Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1859-06-23
WE believe that the Editor of the Argus has


that he has been graduated at a college. If We
are correct, it is fair to presume that he under
stands what is meant both by syntactical and
logical sequence; and also that he knows what
mon sequitur' is We propose to ask his
attention to the discredit which he reflects upon
his Alma Mater, by his Infraction, or rather by
his notification, of the received significance Of
these terms.
He 0he editor of the Argus) on last Saturday
evening set out to show his readers what shabby
treatment the Wheeling delegation of German
Singers who went from here, received at the
hands of the Cleveland Convention. The in-
dctment was, substantially, that they, the
Wheeling delegation, had not been met at the
depot; (the Pittsburgh delegation were on the
same train,) that they had not been escorted
back TO tho depot on their departure; that quar-
ters had not been prepared for them, and in
general, that the courtesies and hosPitalites
usual on and due to such an occasion, had not
been rendered them. Well, now, we have not
denied any or all tho counts in this Indictment
What VIC have denied was, that this conduct on
the part of the Cleveland German Singing So
cieties, was induced by the fact, or, to use the
Ar0us' own words, that it was because our del
egates came from Wheeling, and that Wheeling
is in slave State This we have denied, and
denied on authority, too.
But this is not the point we are after. Wewant
to meet the Argus on its own chosen tactics, as
we said yesterday morning. The Argus has
put political face on the whole matter and
we want to lift the veil and let all the features of
the face be seen. Grant, then, that it was just
SO rs the argus has stated, that is, that the
delegation from here were treated very shabbily
and grant that it was from the fact that they
came from Wheeling and that Wheeling is in
slave State, that they were so treated. Grant it
all we say. Then comes the question, Who
was it that treated them SOP Was it the Mayor
and Common Council of Cleveland? Mol They
had no part or lot in the matter. They were
not supposed to be cognizant of the fact that
singers were about. Was it then, from the mill
tary companies, or the fire companies, or tho
lawyers, doctors or clergy of Cleveland. No:
none of these. Well, then, who was it that
treated our delegation so badly9 Why, tho
German singing Societies. No body else
Nobody else, good or bad, had anything to do
with the Convention or the people who were
sent to it as delegates. This then brings US to
the point we are after. Since nobody waste
blame but Germans-since no one else had Of
Tended, could the article of the Argus by any
possible bending or twisting, allowing it even
all the malleability and ductility common to adj
captdndum articles of the sort, have any refer
ence to anybody else but Germans? That is to
say: could the article, giving fair play to
the laws of logic and language, apply to
persons who were not in the matter at all,
in any shape or formH For instance, would it
do to say that the conclusion of the Argus
article commencing "these poor FOOLS" &c.
meant anybody else than the people the Argus
had been talking about?
Who were the poor fools (? Certainly the
Germans up there, who had offended
And recollect, now, it was these "poor fools who
do not know how to behave themselves at
home" who were to smell SO bad, provided
they came here in hot weather. Now the editor
of the argus mays ay as he plcases, about what
he meant in his article. We hold him to the
only proper index OF his meaning, viz: his
words-and he may choose one or the other
horns of this dilemma, viz: either that he
meant the persons to whom his words would
syntacrically and logically refer, viz: the Ger
mans whose conduct he was criticising, or else
that, without cause OF provocation of any kind,
but merely for the sake of creating prejudice,
he logged in unoffending people. We say
again, that this is the dilemma to which
he is reduced either he meant the Ger
mans Cwho were the offenders by his own
accounO or else he did not. And if he did
not mean the Germans, why does Ihe apply
opprObrious epithets to persons who had in no
wise been derelict We are bound, as we said
before, by his words to infer that he meant the
Germans, and if he did mean them of course it
was them who were to smell so bad in warm
weather. And rccolect now they could smell
only as Germans-for common sense teaches
any man that German Republicans, German
Democrats or German Know NOthings, who
had been dieted and habited alike, would smell
alike. If then it was Germans the argus had
reference to, it must explain away the reflection
upon them, but if it was not the Germans, but
some persons else, not manifest in the narrative,
it owes the public an explanation as to what