Part 5

"The act of 1875 was a settlement--unsatisfactory and inadequate, no doubt--but still a settlement which, in every point of view, should (as it seems to me) be respected. If present legislation is inadequate to carry it into effect, fresh legislation should be provided. If the time that remains is now too short to make effectual provision for resumption, the period should be extended to admit of proper preparation. But to say (as the platform does) that the resumption clause is itself an obstacle to resumption, and to propose its naked repeal, is (as it seems to me) to talk nonsense, and, what is worse, very dishonorable and disgraceful nonsense.

"Knowing how thoroughly sound you are on this subject, I cannot but believe that you will take some occasion (probably in your letter of acceptance) to relieve yourself and your supporters from the odium of permitting the phrase to pass without explanation. I observe that Mr. Hendricks exults in the expression, as being equivalent to an abandonment of any policy looking towards resumption by the government. But the phrase is capable of receiving a different interpretation, as was shown by one of the Ohio delegates in the convention, who said that it might be taken to express a disapproval of the resumption clause only because it did not contain sufficiently vigorous provisions for a sufficiently early resumption. But if nothing should be said by you, I am satisfied that the interpretation of Mr. Hendricks is the sense which will be affixed to the platform both by friends and foes; and it is a sense which (in my judgment) will do very great harm, and, indeed, is already working mischief.

"I trust that you will not consider it impertinent in me to write thus strongly and with so much frankness. I feel very strongly that the conservative sentiment of this country will not willingly see the settlement of 1875 rudely and thoughtlessly repudiated; and I am confident that not only is this the real feeling of the country, but that it is a noble and honorable sentiment which cannot with impunity be disregarded by those who represent a reform of politics.

"You may be very sure, my dear Mr. Tilden, that if I had not a very genuine confidence in you, and an earnest desire for your success, I should not have ventured to write you thus. Pray take this view of my letter, and believe me,

"Yours most sincerely, "ROBT. B. MINTURN.

"_His Excellency S. J. Tilden, &c., &c., &c._"

WHITELAW REID TO BIGELOW

"_Personal._

"NEW YORK, 23 PARK AVE., _July 9, '76_.

"MY DEAR MR. BIGELOW,--I am sorry that I missed you on Saturday. I had just run over to the Phelps' to assist them in some of their final preparations in sailing again for Europe. You know they took my niece over, returned with her to nurse her, went with me to the West to bury her, and are now just starting back to try to get up their own health again.

"I would like very much to talk over the political situation with you. I am exceedingly sorry that the Hendricks nomination and the platform seem to shut us up to the support of Hayes. At the same time, I feel like congratulating the independent press and honest men of all parties on the great reform they have succeeded in securing in forcing unobjectionable nominations from the Republicans, and compelling the Democrats to take Tilden. It does not seem to me by any means clear that he will not be elected. If he is we ought all to pray night and day that his health may be preserved to protect us against Hendricks.

"Very truly yours, "WHITELAW REID."

GEORGE TICKNOR CURTIS TO GOVERNOR TILDEN

"NEW YORK, _July 10, '76_.

"MY DEAR SIR,--Gov. Hayes leaves to you a clear field. Since reading his letter I am the more confirmed in the views which I hurriedly expressed on Saturday. You now have a great opportunity to do two things: first, to make the country see that the resumption of specie payments means _measures_, and not _barren promises_; that the attitude of the Republicans in regard to specie payments is like the attitude of the government in regard to its notes--the holder asks for payment, and he gets another paper promise; the country asks to have specie payments restored, and it gets the law wh. says it shall be done in 1879, but takes no step towards a fulfilment of the pledge. Secondly, you now have a grand opportunity to show the inflationists of our own party that they indulge a false alarm about contraction; that the very gist of the problem is to avoid contraction that will hurt anybody by putting the finances of the govt. into a condition to supply a circulating medium that will appreciate in value from the moment of the enactment of the very first measure, and will go on appreciating until it becomes at par with gold in the market and in the purchasing and paying power.

