The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1864-05-27
The Proclamation Hoax.
PROTEST OF THE EDITORS OF THE WORLD AND
JOURNAL OF COMMERCE..

| To the Editor of the Herald
| Will you Oblige us by publishing in your col
umns the following statement of the proceed
ings OF the g vernment this evening toward:
the World and the Journal of Commerce, re-
garding the publicati IN in our mornings issues
signed by President Lincoln, appointing day
of fasting and prayer, and calling into the mil
[ itary service 400, 900 men.
The document in question was written Oh
their manifold paper. such as is used for all the
dispatches sent to the several newspapers OF
our association, and had every external ap.
| pearance and mark to identify it as a genuine
dispatch arriving in the regular course of bus
mess
It was delivered at our Office late at night at
the time of the receipt of our latest news too
late of course, for editorial supervision but,
as it happened, not before our printing Offices
were closed. r.
1t was delivered at all, or nearly all of the
newspaper Offices and published in a part of
the morning editions of the Journal of Com
nserce and World, and as we are informed in a
part of the editions of one or more of our con-
temporaries.
EARLY this morning the fact that the dispatch
had not been sent by the Agent of the Associ-
ated Press became known to US and its fraudu-
lent character was at once announced upon
our bulletin boards and reward of five hun
dred dollars offered by us for the discovery of
the fOrger. The Executive Committee of the
Associated Press also offered q similar reward
of one thousand dollars as the fraud had been
attempted to be perpetrated upon all the jour
nails composing our association.
We took pains in the afternoon to apprise
General Dix of the facts in the case, and gave
him such information in regard to the circum.
stances OF the forgery. as might assist him in
the discovery OF its author. The government
was at once put in possession of the facts in
the case. Nevertheless this evening, General
Dix, acting under peremptory orders from the
Government, placed our offices under militia
ry guard, and issued warrants for the arrest of
the editors and proprietors of the World and
Journal Of Commerce, and their Imprisonment
in Fort Lafayette. A vessel was lying, under
steam, at one Of the wharves to convey us
thither.
CHANGING to meet one of the officers of Gen.
Dix's staff. charged with the execution of this
order, we proceeded in his company to the
headquarters OF the Department of the East
and were informed by Gen. Dix that the order
for our arrest had been suspended, but that
the order for the suppression of the publica-
ton OF the World and Journal Of Commerce had
not been rescinded, and that we could not be
permitted to enter our offices, which continue
under the charge of the military guards,
test against the assumption of our completely
with this shameless forgery, implied in the Or
der of our arrest. We protest against the sup
preston of our journals for the misfortune of
being deceived by o forgery not less ingenious,
nor plausible than the forged report of the
Confederate Secretary of War, which Secretary
Seward made the basis of diplomatic action.
PRIME, STONE, HALE g. HALLOCK.
Journal Of Commerce.
MANTON MARBLE, World.
New York, May Is, 1864.
The following leading editorial was prepared
for the journal of Commerce of Thursday morn
ing As 1t cannot appear in that paper, in con-
sequence of its suppression by the United
States authorities, you would confer q favor by
inserting it in your columns.
PRIME, STONE, HALE & HALLOCK.
AFoRGERY.
A hoax, as ingenius in execution as it was
infamous in design, was perpetrated yesterday
on several of the morning papers connected
with the Associated Press, ourselves among
the number, by which we were led to publish,
In part OF our edition, proclamation purpOrt-
ing to emanate from the President of the
United States; but which soon proved to be
forgery II is unnecessary to waste words in
characterizing the criminality of this hoax.
Whatever its design, it was base and most in
famous outrage on the public, as well as on
the individual newspapers concerned
The injury done to ourselves is but small
matter ia comparison with the public wrong
attempted to be inflicted. Nevertheless, we
owe It to ourselves as well as to our readers to
explain the circumstances under which this
fraud was affected. The utmost care and Wig
ilance are exercised in our Office, as our read
ers are well aware, but no amount of care in a
we'll regulated newspaper office seems to be
sufficient to prevent frauds by persons who are
acquainted with the internal economy of such
an establishment. That some person familiar
with the telegraphic arrangements of the Al
sociated Press, as wen as with newspaper Office