The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1880-08-03
HON. WIN. II. ENGLISH.
HIS LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE.
HIS Acceptance I'm Conformity with
she Principles Adopted by the
Cincinnati Conventional Sen.
thing Review of the short
Comings of the Republic.
can Party Leaders.

Englsh's letter OF acceptance, as telegraphed
from Indianapolis on Friday night
To Hon. John W. stevenson, Presideat Of
the Convention, II, n. John i. Stockton
hsirmau, and other members OF the Gem
mlttee OF Nouhcatlon:
INDIANAPOLIS, July so.
GENTLEMRN--I have now the honor to re-
ply to your letter of the 18th instant, inform.
ing me that was unanimously nominated
for the office of yice.presdent of the United
States by the late Democratic convention
which assembled at Cincinnati, O.. As fore
Swallowed in the verbal remarks made BY me
at the time of delivery Of your letter, have
now to say that | accept the high trust with
realizing sense Of its responsibility, and am
profoundly grateful for the honor conferred.
l accept the nomination upon the platform
of principles adopted by the convention,
which cordially approve, and | accept 1t
quite as much because of my faith in the
wisdom and patriotism of the great states
man and soldier nominated on the same
ticket for president of the United States.
His eminent services to his country; his
fidelity to the constitution, the union and
the laws; his clear perception of the
CORE i. principles Of government, as
taught by Jefferson; his scrupu.
lous care to keep the military
in stric. subordinstion to the civil authori.
ties his high regard for civil liberty, per-
sonal rights and the right of property; his
acknowledged ability in civil as well as mil.
itary affairs, and his pure and blameless life,
all point to him as q man worthy Of the con-
fdence pr the people. Not only brave
soldier, great commander, wise statesman
and pure patriot, but prudent painstaking,
practical man, of unquestionible honesty.
trusted often with important public duties,
faithful to every trust, and in the full me.
ridian Of ripe and vgororous manhood, he is,
In my Judgement emirently fitted for the
highest position on earth-the presidency of
the United States. Not only is he the right
man for the place, but the time has come
when the best interests of the country re-
quire that the party which has monopolized
the executive department of the general gov
ernmept for the past twenty years should be
retired.
The continuance of that party in power,
four years longer, would not be beneficial to
the public, or IN accordance with the spirit
of our Republican institutions. The laws Of
entail have not been favored in our system
of government; perpetuation of property or
place in one family, or set Of men, has never
been encouraged in this country, and the
great and good men, who formed our Repub-
lican government and its traditions, wisely
limited the tenure of office, and in many ways
showed their disapproval of long leases of
power.
Twenty years of continuous power is long
enough, and has already led to irregularities
and corruptions which are not likely to be
properly exposed under the same party that
prepetrated them. Besides, 1t should not be
forgotten that the last four years Of power
held BY that party were procured by dis
creditable means, and held ia defiance of the
wishes of a majority of the people. 1t was
a grievous wrong to every voter and our sys-
tenn of self government, which should never
be forgotten or forgiven.
Many of the men now in Office were put
there because Of corrupt partisan services in
thus defeating the fairly and legally ex.
pressed will OF majority. The hypocracy
of professions of that party in favor Of civil
service reform was shown by placing
such men in office and turning the whole
brood of federal ofiice-holders loose to in.
fuence elections.
The money OF the people, taken out of the
public treasury by these men for services
often poorly performed or not performed at
all, il being used 10 vast sums, with the
knowlcge and presumed sanction of the
administration, to control the elections, and
even members of the abinet are strolling
about the country making partisan speeches,
instead of being in their departments at
Washington discharging the public duties for
which they are paid by the people.
Rut with all THAR olavarnoss and ahilifv q
discriminating public will no doubt read be-
tween the lines of their speeches that their
paramount hope and aim is to keep them
selves or their satellites four years longer in
office. That perpetuating the power of
chronic federal office holders four years long
or will not benefit the millions of men and
daily bread by honest industry, is what the
same discerning public will no doubt fully
understand, as they will also that il is because
of their industry and economy and Gods
bountiful harvests that the country is com.
paratively prosperous, and not because of
anything done by these federal otfice-holders
The country is comparatively prosperous, not
because of them, but in spite of them.
The contest is, in fact between the people,
endeavoring to regain the political power
which righifully belongs to them, and to re-
store the pure, simple, economical, eonstitu-
tional government OF our fathers on one side,
and hundred thousand federal office-holders
and their hackers, pampered with place and
power and determined TO retain them al all
hazards, on the other; and hence the constant
assumption of new and dangerous powers by
the general government under the rule of the
Republican party.
The effort to build up what they call a
strong government; the interference with
home rule and with the administration of
justice in the courts of the several states; the
interference with elections through the me-
dunn ofpaid partisan Federal Office holders,
interested in keeping their party in power,
and caring more for that than for fairness
in elections, in fact the constant encroach-
ments which have been made::by that party,
on the clearly reserved rights of the people
and states will, If not checked, subvert the
liberties of the p ople and the government
Of limited powers created by our fathers,
and end in great consolidated central gov
ernment strong indeed for evil and the over
throw Of Republican institutions. Wise
men who formed our constitution knew the
evil of strong government and long continu-
ance of political power in the same hands.
They knew there was a tendency in this d.
rectionin all governments, and consequent
danger to Republican institutions from that
cause and took pains to guard against it,
The machinery of a strong centralized gen.
eral government can be used to perpetuate
the same set of men in power from term to