"Let the people see that you are not, as your rival certainly is, a mere puppet in the hands of others. Speak, speak as if _ex-cathedra_; for your position is now one that will cause anything you say, that appears to come from _conscious power to handle the subject_, to sink deep in the public mind. Your opponent not only shows no such conscious power, but he shows that he possesses no more of it than a child; in which respect, indeed, he is a good average representative of his party. Now is your time to strike a blow that will be felt.

"Yours very truly,

"_Gov. Tilden._

GEO. TICKNOR CURTIS."

C. H. McCORMICK TO TILDEN

"SPRING HOUSE, RICHFIELD SPRINGS, N. Y., _July 11, 1876_.

"MY DEAR SIR,--Your kind expressions of me when at your house yesterday have induced me to make a suggestion to you in _confidence_.

"If uncommitted on the question, and if you could do no better (of course) as Secretary of the Treasury, I venture to submit that in that important [post] I might be able to command confidence to a large extent where I am known.

"With your views as expressed, one word from _you_ at St. Louis would have given me the nomination for the 'second place.' I suppose the place above mentioned is of more importance to the public in a 'reform' point of view than the second place. These things, Govr., are only for your consideration, with neither claims nor representations on my part, only asking that if not approved they will not further be thought of.

"When I left St. L., Gen. Preston, of Ky., and other influential friends from other States requested permission to use my name for the V.-P. shd. Govr. H. on any account decline, etc.

In much haste, "Your frd. & obt. St., "C. H. MCCORMICK."

TILDEN TO S. S. COX

"STATE OF NEW YORK, EXECUTIVE CHAMBER, "ALBANY, _July 22, 1876_.

"DEAR MR. COX,--Your note of the 15th came several days ago, but I have since that time been so exceptionally occupied that I could not give any attention to my correspondence.

"I did, however, immediately direct the messages you desired to be at once sent, and I now will answer your inquiry in respect to the statement of Federal taxation for the year 1870, contained in my last annual message.

"The year taken is that which ends on the 30th of June, 1870, being most nearly identical with that in which and for which the census statements are made.

"The statement is of taxation and not of expenditures. All the statements in the comparative tables are of taxation. In the long run, unfortunately, the expenditures equal the taxes. At any rate, the comparison is a comparison of taxation.

"If you will refer to the first page of the report of the Secretary of the Treasury for December 5, 1870, you will find the receipts for the year ending June 30, 1870, stated as follows:

From customs (in gold) $194,538,374 44 " internal revenues 185,128,859 07 " sales of public lands 3,350,481 76 " miscellaneous sources 28,237,762 06 --------------- Total $411,255,477 33

"To reduce the gold revenue from the customs to currency requires the addition of the premium on gold. The gentleman to whom I intrusted that computation made an average which fixed the premium at 24 per cent. That is no doubt considerably below the real premium at the times when the revenues were collected.

"The amount of the premium is $46,689,209.86. From that should be deducted premium received on the sales of gold which form the larger part of the 28,000,000 of receipts from miscellaneous sources, and amount to $15,294,137.37, leaving a balance of $31,395,072.49--

$31,395,072 49 Add 411,255,477 63 ---------------- $442,650,550 12 Add to that the amount collected by Postmasters 15,141,623 71 ---------------- Total $457,792,173 83

"The estimate of the amount drawn from the people by taxation by the Federal government, contained in the table to which you refer, is made in round numbers $450,000,000.

"There can be no doubt it is below the truth.

"Very respectfully yours."

HENDRICKS TO TILDEN (TELEGRAM)

"_Cleveland, O._

"REC'D AT ALBANY, _July 15, 1876_.

"TO GOVERNOR TILDEN, "_Albany, N. Y._

"I have spent the afternoon here and seen many Democrats. Our gains are large, and we can carry Ohio, but all say it is worth thousands of votes to repeal the resumption clause on some terms. I think you should urge a proper measure of repeal.

