Year: 1876

| field, Hon. +. >. Lyon, and others OF
the committee, etc.


HENDRICKS ACCEPTANCE.


INDIANAPOLIS, July 4, 1876.-Gentle-
men: I have the honor to acknowledge
the receipt of your communication in
which you have formally notified me of
my nomination by the National Demo-
cratic Convention ut St. Louis, as their
candidate for the Office of Vice Presi-
dent of the United States. It is NOM
ination which I had not expected nor
desired, and yet recognize and ap-
preciate the high honor done me by the
convention. The choice of such body
and pronounced with such unusual un-
animity, and accompanied with such a
generous expression of esteem and con-
fidence ought to outweigh all mere
personal desires and preferences of my
own. 1t is with this feeling and trust,
also from deep sense of public duty,
that now accept the nomination, and
shall abide the judgment of my country
men. It would have been impossible
for me to accept the nomination if 1
could not heartily endorse the platform
of the convention. lam gratifed there
fore to be able to say unequivocally
that agree in the principles, approve
the policies and sympathize with the
purposes enunciated in the platform.
The institutions of our country have
been sorely tried by exigencies of civil
war, and since the peace by the selfish
and corrupt management of public af-
fairs which has shamed us before civil
lized mankind. By unwise and partial
legislation every industry and interest
of the people have been made to suffer.
The executive department of the gov
ernment by dishonesty, rapacity and
venality has debauched the public SER
vice. Men known to be unworthy have
been promoted, whilst others have been
degraded for fidelity to official duty;
public Office has been made the means
of private profit, and the country has
been offended to see class of those who
boast the friendship of the sworn pro-
tectors of the state, amassing fortunes
by defrauding the public treasury and
by corrupting the services of the peo-
pie. In such crisis of the history of
the country rejoice that the conven-
ton at st. Louis has so nobly raised
the standard of reform. Nothing can
be we'll with us or with Our affairs until
the public conscience, shocked by the
enormous evils and abuse which pre-
vail, shall have demanded and COM
PEELED an unsparing reformation OF our
national administration, its head and
in its members. In such o reformation
the removal of single officer, even the
President is comparatively triAing
matter, if the system which he repre-
sents and which has fostered it, is suf-
fered to remain. The President alone
must not be mads the scapegoat for the
enormities of system which infects the
public service and also threatens the
destruction of our institutions. In
some respects I hold that the present
executive has been the victim rather
than the author of that vicious system.
Congressional and party leaders have
been stronger than the President. No
one man could have created it and the
removal of no one man can remedyit. 1t
is thoroughly corrupt and must be
swept remorselessly away by the cleo
ton of a government composed of ele-
ments entirely new and pledged to radi-
cal reform. trust the work of reform
must eventually be the restoration Of
the normal operation of the constitution
of the United States with all its amend
ments. The necessities of war cannot
bc pleaded in time of peace; the right
of local self government as guaranteed
by tho constitution must be everywhere
restored, and tho centralized, almost
personal, imperialism which has been
practiced must be done away or the first
principles of the Republic will be lost.
Our financial system of expedients
must be reformed. Gold and silver
are tae real standards of value, and
our national currency Will not be per-
feet medium of exchange until it shall
be convertible at the pleasure of the
holder.


AsI have heretofore said, no one de-
sires return to specie payment more
earnestly than I do, but I do not believe
that it will or can be reached in har-
mony with the interests of the people
by artificial measure for the contraction
Of the currency, any more than be-
lieve that wealth or permanent pros
perity can be created by an imitation OF
the currency. The laws of finance can
not be disregarded with impunity. The
financial policy of the government, il
indeed it deserves the name of the
policy at all, has been in disregard OF
these laws, and therefore has disturbed
commercial business as we'll as hindered
a return to specie payments. One fea-
ture of that policy was the resumption
act of 1876, which has embarrassed the
country by the anticipation Of COM
pulsory resumption, of which n0Por-
ton has been made, and withods any
assurance that it would be practicable.
The repeal of that clause is necessary
that the natural operation OF financial
/ laws may be restored; that the bust
ness of the country may be relieved
from its disturbing and depressing in
fluence, and that return to specie pay-


ments may be facilitated BY substitu-
ton of moro prudent legislation, which
I shall mainly rely on; judicious sys.


tenn of public economies and OF official
retrenchments, and above oil, on the
/ nromotion of nrOsnerikv in all OF the in