Dayton daily empire. [volume] (Dayton [Ohio]) 1850-1865, 1865-07-19
YaIahicinrY.

US, VI NVNHeNB Nh"s Ra'N"Nt,N " ShSoih5 ~
We have referred to an article oflast
Thursday evening to see il we could dis
cover tile slightest excuse for the abusive
reply which appeared in the Journal of
Saturday, and we are perfectly willing
to leave it to tho candid judgment of Gen
oral Crook himself whether that article
contained anything whatever to which a
gentleman could take exception. The
journal says his friends chad dno alternative
but defend his good name from defama-
ton" We regard General Crook as an
able bodied man, as well as courageous
soldier and true gentleman. If VIC had
been guilty of"dgaming" him, he would
not have been likely to leave the editor Of
tie Dayton Journal or his friends to defend
him. at would have been criminal" the
journal thinks 'to permit the use of the
name Of good man to promote the prin-
ciplo which he fought so gallantly to over
throw"
This is patronizing to say the least-it
remains however to be explained, how
our expressions of respect and admiration
for General Crook can bear any such
construction.
Now let us look back over this contro-
versy little. A banquet is gotten up
in honor of General Crook. The gentle
men who manage it address an unexcept-
ionable note to their guest in which there
is not the slightest offensive allusion to
any class of people who opposed the war,
or to any difference Of political views.
General Crook accepts--snd the cores
pondence is published. We then pub
lish an article on Thursday in which we
simply join in the expressions of respect
and admiration contained in. the note to
General Crook, and inform that gentle
man 'that his democratic telloac citizens
and neighJors hare as high an appreciation
of his patriotism, integrity and military
services as if their names acre appended
10 The letter of imitation"
To this the Journal replied in an article
of Saturday morning, denouncing as
"cool impudence" the idea of Democrats
presuming to express favorable sentiments
toward General Crook Or any OF the "brave
soldiers" who have been engaged in the
war, and accusing us of being ready to
''descend to the lowest depths ofhypocrisy
and falsehood to secure their votes"-also
embracing the usual cowardly abuse Of
Democrats as Northern traitors, copper
heads, DC. s.Ieb t
Now we wish to say once for all, in
reference to this latter matter, that the
editor of the Dayton Journal or any other
man, aoko hereafter applies the term of
"Nonhern traitors" to tie Democrats Of
| this community, acithom naming specifically
uho is meant, is common d1anaey and a
liar.
So much for that. an.3uJ
| The Democrats here have deserved no
such epithets and will not quietly submit
to them.
The article of the Journal was therefore
wanton and uniustifable attack upon
men upon whose character and motives
the editor has no right to sit in judgment.
There would have been no controversy
whatever that could have given offence to
General Crook or any one else if the
journal had not made this unprovoked
and ill-tempered attack, and accused us
of impudence, falsehood and hypocrisy.
With regard to the conduct of the
gentlemen who managed the banquet, we
expressly exhonorated them from blame
in so far as concerned their social prefer
ences--and only alluded to it as a matter
of taste about which there is proverbially
no right to dispute.
The whole matter may be summed up
simply thus The journal desires to keep
tup the impression that was systematically
made during the war upon the officers and
soldiers of the army, that the Democrats
were their enemies, and desired the South
ern armies to whip them. The Democrats
know that this is false and slanderous,
but their papers having been purposely ex'
cludsd from circulation in the army, have
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