"T. A. HENDRICKS."

ABRAM S. HEWITT TO TILDEN

"HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, _July 26th, 1867_.

"MY DEAR GOVERNOR,--We have got over another day, thanks to an election case, without action on the silver bill. We believe now that we shall be able to defeat action, if not vote down the measure. It has been a hard fight, and, if we win, it will be due to considerations of expediency rather than of principles on the part of the Southern members.

"The object of this note is mainly to suggest something in regard to the civil-service plank. A very intelligent newspaper man says that the real issue is not so much in the personnel of the clerks as in the modes and machinery of administration in the several departments of the Govt. In other words, that the abuses are largely due to the defective organization of the department, that the business has outgrown the methods and machinery devised by Hamilton, and that it is the framework of the government machine which needs reformation, reconstruction, and adaptation to the requirements of the public business. In this view, the mere appointment and discharge of a few clerks is of but little consequence, compared with such a reform in the mode of conducting the public business.

"This crude statement seems to contain the germ of a position in politics in regard to civil service, far higher and more practical than the declaration of Hayes.

"The P. S. dept. may be instanced to illustrate the state of affairs. When it was a small affair it was not of such consequence, and before the days of railroads and telegraphs indispensable, perhaps, that it should use its receipts to pay its expenses and pay over to the Treasury any balance that might remain at the end of the fiscal year. Now, however, when the receipts are very great, they should be paid all into the Treasury, and the expenses drawn thence by warrant, as in other departments of the government. This is not the case, but the Postmaster-General, having the control of the money, authorizes and allows expenditures, such as repairs and improvements to buildings, amounting to large sums, without any authority from Congress, such as is necessary in the other departments for such outlays.

"So the bookkeeping of the government is not in accordance with the experience of the times, but is crude, old-fashioned, unsatisfactory, and even contradictory. Now a broad declaration from you that you will endeavor to reform these abuses which are of a gravity far greater than the incompetence or negligence of clerks, and that this reform is the most urgent and will receive careful attention would, I think, strike the public favorably.

"Faithfully y'rs, "ABRAM S. HEWITT.

"Scott Wicks, of Ill., one of our best members, and who stood by us on the banking and currency committee, has lost his renomination in consequence. It is a severe blow to him and to me, and if we win he must be taken care of. He is a first-class man.

"I do not think you begin to appreciate the bitterness of these Western inflationists."

ABRAM S. HEWITT TO TILDEN

"_Personal and private._

"SUNDAY, 8 P.M., WASHINGTON, _Aug. 6, '76_.

"MY DEAR GOVERNOR,--I have been very unwell all day, caused by the nervous exhaustion of yesterday's work in the House. And yet I will try to give you some idea of the situation and the results. The banking and currency committee decided to report the repeal of the resumption date on Friday. I persuaded them to wait till Saturday, hoping that your letter would come and change the situation. The letter did come, but the committee were perfectly fixed in their determination to report. I tried to get them to substitute a commission to inquire and report in December on the whole resumption question. They offered to accept this as an amendment, but not as a substitute. To this the hard-money New England men would not agree, and so I decided to offer my substitute, as we could well vote for repeal pure and simple, without measures of preparation. We had a debate of two hours. You will find what I said in the _Record_. After the debate was over they declined to let my substitute be offered. The House was determined to get a vote on it, and so no quorum voted on the motion for the previous question. This brought them to terms, and they allowed the substitute to be offered. It was lost by twelve majority. If the House had been full it would have carried. The vote then recurred on the repeal, and it was carried by 20 majority, all the hard-money men voting against it. There was no hard feeling, and no bitterness remains. The hard-money men have made their record, and the soft-money men have got the repeal, and no longer any excuse for not carrying their States. I think that the matter is in the best possible shape. The party is committed to specie payments by the platform and your admirable letter, and by Hendricks' mushy acquiescence.

