Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1880-07-08

anu tLdt De OlQ Whatever u6 -COulu 70
save your mother. Now, is that truep
Mrs. Tonry hesitated for a few mo-
ments to answer, and the recollection of
past events seemed very painful to her.
Finally, she said that such reports were
not true, and added that neither she nor
any of her family had any good feelings
for Gen. Hancock.
RepOrter-Do you believe that Han
cock on that occasion acted as friend
toward you and your mother?
Mrs. Tonry-I do not. You could not
call his conduct exactly brutal, but do
believe that he wished for the execution
of my mother, and would not so much
as have lifted his finger to prevent it.
Myself and my mother we're arrested at
the same time, and imprisoned in the
old Capitol. Subsequently 1 was re-
leased, and she was taken to the arsenal.
l had to get my passes to see her from
Secretary Stanton, and then take them
to be countersigned by Gen. Hancock.
l saw him dozen times or more, and
he never expressed to me the slightest
| sympathy with my mother. If he was
anxious to prevent the execution, he did
not do or say anything at that time that
l know of, and l think that l was the
proper person to be informed about it.
Reporter-As l understand it, you
went to Gen. Hancock on the morning
of the execution, at his headquarters at
the Metropolitan Hotel in Washington,
and had long interview with him
there. Can't you tell me what then oc-
Cured?
Mrs. Tonry-I cannot. 1 cannot an
swer that question without giving more
thought to those matters than can pos
sibly do at this moment.
Reporter-You can at least tell me
whether the impression formed upon
your mind then was that Gen. Hancock
was the friend of yourself and your
mother.
Mrs. Tonry Gin an excited and emphat-
ic tone)-No, sir, he was not. If were
to tell you all that happened and all that
was said at that interview, it would be
very much to Gen. Hancoek's discredit.
Reporter-You know, then, that all
the stories as to Gen. Hancock's en-
deavoring to save Mrs. Surratt are false
hoods?
Mrs. Tonry-That is about the fact.
At this juncture Prof. Tonry came in,
and the conversation above reported
was substantially repeated. The Ques-
tion was again put to Mrs. TOnry as to
what occurred between her and General
| Hancock during the interview on the
morning of the execution, but she still
refused to go into details, and the Pro-
fessOr remarked that "The truth will
come out sooner or later. My wife has
already told you that it will do no cred
| it to Gen. Hancock, and know that this
is the fact. For my part, wish that he
| had been in the Sandwich Islands SOON
er than that my party-the Democratic
party-had nominated him for the Pres
| idency. l repeat to you, that his con-
nection with the murder of Mrs. Surratt
was no credit to him, and he deserves
the title of her executioncr."
The interview on Thursday ended at
this point, and on yesterday the repre-
sentatives of The American again visit
ed Mr.. and Mrs. Tonry. The lady was
only seen for few moments, as she was
laboring under a nervous excitement
that Frustrated her. The attention of
herself and her husband was, however,
called to the various attempts made in
the Democratic papers to straighten out
Hancock's record on the hanging busi-
ness, and they were requested to say
what they thought about it. Mrs. Ton
ry retired to seek relief from her feel
ings, but her husband spoke for her. He
said he had seen in one of the Baltimore
papers what purported to be the correct
narrative of Hancock's action on that
day. 1t was nothing more nor less than
an attempt to gloss over a crime. There
is no essential truth in it.
| Reporter But, Professor, what you
have seen in that one paper is only a
tithe of what other Democratic organs
are trying to do to clear Hancock's rep
utation of that stain. They go into the
matter much more extensively, and fol-
low out the same strain of argument
and pretended facts.
Prof. Tonry-Then, they are elabora-
ting falsehoed. You may write down
that whatever is said in HancOck's IA
Vor in that matter is untrue.
Rcporter--Then, why not tell me
precisely the story of the meeting of
your wife and Hancock on that day?
Prof. Tonry-I can't do it just now.
She is the one to tell it, but if she were
to try to rehearse that story it would
throw her into bed for five or six days.
/ d
guilty that would occupy a page and
half of your paper. Can't you be con-
tent now with my telling you that the
story will do him vast amount of
harm if it is published?
Reporter-The New York papers to-
day are publishing statements from John
l. Campbell. one of the counsel for Mrs.
Surratt; from Bishop Keane and from
Father Walter-who attended her in
her last moments-all of which are to
the effect that Gen. Hancock had great
sympathy for the unfortunate woman.
and waited until the last moment, ho-
ping for reprieve. What have you to
say to that?
Prof Tonry-It is all nonsense, or
worse than nonsense. In all charity, /
hope that Mr.. Campbell and the rest Of
them were merely mistaken.
Reporter-There is also the state
ment that Gen. Hancock had relays of
cavalry stationed between the White
House and the prison on the day of exc
cution, in order that if the President re-
Tented at the last moment he could stop
the hanging.
Prof. Tonry-Whoever said that?
Reporter--It may have been stated
upon Gen. Hancock's S authority.
Prof Tonry-I can tell yOu-and l
am speaking upon my wife's authority
that it is lie. 1t is not the first lie
that Hancock has told about this affair,
and it won't be the last one he will tell
before the campaign is over.
Responsibilities tolerably emphatic.
Prof. TOnry-I mean it to be so. /
want you to understand that all of the
statements concerning Mrs. Surratt and
the execution that have been made up
to this time, not single one came from
or was authorized by any of the family.
They were all gotten up by reporters
whom we refused to see, and who went
away and concocted their fabricatiOns.
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