The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1880-06-30
II TILDEN LETTER.
A REVIEW OF HIS PUBLIC CAREER.
ELOQUENT REHEARSAL OF THE GREAT
FRAUD OF lS76-A GRACE
Full RETIREMENT.
NEW YORK, I
Iuna ~ 1890

June Is, 1880
To Delegates from the State Of Neec
York to the Democratic National Con-
UentiOn:
Your first assembling is an occasion
on which it is proper for me to state to
you my relation to the nomination tor
the Presidency which you and your as
sociates are commissioned to make in
behalf of tile Democratic party of the
United States.
Having passed my early years in an
atmosphere filed with traditions of
the wal which secured orr national in
dependence and of the struggles which
made our continental system a govern
ment for the people by the people, l
learned to idoIize the institutions of my
country, and was educated to believe
it the duty of o citizen of the Republic
to take his fair allotment Of care aud
trouble in public affairs. | fulfilled
that duty to the best of my ability for
forty years as private cit zen, although
during all my lite giving at least as
much thought and effort to public af-
fairs as to all other objects. | have
never accepted official service except
for a brief period for special purpose,
and only when the occasion seemed to
require of NE that sacrifice of private
preferences TO public interests. My
life has been substantially that of Il
private citizen.
1t was, | presume, the success OF my
efforts, in Which II private citizen
had shared, to overthrow the corrupt
combination then holding dominion III
II metropolis, and to purify the judi
ciary, which had become its tool, that
induced the Democracy of the State in
1874 to nominate me for Governor
This was done 10 spite of the protests
of the minority that the part | had
borne in those reforms had created All
tagonisms fatal to me as, a candidate.
| felt constrained to accept the nom
~inati0n as the most certain means OF
putting the power of The Gubernato-
rial office on the side of reform and of
removing the impression wherever it
prevailed, that the faithful discharge
of ones duty as a citizen is fatal to his
usefulness as q public servant. The
breaking up of the local ring, the bet
ter management of our public works,
large reduction of taxes and other re-
forms accomplished during my admin
istration, doubtless occasioned my nom
~ination for the Presidency by the De-
mocracy of the Union 10 the hope that
similar processes would be applied to
the Federal Government.
From the responsibilities of such an
undertaking, appalling as they seemed
to me, | did not feel at liberty to
shrink. In the canvass which eusued
the Democratic party represented re.
form in the administration Of the Fed
eral Government, and the restoration
of our complex political system to the
pure ideal of it's founders. Upon these
issues the people of the United States,
by a majority of more than a quarter
of a million, chose a majority Of the
electors to east their votes for the De-
mocratic candidates for President and
Vice. President.
1t is my right and privilege here to
say | was nominated and elected to
the Presidency absolutely free from
any engagement in respect to the ex-
ercise Of its powers or the disposal of
its patronage. Through the whole Pc
Rod Of my relation to The Presidency l
did everything in my power to elevate
and nothing to lower the moral STAN
dards in the competition of PARTIES
BY What nefarious means IL basis for u
false count was laid in several of the
States | need not recite. These are
now matters of history, about which,
whatever diversity of opinion may
have existed in either of the great par
ties of the country at the time of their
consummation, has since practically
disappeared.
| refused to ransom from the Retur-
ming Boards Of the Southern States
documentary evidence by suppression
of which, and by substitution of fraud
ulent and forged papers, a pretext was
made for the preparation of the false
count. The constitutional duty of the
two Houses of Congress to count the
electoral votes as cast and give effect
to the will OF the people as expressed
by their suffrages was never fulfilled.
An Electoral Commission, for the exis-
tence of which | have no responsibility,
was formed, aud to it til, two Houses
of Congress abdicated their duty to
make the count by a law enacting that
the count of the Commission stand as
fiual, unless overruled by the concur
rent action of the two Houses.
Its false count was not overruled,
owing to the completely of the Repub-
lican Senate with the Republican ma
jority of the Commission controlled by
It's Republican majority of 8 tot. The
Electoral Commission counted out the
men elected by the people aud counted
in the men not elected by the people.
That subyersion Of the election created
a new issue for the decision of the
people of the United States transceding
in Importance all questions of admins
tration. 1t involved the vital principle
of self government through elections
by the people.
The immense growth of the means of
corrupt influence owe the ballot box,
which is at the disposal of the party
having possession of the Executive
Administration, had already become a
present evil and great danger, tending
to make elections irresponsible to pub
lie opinion, hamperiug the power of
the people to change their rulers, aud
enabling men, holding the machinery
of the Government, to continue and
perpetuate their power.
1t was my opinion in 1876 that the
opposition, attempting to change the
Administration, needed to include at
least two-thirds of the voters at the