"Immediately afterwards we passed a concurrent resolution establishing a commission to consider the silver question and the resumption of specie payments. So that we can say that we have made provision for investigation and the elaboration of a practical scheme for resumption.

"On the whole, I now think that the matter has been managed as well as the difficulties of the situation would admit.

"Your letter gives general satisfaction, especially to the Southern members, who [are] loud in its praise.

"I hope that Congress will adjourn this week, so that we may organize for the campaign. I have in preparation all the necessary documents to show the frauds and corruption of the administration, and if we have means to circulate them I anticipate the best results.

"Faithfully yours, "ABRAM S. HEWITT."

Considering the friendly and very intimate relations which had subsisted between Mr. Bryant and Mr. Tilden from the latter's early boyhood, it was natural that the Governor should inspire the request contained in the following letter from one of his nephews. The correspondence which ensued, and its results, will be found in Bigelow's _Life of Tilden_, Volume I., page 300. It is proper to repeat here that Mr. Bryant, at the time he wrote his letter declining to be named as one of the Tilden electors, was only a proprietor of half of the _Evening Post_ property, and his partner, Mr. Henderson, feared the effect upon the prosperity of the paper which would be likely to result from the appearance of its editor in such conspicuous relations with the Democratic party. Mr. Bryant, however, went so far as to give instructions, which were pretty carefully observed, to permit nothing personally hostile to Mr. Tilden to appear in the columns of the _Post_ during the canvass, and voted for him at the election.

Besides the reasons here stated for Mr. Bryant's embarrassing attitude towards Mr. Tilden, there were others communicated to Mr. Tilden a few weeks later by Miss Julia Bryant in the note succeeding Mr. Pelton's.

W. T. PELTON TO JOHN BIGELOW

"(_August, 1876._)

"MY DEAR MR. BIGELOW,--It seems very desirable that Mr. Bryant should be put on as one of the electors at large, and we must know that he will not decline if nominated. Will you undertake to communicate with him at once? I would suggest that you write him and send a messenger with the letter to Cummington--or perhaps it would be better to write Mr. Godwin, who is there, or was a few days ago. Of course, you can state as strongly as you please how much it is desired _here_ that he accept.

"Can't you send Monday morn, train, so as to get reply early.

"Sincerely yrs., "W. T. PELTON.

"_Satrdy. evg._"

JULIA BRYANT TO TILDEN

"ROSLYN, _Sept. 30, '76_.

"DEAR MR. TILDEN,--I am very, very sorry that you and your friends and your enemies will not see the article in regard to the slanders about your income tax which my father wrote at Cummington last Saturday. He bestowed much time upon it, read it to me, and pronounced it himself 'a good article,' and sent it on Monday to Mr. Sperry,[9] with the injunction to publish it entire, whatever might have appeared previously on the subject in the _Evening Post_.

[9] Mr. Sperry was Mr. Henderson's son-in-law, and at the time managing editor of the _Evening Post_.

"After our return here this week a letter came from Mr. Sperry begging my father most earnestly _not_ to publish the article, as it would certainly be followed by abuse of Mr. Henderson in the _Times_--abuse more virulent than ever before--because in this article the _Times_ was attacked, although indirectly, and most _severely censured_. It was _urged_ that my father should not persist in publishing what would cause such distress to Mr. Henderson, already so worn by his troubles. On this score my father felt that he must yield, but he did it most unwillingly and quite ungraciously.

"I am anxious, however, that you should know what has passed; and should know, also, that my father, averse as he is to such constant watchfulness, has had much to combat in keeping attacks on you out of the papers, and has insisted that you should not be treated in the _Evening Post_ otherwise than with respect. You may think that he has not exerted himself in your behalf, as he might have done for an old and esteemed friend, and one who has done him such good service; but, truly, it has required no small effort on his part to keep the paper as moderate as it is.

"He knows that I am writing this now.

"I am obliged to finish in great haste, as I am just going to town.

