The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1880-09-30
REBEL CLAIMS,
! Position on the Great Rad
zeal Bugbear.

General Hancock has written let
ter in reply toone from Theodore Cook,
Of Cincinnati i'm which he clearly and
most emphatically defines his position
on the subject of Rebel War Claims,
which has so disturbed the quiet slum-
bers Of the Republicans. The follow
ing is the correspondence ~ 30 ~
CINCINNATI, September 20, 1850.
HANCOCK, Governors leland,
New York. Dear Sir Il enclose slips
cut from the Gazette and Commercial of
this city. both of them newspapers of
large circulation and influence inOhiO
and Indiana, referring, as you will see,
to the much harped upon subject in
our politics of rebel claims. These
newspapers and the Republican stump
speakers are constantly asserting that
if you are elected President the claims
of the dislOyal people of the South for
losses sustained in the war will be al
lowed and paid by the United States.
They further direct special attention
to the fact that this charge has been
made against the Democratic party,
and that you, its candidate for Presi-
dent, have not denied it. This war
fare is made in all seriousness and
maintained with great earnestness and
repeated day after day in the Press and
and in speeches. You are known to
the country as q frank, honest soldier,
now the representative of the Demo-
cratic party, and, having a right to
speak for it, whatever you may say the
people will hear and belieye. l sub
NIT 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, ~
THEODORE Cook.
GOvERNOR'S ISLAND, Sept. %, 1850.
To THEODORE Cook, Cincinnati,
Ohio. Dear Sir Your letter Of the
2Oth inst. has been received. 1 regret
that you are disturbed about the effect
of that bugbear, :. southern war
claims" The people cannot be mis-
lead by. 1t to suppose that rebel
claims" or claims i'll thefinterest of
persons who were in the rebellion, can
in any way or in any degree be -coun-
tenanced. 1t is an imputatiOn of dis
loyalty such as used to be made against
Democrats even when they were in
arms defending the country. So far
as it touches me 1 denOunce it. The
Government can never pay debt OF
grant pension or reward of any sort
for waging war upon its own existence,
nor could be induced to approve or
encourage the payment OF such debts,
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 the
heresy of secession in every form and
in every instance went down forever.
1t is q thing of the dead past. We
move forward but not back ward. If /
were President / would veto all legis-
lation which might come before me
providing for the consideration or pay
ment of claims of any kind for loss or
damages by persons who were in the
rebellion, whether pardoned or not.
In relation to Union war claims, the
governments obligations to its de-
tenders comes first; they are lasting
and sacred. The public laws of civil
lied nations do not in general recog-
nize claims for njuries TO property re-
sulting from the operations of war.
Nevertheless our government has
treated with great indulgence the
| claims for losses and damages suffered
| by Union men from the military OPP
erations of the war for the Union, but
as hostilities were closed more than
fifteen years ago the claims Oi that ma
ture, now mostly i'm the hands of bro
kers and persons other than the origin
al sufferers, are becoming stale and in
my judgment might fairly be consid-
| cred barred by the lapse of time, and
| if hereafter entertained at all, should
be subjected to the strictest scrutiny.
| Yours very truly, .,....-
| WINFIELD s. HANCOCK.
i