Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-09-25
i. REBEL WAR CLAIMS. /"
THIS SETTLES IT.
Hancock's Dec,sive Reply.


"n8C HAS G8fnelO 10 say.
General Hancock has written a letter OH
the subject Of war claims in reply to let
ter from Theodore Cook. of Cincinnati.
The correspondence is as follows:
CINCINNATI, Sept. 2O.-General ". S.
Hancock, Gorernor's Lland, N. Y-DEAR
SIR enclose slips cut from the Gazette
and Commercial of this city, both of them
of large circulation and infu-
ence in Ohio and Indiana, referring, as you
will see, to the much harped upon subject
in our politics, of the rebel claims. These
newspapers and Republican stump speak
ers are constantly asserting that if you are
elected president the claims of the dis
loyal people of the South for losses sus-
tanned 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 Demo-
cratic party and you. its candidate for pres
ident, have not denied it. This warfare is
made in all seriousness and maintained
with great earnestness and repeated day
after day in the press and in speeches.
You are known to the country as frank
honest soldier, now the representative of
the Democratic party and having right
to speak for it. Whatever you may say the
people will hear and believe. l submit the
matter to your good judgment as to what
you should say or whether You should
make any public utterance at all.
Very respectfully yours,
[Signed] THEODORE Cook.
General Hancock replied as follows:
GOVERNORS ISLAND, N. Y, September
23-T0 Theodore Cook, Esq.,, Cincinnati.
Ohio-DEAR SIR: Your letter of the Goth
inst. has been received. regret that you
are disturbed about that bugbear, Southern
war claims. The people cannot be misled
by it. To suppose that rebel claims. or
claims in the interest Ofpersons who were
in the 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 the country. So far as it
touches me Idenounce it. The government
can never pay debt or grant pension or
reward of any sort for waging war upon
its own existence, nor could he induced
to approve or encourage the payment OF
such debt, pension or reward. Nobody
expects or wants such unnatural action.
To propose it would be an insult to the in.
telligence and honor of our people. When
the rebellion was crushed tho heresy of Sc
cession in every form and in every incl
dent went down forever. 1t is thing
of the dead past. We move for
ward, not backward. If were
president I would veto all legisla-
tion which might come before me pro-
viding for the consideration or payment OF
claims of any kind for losses or damages
by persons who were in the rebellion,
whether pardoned or not. In relation to
Union war claims the government s
obligations to its defenders como
first. They are lasting and sacred. The
public laws of civilized nations do not,
in general, recognize claims for injuries
to property resulting from the operations
of war. Nevertheless our government
has treated with great indulgence the claims
for losses and damages suffered by Union
men from military operations in the war
of the Union. But rs 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, arc becoming stale and in my
Judgment might fairly be considered as
barred by the lapse OF time, and if here
after entertained at all, should be sub
jccted to the strictest scrutiny.
Yours very truly,
[Signed] WINFIELD S. HANCOCK.