Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1880-07-24
GRANT AND HANCOCK.
why should HANCOCK Resign

To the Editor of The World.
Sir: The claim made by some of
the gujCl'laaac politicians of the day
that General Hancock, in view of his
nomination by the Cincinnati con-
vention, should resign his honor
able position as Major in
the army, is without either reason
or precedent. The plea made is that
when he accepts the nomination,
adopts the platform and endorses
its accusations upon the personal
honor and integrity of the Presi-
dent, his commander-in-chief as be-
ing a 31CaticepS in the great election
fraud of 1876, and that if he does
not accept and endorse the full plat
form of the convention in the above
regard, that he virtually accuses the
official voice of his party of utter
ing a slander. The claim, there
fore, is made that the General is un-
der an obligation to resign his COM
mission rather than to cast refiec-
tion even indirectly upon his supe-
rior officer by accepting the nomi-
nation. In the first place, all pre-
cedent in this country is against
any such resignation. The notable
cases are those of General Scott,
General Taylor, l believe, General
Jackson and the late President
Grant. In the Republican platform
of May, 1868, there is the most tia-
grant SANDER and abuse of the then
President, Andrew johnson. The
words used would have been the
proper foundation of an indictment
His administration is charged with
corruptions that were "shamefully
nursed and fostered by him." He
is denounced as traitor and
treacherous yiolatOr of law, and as
having perverted the public patron
age into "an engine of wholesale
corruption. General Grant, in his
letter of acceptance, goes out of his
way to express his views that the
proceedings of the convention We're
marked by wisdom, moderation
and patriotism, and says emphatl-
cally, 81 endorse their resolutions.
Our Republican friends, therefore,
have afforded a notable precedent
against any such resignation as
claimed from General Hancock in
the person of their great eXemplar,
Ulysses S. Grant. Apart from pre-
cedent, why should this gentleman
be called upon to renounce in mid
die life a most honorable and a
lucrative position which he has
gained by hard application and eX-
posure of life and limb in danger
Gus and patriotic service? His
country calls upon him to make no
such sacrifice upon any contingency
of being placed in a higher position
upon the possible results of double
set of Votes-one, of the people at
large electing electors, and another,
the votes of the electors themselves,
who are under no legal or cOnstitu-
tiOnal, or. as some say, moral Obll-
CATION to cast their votes as it is eX-
pected they will cast them. Neith-.
er does it follow that the electors
will be chosen by the popular vote,
inasmuch as under the constitution
al provision which allows each
state to appoint its electors in such
manner as the legislature thereof
may direct, there is apprehension
that the Republicans may hold OK
ira sessions and direct Presidential
electors to be appointed by the leg
islature. There is a possibility of
the election being thrown into the
House of Representatives. In view
of all these contingencies, this
clamor for the resignation of Gen
eral Hancock before his acceptance
of the nomination is absurd and un-
just. Two things are also to be OBJ
served in this connection. In the
first place, the nomination of Gen.
efal Hancock was made before any
platform was laid down at Cincin-
natl. In the second place, the
phrasing of the platform is wild,
loose and exaggerated and, prob
ably, there are not two Democrats
in the country of any thinking pow
or who would indorse all of its spe-
cific allegations, including its
Trades, or would agree upon the in
depreciation of its provisions. All
General Hancock has 10 ido or is eX-
pected to do in accepting the nomi-
nation is to indorse the general and
well-established principles of the
Democratic party and assume, If
elected, to carry out those princi-
piles in the administration of the
National Government so far as his
powers as chief executive officer
extend. 1t is further to be remark
ed that the proceedings of a conYenl
ton have in fact no official, formal
or binding character. In their true
essence and meaning theyare moth
ing more than the deliberations of
a body of independent citizens TAX
ing into question who would be
suitable parties to present to Presi-
DENTAL and Vice-Presidential cleo
tors for their consideration. They
might as well nominate fifty men
as one man for an Office, so far as
their binding powers extend, and
their deliberations have no more
actual force and effect than the de-
alterations of any number of private
citizens, great or small, taking into
consideration the qualifications Of
the candidates who may or may