American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1880-10-09
A SPIKED GUN.
Another Republican Campaign Lie Dis
posed Of-Interestlng Correspondenee.

Another Republican Campaign Lie Dis
posed Of-InterestIng Correspondents.
The following correspondence has
just been made public, and effectually
disposes of a charge upon which the
Republicans have tried to make con-
siderable capital during the pending
campaign:
CINCINNATI, Ohio, September 20, $780,
To General w. S. Hancock, Governors
Island, New York:
DEAR SIR: inclose slips from the Gazette
and the Commercial of this city, both of them
newspapers of large circulation and influence
in Ohio and Indiana, referring, as You will see,
to the neutrality-suspicious. subject in our poll
tics of rebel claims These newspapers and
Republican stumpspeakers are constantly
asserting that, if you are elected President,
claims of disloyal people of the South for losses
sustained in the war will be allowed and paid
by the United States. They further direct
special attention to the fact that this charge
has been made against the Democratic party,
and that you, its candidate for President, have
not denied it. This warfare is made in all Sc
robustness. and maintained with great earnest
ness, and repeated day after day in the press,
and in speeches. You are known to the coun-
try as frank, honest soldier, now the repre-
sentative Of the Democratic party, and having
the right to speak for it. Whatever you may
say the people will hear and believe. 1 sub
init the matter to your Judgment as to what
you should say, or whether you should make
any public utterance at all. Very respectful
ly yours, THEODORE COOK.
THE REPLY.
GOVERNORS ISLAND, N. Y, Sept. g. 1880.
To Theodore Cook, Esq, Cincinnati, Ohio:
DEAR SIR: Your letter of the 10th inst. has
been received. regret that you are disturb
cd about that bugbear, Southern war claims.
The people can not be misled by it. To sup
pose that "rebel claims" or claims in the in
terest of persons who were in rebellion. can in
any way, or in any degree, be countenanced,
is an imputation of dislOyalty such as used to
be made against Democrats, even when they
were in arms defending their country. So far
as it touches me, denounce it. The Govern
ment can never pay a debt grant a PEN
sion reward of any sort for waging war
upon its own existence. nof could 1 be
induced to approve or encourages the payment
Of such debt, pension or reward, Nobody ex-
poets OF wants such unnatural action. To pro-
pose it would be an insult to the intelligence
and honor of our people When the rebellion
was crushed, the heresy of secession in every
form and in every incident went down forever.
1t is thing of the dead past We move for
ward, not backward. If L were President, L
would veto all legislation which might come
before me providing for the consideration or
payment of claims of any kind for losses or
damages by persons who were in rebellion,
whether pardoned or not. In relation
to Union claims, the Governments
obligations to its defenders come
first. They are lasting and sacred. The pub
lie laws of civilized nations do not in general
recognize claims for injuries to property re-
sulting from the operations of war. Never
theless, our Government has treated with
great indulgence the claims for losses and
damage suffered by Union men from military
operations of the war of the Union But, as
hostilities were closed more than fifteen years
ago, claims of that nature, now mostly in the
hands of brokers or persons other than the
original sufferers, are becoming stale, and in
my Judgment might fairly be considered as
barred by the lapse of time. and if hereafter
entertained at all, should be subjected to the
strictest scrutiny. Yours, very truly,
w. s. HANCOCK.