East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1864-06-01
An Addrx ss to Presid'nt Lincoln from
~ the Editor CT the N. Y. World
The Conduct Of the President In eurpresu-
ing the New York World and "
journal OF Commerce..

To bis ExeeIlency, Abraham Lincoln, Presiden
OF the Uniiod states.
SIR "That the King can do nc
wrong is the theory OF a monarchy
1t is the theory of "a constitutional re-
public that its chief magistrate may
do wrong. In the former the minis.
4 try are responsible for the Kings acts
In the latter the President is responsi
BILE for the acts of his ministers Oul
Constitution admits that the Presi
dent may err in providing for judg.
ment upon his doings, by tho people
in regular elections. In providing
for his impeachment it admits that he
may be guilty of crimes.
In government OF laws, and moi
Of men, the most obscure citizen may
without indecorum, address himself tc
the Chief Magistrate, when to the Con
stitution whence you derive your TEN,
poraiy power and he the guarantee o.
his perpetual rights, he has constantly
paid his unquestioning loyalty, and
when to the laws, which your duty is
to care for a faithful execution OF, he
has rendered entire obedience.
If the matter of his address be that
in his person, property and rights, the
| Constitution has been disregarded
and the laws disobeyed /; if its appeal
to the principles of justice be no more
earnest than the solicitude Of its re-
gard for truth, and if the manner OF
his address be no less temperate than
firm, he does not need courtly phrases
to prohibit an attentive hearing from
a magistrate who loves his country,
her institutions and her laws.
In the World of last Wednesday
morning was published proclama-
ton, purporting to be signed by your
Excellency, and countersigned by the
Secretary of State, appointing a day
of fasting and prayer, and calling into
military service, by volunteering and
draft, four hundred thousand cit
izens between the ages of eighteen and
forty-fvo. That proclamation was a
forgery, written by a person, who,
ever since your departure from
Springfield for Washington in 1861,
has enjoyed private as well as public
opportunities for learning to counter
felt the peculiarities of your speech
and style, and whose services for
years as city editor of the New York
7hmes and upon the New York Tribune,
acquainted him with the entire news
paper machinery of the city, and en-
abled him to insert his clever forgery
into the regular channels by which We
rec Give news, at time when compe-
tent inspection of its genuincness
was impossible, and suspicion of its
authencity was improbable. The
manifold paper, resembling in all re-
spccts that upon which We nightly re-
ceive our agents news, and from the
government itself orders, announce
ments, and proclamations, was left
with night clerk about 3 or o'clock
in the morning, after the departure of
every responsible editor, and was at
once passed into the hands of the
printers, put in type and published
No newspaper in the country but
would have been deceived as we were.
Our misfortune was complete. At
an early hour, however, before the
business of the city had entirely be-
gun, it was discovered that we had
been imposed upon, and were being
made to appear the instruments of
deception of tho public. There was
no delay in vindicating our character.
Our whole machinery for spreading
news was set in motion instantly to
announce that we had been deceived
by forgery--that your Exccllcncy
had issued no proclamation. I he sale
OF papers over our counters was
stopped. Nows-room bundles and
files were stopped, and the agent of
the line was informed that the procla-
nation was forgery. Our printers
and pressmen were brought from
their homes and beds TO put in type
and publish the news Of our misfor-
tune. Our bulletin boards were pla-
carded with the offer of reward for the
discovery of the forger, and to the
agent Of the Associated Press l sent q
telegram reciting all the facts, for him
to transmit at once to nearly every
daily paper in the North, from Maine
to California. Thus before the Sciota
sailed, before your Secretary of State
had officially branded the forgery, the
wings which we had given to Truth
enabled her to outstrip everywhere
the Falsehood we had unwittingly set
on foot, and in many places the truth
arrived before tho forgcr had couc to
tell his tale.
For any injury done to ourselves, to
the government, or to the public, this
publicity was ample antidote. 1t in
Iced made injury impossible.
But the insult to your Excellency 1
was the greater in proportion to the /
sniinence of your station. Early in
The afternoon Of Wednes ay, there
fore, won't with Mr. VIM. &. Prime,
he chief editor of the Journal of Com
ao'ce, which had been deceived pre-
,isely as we were, to the headquarters
Vt the Departments of the East, and we
aid before the commanding general
very clue in our possession which
,opld load to the discovery of the gull
y persons. All the facts above rccit-
ID were telcgraphed at once 20 you
through the Secretary of War by Gen.
Dix. / assert our utter blameless-
hess. | assert, moreover, that have
never known a mind SO prejudiced in
which acquaintance with these facts
would not enforce tho conviction of
,ur utter blamelessness. i sseaa. /
Here was the absence of an intent
o do wrong; here was an antidote for
IN injury mwittingly assisted more
complete and sfsctilal than tAo injury
tself here was alacrity in search Of
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