The Portland daily press., 1880-06-26
Sentiment at the Capital.
How the Nominations are Looked at
There.

The following is from the Washington des-
patch to the Boston Journal: l
AN OLD ARMY OFFICERS OPINION.
1T will be contest" said an old West
Pointer and Democrat, and friend of General
Hancock today, cit will be contest between
West Pointer and a volunteer soldier; between
a man born in the midst of aristocratic sur
roundings,of family of influence, and a man
born among the people; between man who
has been fed and educated ty the government
and who is mere soldier, though man Of
magnificent valor, and man who has fought
his way to the front through hard knocks, and
who has now reputation throughout the civ
ilized world as an eminent statesman as well
as brave and distinguished volunteer officer.
And / say this with the greatest admiration
for that brave soldier and true gentleman
Winfield Scott Hancock. But it is useless now
to deny what will be apparent before the cam
paign has far advanced, that the Democrats
have chosen an aristocrat, and one who has al
ways been an army officer, to contest for the
great prize with man who has risen from the
humbest classes, who taught himself to read
and write after he was 16 years of age, and,
the front rank, both as citizen and a states
man."
This comment by an old army officer upon
the ticket is the kind of talk one hears in con-
fidential circles, and of which the people will
hear much before the campaign is ended
CAREFULLY AVOIDED MAKING A RECORD.
The books show little of Gen. Hancock's
record. He has been so long an ofice-seeker
that he has been careful to make as little rec
ord as possible, except in few instances
where, after shrewd coaching by his Presiden-
tial trainers, he has passed before the country
as great constitutional lawyer, as a lover of
liberty, and as an indignant prOteSter against
the laws which he has been appointed to exc
cute and against the authority which he has
sworn to obey. From great variety of
sources, however, have been able to gather
some facts as to the Democratic Presidential
Democratic press and which will not find
place in the Democratic campaign documents.
HIS ANrEcEDENTs.
Winfield Scott Hancock was born in Penn
sylvania, of parents who, if not wealthy, were
persons of political influence, for in those days
of slave dominion, none but sons of rich men
or of persons of political importance could re-
ceive appointment to West Point. Gen. Han
cock went with Gen. Grant to Mexico, and
when they returned Gen. Grant forever after
wards is reported to have regarded Gen. Han
cock with extreme aversion. 1t is generally
known among tne ola SOldlerS ana army men
that the dislike of Grant to Hancock practi-
cally amounted to hatred.
HIS CAREER AS AN oFFICE-sEEKER.
After the war of the Rebellion, Hancock
entered upon his career an ofiice-seeker.
Up to that time he had not developed any
ability as constitutional lawyer or secured
any reputation as a political thinker. No
public utterances of his would warrant any
conclusion that he was statesman or was, in
fact, anything more than soldier. But un-
der Andrew johnson, Hancock appeared as a
politician of the Andrew johnson school, and
from that time forward generally obeyed the
orders of his superiors with protest. One of
his first and most notable appearances was
when he appeared in the South, and wrote his
noted letter to Gov. Pease. ..i
HIS POLITICAL PRoMPTER.
Persons thoroughly familiar with Gen. Han
cocks movements at that time say they have
reasons to believe that every word of that letter