Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1857-04-17


it was Talleyrand who said that language was
made, not to express, but to conceal ideas
Never in our lives have we witnessed mere
painful effort to achieve something of the dex-
terity in the GartfuI dodge" credited to the willy
FrenChman, than in the Wheeling Argps Of yes
tcrday. Our article of the day before, it seems,
acted only as stimulant, not as tonic. 1t
brought about a sort of abnormal action, which
resulted in that frightful paroxysm, instead of
even tempered, healthy reply. Its whole
"hundred eyes" seemed to kindle and glare at
us, until we insttnctively shrunk from its gaze,
just as we used to when we dreamed Of horrid
hobgobblins.
1t is difficult for us to notice at length, this
mere TRADE; for it was nothing more than n
verbose, pointless, spiteful piece of denuncta-
ton, coming as near the idea of .'so1 ct lrac-
terra nihir' as one could well Imagine.
We, the day before, presented an issue to the
ArgtW, md it never noticed it. 1t did not even
deign to quote from us, while we published its
entire article of the day before. This course
COMFORTS with the common usage of the Argus.
We never knew it a whit more generous, or
even just. Day after day it gives its readers a
lop-sided view of how the world wags on, while
it studiously conceals whatever has the faintest
trace of liberalism, lest the scales should fall
from the eyes Of its adherentS, and their fifth
in its infallibiltty be shaken. This custom is in
accordance with the programme laid down by
the sectional, fre-cating school OfjOurnals of
which the Argus is an humble member.
In our reply to its first article, we charged it
with bitter antipathy against the Northern
people; we substantiated our charge by quo
totion from its article. OF this it took no no.
tice. The Argus knew that it was guilty of an
outrageous caIumny, and we arc willing to al
low that feeble reverence for the intelligence
of its readers may have driyenit from the de-
fence Of its assertion. We also charged it with
being an accessory, after the fact, in the mob
here last summer, when, instead of condemning
thatlOw flung attempt to stiae the voices and
outrage the moral agency of citizens of Virginia,
this organic cSpounder, whose daily delight it
is to pirate about the Constitution and strict
construction, Missed on and Allotted its poor
blind dupes. In the same article we brought
up the case of Mr. c. j. Faulkner and the
speech which we published some time ago, and
we could not get even wink from the ATgvs
NpiiSCAAAA5 SAtAlS4 ~ way Vi GA Pisli4abLOHi
justification, or condemnation In our second
article we maintained that, so far were we from
being sectional in our views, we held only to the
views of the great fathers of the Republic, as
they themselves expounded them. We quoted
the names of some of the most distinguished,
as our authority But the Argys would make
believe that VIC were setting Uu foot some vile
heresy by which our socicty1Sas to be torn up,
root and branch. Now, we presume that we
have quite us much interest at stake in the con-
tnuance of the social fabric as has this timorous
guardian of-the spoils. No. the plain truth of
the matter is, and it will appear to those who
have read both papers, that the Argus after
having pompously opened its batteries, refused
to face the music, shirked the issues and cover
ed over its retreating tracks by raising an al
captandum dust about Wharton, G. Price Smith,
and Underwood, just as though we ever had
any sopt of connection with any of them.
No! Mr.. Argus, weight our own battles, with
out reference to who has gone before, or may
follow after: and our battle is to rcbuke you,
when you break out abusing, and uisrepresent-
ing a portion of our citizens who are Just as
loyal as you, to the institutions not only of our
own state, but Of the whole country, but who
are opposed to your intolerant-one-sided and
proscriptivc ''niggerismp