The Portland daily press., 1880-08-02
HANCOCK TO SHERMAN.
Text of that Much Talked About
= Letter.
HANCoCK's POSITION IN THE CON-
TROvERSY OF 1875.

dANCOCh'S FOSlIlON LIN IEH CON-
TROvERSY OF 1875.
| New York July 31.-Gen. Hancock's let
ter to Gen. Sherman has been furnished the
| New York World for publication, Editor
| Hurlburt having obtained the consent of Gen.
Sherman for its publication. Gen. Hancock
declined to give it to the public 1t is dated
| St. Louis, Dec. 2S, 1876 After referring to
| his qualification in not being ordered to the
Pacific coast, he says:
| The whole matter of the Presidency seems
| to me to be simple and to admit of peaceful
| solution. The machinery for such a contin-
| gency as threatens to present itself has been
| all carefully prepared; it only requires lubrl-
| cation. The army should have nothing to do
with the election or Inauguration of Presi-
| dent. The people elect a President; Congress
| declares in joint session who he is. We of the
army have only to obey his mandates and fare
protected in SO doing only SO far as they may
| be lawful Our commissions express that L
| like Jefferson's way of Inauguration. He in
| augurated himself simply by taking the oath
| of office. There is no other loyal way.
In our system the people or the ,politicans
may institute parades in honor sof the vet,
| and public officials may add to the pageant ny
| assembling troops and banners, but all T., It
only comes properly after the Inauguration,
not before, and it is not part of it. Our sys-
tenn does not provide that one President should
inaugurate another; there might be danger in
| that, ana it was studiousy left out of the char
| ter; but you are placed in an exceptionally
| important position in connection with coming
| events The capitol is not in my jurisdiction. l
| am subordinate and not on the spot, and if /
| were so, there also would be my superior in au-
| thority for there is the station of the Gen
| eraln-chief. On the principletthat the regu-
larry elected Presidents term of office expires
| with the Sd of March (of which have not the
slightest doubt), and which laws bearing
the subject uniformly recognize, and in
| hot tho lax full
| elected President may not appear until the 9TH
| of March, great deal of responsibility must
necessarily fall upon you of all others;
| you hold over; you will have
The Secretary Of War. too, probably holds
over, but if no President appears he may not
| be able to exercise any function in the name
of the President, for his proper acts are those
of a known superior, lawful President. You
act on your own responsibility and by virtue of
your commission only restricted by the law.
| The Secretary of War is the mouth-piece of
| a President. You are not. If neither cand-
date has the constitutional majority of the cleo
toral college or Senate and House on the occa-
| sion of the count, do not unite in declaring
some person legally elected by the people,
| there is lawful machinery already provided to
meet that contingency. and decide questions
peacefully. 1t has not been recently used, no
| occasion presenting itself, but Jour forefathers
| provided it.
| 1t has been exercised and been recognized
and submitted to as lawful on every hand.
That machinery would probably elect Mr..
| Tilden President, and Wheeler Vice Presi
dent. That would be right enough, for the
law provides that in the failure to elect duly
by the people, the House shall Immediately
choose a President and the Senate Weep EST
| dent. Some tribunal must decide whether
| the people have duly elected Vice President.
| presume of course it is in the joint affirmative
action of the Senate and House, or why are
they present to witness the count if not to see
that it is fair and just? If failure to agree
| arises between the two bodies there can be no
lawful affirmative decision that the people
have elected a President and the House must
| then proceed to act, not the Senate n The Sem
| ate elects Vice Presidents, not Presidents.
| Doubtless in case of failure of the House to
elect President by the 4th of March, the
President of the Senate (f there be one) would
| be the legitimate person to exercise the Pres-
Dental authority for the time being, or until
| the appearance of lawful President or for
| the time laid down in the constitution.
Such course would be peaceful, and have
| a firm belief, lawful. have no doubt Gov.
| Hayes would make an excellent President. 1
| have met him and know him; for brief
period he served under my command But as
! the matter stands, l cannot see any likelihood
| of his being duly declared elected by the peo-
| ple unless the Senate and House come to be in
| accord as to that fact, and the House would of
course not otherwise elect him.
| What the people want is peaceful deter
mination of this matter, as fair determination
| as possible and lawful one. No other deter
mination could stand the test. The country,
| if not plunged into revolution, would become
poor day by day, business would languish and
| our bonds would come home to find depre-
| ciated market. 1 was not in favor of military
action in South Carolina recently, and if Gen.
Ruger had telegraphed home or asked for ad.
vice, should have advised him not under
| any circumstances, to allow himself or his
| troops to determine who were lawful members
| of the State Legislature.
I could not give him better advice than to
| refer him to the special message of the Presi-
| dent in the case of Louisiana some time before.
But in South Carolina he had the question
settled by decision of the Supreme Court of
the State, the highest tribunal which had
acted on the question, so that his line of duty
seemed even to be clearer than in the action
| in the Louisiana case. If the Federal court
had interfered, and overruled the decision of
| the State court there might not have been a
doubt, but the Federal court only interfered to
complicate, not to decide or override; any
| how it is no business of the army to enter upon
| such questions, and even if it might be so, in
| any event if the civil authority is as supreme
| as the Constitution declares it to be, the South
| Carolina case was one in which the army had
| a plain duty.
Had Gen. Ruger asked me for advice, and
| if had given it, l should of course notified
| you of my action Immediately, so it could
| have been promptly overruled if it should
have been deemed advisable by you or other
for my advice and l inferred from that and
other facts that he did not desire it, or that,
being in direct communication with my mill
tary superiors at the seat of government who
| were nearer him in time and distance than [
was, he deemed it unnecessary AS Gen.
| Ruger had the ultimate responsibility of &C
| ton and had really greater danger to confront
| in the final action in the matter, did not
| venture to embarrass him by suggestions.
AS have been writing thus freely to you
1 may still further unbosom myself by stating
| I had not thought it lawful or wise to use
Federal troops in such matters as have trans
PRED east of the Mississippi within the last few
| months save SO far as they may be brought in
| to action under the article of tie constitution
| which contemplates the meeting of armed re-
| sstance or invasion of state by more power
| full processes and then only when requested
by the legislature if it could not be con-
| vened in session, by the governor, and when
| the President of the United States intervenes
| in that manner it is state of war not peace.
| The army is laboring under disadvantages and
| has bee n used unlawfully at times in the judg-
| ment of the people Tin mine certainly and we
| have lost great deal of kindly feeling which
| the community at large once felt for us. 1t
| is time to stop and unload. Officers in COM
| mand of troops often find it difficult to act
wisely and safely when their superiors in au-
| thority have different views of law from theirs
| and when legislation has sanctioned cation
| seemingly in conflict with the fundamental law,
and they generally defer to the known judgment
| of their superiors Yet the superior officers of
the army are so regarded in such great crises
| and are held to such responsibility, especially
those at or near the head OF it, that it is neces-
| sary on such momentous occasions to dare to
| determine for themselves what is lawful and
| what is not lawful under our system If the
| military authorities should be involved, as
might possibly be the case in such exceptional
times when there existed such divergent views
| as to the correct result, the army will suffer
from its past action if it has acted wrongfully.
Our regular army has little hold upon the af-
| fections of the people of to-day, and it's
superior officers should certainly as far as lies
in theirspower, legally and with righteous in
tent, aim to defend the right which to us is
| the law and institutions which they represent.
| 1t is a we'll meaning institution and it would
| be we'll it should have an opportunity to be re-
cognzed as bulwark in support of the rights
| of the people and of law.
| (Signed) WINFIELD S. HANCOCK.
| To Gen. w. T. Sherman, commanding the