Yours truly, "JULIA BRYANT."

TILDEN TO MISS HUNT

"138 EAGLE ST., ALBANY, _Aug. 8th, 1876_.

"DEAR MISS HUNT,--I lately learned by chance that it is to you that I am indebted for a copy of the new edition of the works of Ed. Livingston on criminal jurisprudence. No information as to the source of the presentation had ever before reached me. I ought, perhaps, to have caused inquiry to be made into that matter, but in the rush of things amid which I have lived, did not. The work which has fallen on me in my present career has been constantly outgrowing my help and my own capacity for attention to the secondary things; and I must confess in myself a tendency to become more and more absorbed, with increasing intensity and increasing persistence, in the parts of the work on which its success depends as on the turning-points of battle--a habit not favorable to secondary things, very unfavorable to the human machine, but surprisingly serviceable to the work which gets the benefit of it.

"I will now say what I would have contrived the opportunity to say earlier, if I had ever known to whom it should have been addressed.

"It is impossible to appreciate more highly than I do the character, abilities, and services to his country and to the world of Ed. Livingston. And then, I have always taken a special interest in the man. Among my early recollections is this of him: He used to come to Lebanon Springs, which is on the edge of the beautiful valley in which I was born and passed my youth. My father's acquaintance with him was the occasion of my seeing him and retaining a recollection of his form and features. His taste for antiquarian researches led him to dig open some mounds in the neighborhood and leaving on the rustic mind some impression of eccentricity. My father had been more intimate with the chancellor, and deprived from him a taste for Merino sheep, and shared in his importations.

"I need not add with how much interest I read Mr. Hunt's biography of Ed. Livingston, which is itself a delicious portrayal of a most attractive character.

"I beg you to accept my thanks for the volumes you were so kind as to send me, and believe me,

"Very truly yours, "S. J. TILDEN."

MISS HUNT TO TILDEN

"MONTGOMERY PLACE, BARRYTOWN-ON-HUDSON, _Aug. 10th_.

"DEAR GOVERNOR TILDEN,--Your kind note has reached me safely, while mine, sent with the books, never arrived at its destination, as it should have done.

"My aunt, Mrs. Barton, in a spirit of filial piety, had preserved a number of copies for the purpose of presenting them in suitable quarters. But before she could accomplish the object Mrs. Barton herself suddenly died. The duty having consequently devolved on me of distributing the volumes, I felt special satisfaction in offering you a copy of them, who, as the Governor of the native State of Edward Livingston, are so conspicuous for wisdom and devotion to the cause of public reform.

"May I venture to add a few words, and to say that at such a moment as this it is quite impossible not to feel the deepest interest in the work which you tell me has proved so absorbing to yourself. It is, indeed, your high fortune to lead in the reform all over our country, and no one, watching the drift of the national canvass in your favor, can fail to be full of hope and belief in the future.

"Should you ever come in our neighborhood, I beg that you will not pass us by. It would be a great gratification to me to have the pleasure of receiving you at Montgomery Place.

"LOUISE LIVINGSTON HUNT."

TILDEN TO HON. JOHN BRAGG, MOBILE

"138 EAGLE STREET, ALBANY, _Aug. 11th, 1876_.

"MY DEAR SIR,--Mrs. Van Buren has been so kind as to send me your letter to her. I am glad to renew an acquaintance which, although slight, has not wholly passed from my recollection.

"You mention an inquiry of yours in 1872, whether I had entirely abandoned public life. In the sense of official life, I can scarcely be said ever to have any. Tho' I have given almost half my life to public affairs, it has been as a private citizen. In 1846 I went to the Assembly for a special object, to help Mr. Wright in a crisis of his administration, and retired. In 1872 I went again to the same body to obtain the impeachment and removal of corrupt judges who swayed the administration of justice in the metropolis, and again retired. In 1846, and again in 1867, I served in conventions to revise the State Constitution. That is all in that long period.