Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1862-09-06
Major STePhaiI's card.

Major McPhail, the senior Paymaster of
the Army at this point. in reference to the
remarks made by us yesterday concerning
the narrowly escaped robbery of the gov
eminent funds at the Custom House on
Wednesday night last.
The tone of the card indicates two things,
once (which is that Maj McPhaiI has no
excuse to offer for the gross negligence by
which million aud quarter Of govern
ment money, confded to his custody, was
left ln-the collectors vault in the second
story of the Custom House, out of sight
and out ofhearing of single living soul,
himself included. The other thing indica-
ted is this, that &aj. McPhail desires to
make personal matter out of our COM
ments, and by series of insihuations I'M
worthy man who has straightforward
defence to make, to devert the public at
tention from himself TO others, the editor
of this paper included. .e
The point We made in our comments was
this, viz: that it was an inexcusable me-
glect on the part of the person or persona
to whom the money was conlided by the
government to leave 1T as it had been left.
And to this point Major McPhail never
once addresses himself. He makes sim
pie denial of our charge, aud passes it by.
His main object is clearly seen to be to
screen himself from the public .censure by
venting a number of assertions and iasin-
nations, rs shallow as they are mean and
false, to revenge himself, as it were,
upon Us for having dared to expose his Off
cial shOrtcoming. For instance, he pro-
ceeds to first insinuRte thatwe made the
occurrence an occasion for. comment upon
him. He next seeks to insinuate that if
We had not published a notice of the arri-
vSI of the money in our local columns,
robbers would not have known of
Its being in town. Next he insinuates that
if the editor of this paper, as Postmaster,
and the Post-ofice Waterman, had been on
the alert as they should have been, the rob-
befs could never have proceeded with their
work. he then tries to mystify the fact
that the Postmaster stays in his Office until
late hour every night, and he wonders
what he can be about so late, andwhether
1t is public or private business that aetains
him. Next he insinuates that it is the duty
of the Post-ofice people TO search the up
per stories of the house every night before
looking the doors, and that if this had been
done they would have found the robbers.
This is the mess of stuff Maj. McPh all
offers in reply to our comments. We pub
lish the card, unworthy, insulting and in
decent as It is, although every rule of
journalism would Justify us in throwing
it among our dirtiese waste papers.
No one knows better than Maj. McPhail
that the people uithe post-ofice, first floor
of the Wheeling Custom House, have no
control in any shape, manner or form of
any other foor-thst it is opart OF their
business ever to look or think about any
thing occurring or likely to occur on any
other floor in any other part of the house.
Each floor has its officers and least ofaII the
officers has the postmaster any controlover
the house. Butsupposing that this were not
so. and that it was by any construction,
made any part of the Postmaster's duty.
even the most inconsiderable, to look after
other floors than his own, how can Maj.
McPhail for an instant offer it as an excuse
for his neglect, when he knows that the
thick fire proof floors of the Custom House
as etfeCtually debar the passage of sound
through them as If there was no atmos-
phere. Fifty vaults might be opened every
night on the second floor of the Custom
House, and no precaution taken against
noise either, and yet not sound be heard
below.
OF course, this insinuAtion did not need
this much answer. sItsshallO1ness is just
specimen Of all the others. -.
As to Major McPhails wonderment in
reference to what the Postmaster does in
his Office until so late at night, We might
content ourselves with the simple assur-
suce to him that his business there is of
sueh-a nature that 1t does NOT furnish him
with pair of black eyes on the following
day, let it be what else it. will. To the
public It is suaieient to say that he is
there in, the discharge of his duties, and
for no other purpose. Two persons who |
sleep within the sound of his footstep will
attest this. IfMajOr McPhail has any desire
to compare the record of his nights with
those of the Postmaster's, we can promise
him that the public shall not be kept long
in ignorance of the secret of his neglect ot |
dutys Asto his snbterfage about local
notice having appeared in the ZatSlhSsaser
eoneerping the arrival his money, that is |
simply q miserable catch. at least
hundred people were standing around the
Custom House doors when his money ar
rived, and il was the buzz of conversation
IN every body's mouth 1t is useless for