |
tunely at this present time. Gen. Han |
cock letter shows how eminently he de-
serves the high tribute which the keenest
of critics and the ablest of constitutional
LAWYERS bestows upon him. IL proves
the independence, the sOundness and the |
foresight of General IIancock's Opin- |
ions upon questions of gravest po-
litical concern. The circumstances
under which it was written, and the en-
tirely friendly, informal and private ma
ture of the correspondence, estop all the
cavil of the opposition that its sentiments
or their form of expression are anybody's
els. or that its composition was subject to
any of the influences to which they have
sought to attribute his singularly master
iy state papers.
His readiness to acquiesce in the Or
ders of his SupcriOrS, however diStaSteful
to him, when made in Difference to law,
speak for the true soldier his unwilling
ness TO seek or shun the responsibilities
and possible dangers which may cluster
around military commanders in the
East during the electoral crisis, prove
the hero but his statesmanlikef qualities
shone resplendent in his forecast and
his treatment of the disputed presiden-
tial question. Would that some
more of our representatives i'm Congress
had seen and expressed so clearly as this
g soldier what was the law and their
duty in hepremises! Would that he had
been among them to counsel and advise !
Would that this letter with its sage wis
dom and its clarion note of leadership
had then been published! IIad even Mr..
TiIden's firm proclamation been made
to this effect, the result might have been
otherwise
''The machinery for such a contingency
as threatens to present Itself has been all
carefully prepared 1t only requires lubri-
cation. owing to disuse The army should
have nothing to do with the election or in
auguration of presidents. The people elect
the president. The congress declares in
joint session who he is.
How admirably he phrased the situa-
tion when he said g IL neither candi-
date has constitutional majority of the
electoral college, cr the Senate and House
on the occasion of the count do not unite
i'm declaring some person legally elected
by the people, there is Il lawful machine
ry already provided to meet that cOntin-
gency and decide the question peace
fully How unnecessary he proved the
electoral commission to I've when he de-
clarcl that - that machinery would pro-
lably elect Mr.. Tilden president and Mr..
Wheeler vice president. That would he
right enough. for the law provides that
in a failure to elect duly by the people
the House shall Immediately elect the
president and the Senate the vice presi-
dent
His structures on the abuse of the mil
itary power in the South are in harmony
with his own course while in command
there: which justified the eloquent trib-
ute of Judge Black: . The spoken act of
patriot soldier in high command alone
could save civil liberty from the destruc-
tion with which it was threatened
That was what Hancock did, and it was
the timelest lift that the great cause
ever got from any hand except that of
Washington.
These two letters are bulwarkS to the
Democratic cause. IIancOck'S was writ
ten to serve 10 public end, to meet OF
dodge no popular issue, to satisfy no po'
litical interest. Judge Blacks s was writ
ten without knowledge of or reference to
the contents of that which comes sc
timely to Justify all his praise of the au.
thor of order No. 10, the Pease letter and
the Sherman letter. 1t is not likely that
hereafter will le heard anything of Han
cocks ignorance of craftsmanship.