The Ebensburg Alleghanian. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1865-1871, 1867-03-28
Fairness Again!

In another column we give the leading
editorial of last weeks Freeman, word for
word and letter Cor letter, N order that
our readers may see two things-the rage
of liliputian King Lear, and the unfair
course and seemingly studied, though
characteristic, misrepresentation of the
Freeman. AS a single specimen of the
resorts to which our neighbor is put in
order to maintain his position with a show
of plausibility, wo give the following in
stance, in which that paper succeeds to
perfection in SO garbling our language as
to hide its meaning as completely as the
advocate of any bad cause could desire
The AHeghanian said, "That the perma-
nent disfranchisement of those unfortu-
nate, deluded men who fed the country
or remained in hiding places to escape
the draft will be seriously proposed, we
cannot say, though we hope not" and the
Freem0n, as the reader may see, in its
second attempt to (mis) quote our words,
puts but four of them in quotation marks,
divides our sentence into two parts by
inserting period in its middle, and leaves
1t so that no eye could distinguish our
words (save FOUR from its own.
We do not desire any patronizing from
the Freeman of what We ought, or ought
not, to know, or do, or say. A "falsehood,"
If We correctly understand its meaning,
Is an untrue assertion, or a want of truth
or veracity; and if the Freemaa's repre-
sentations of our language did not lack in
truthfulness, then assuredly we do not
comprehend the import of English words.
We trust we are aware of the courtesies of
editorial life, and if the freeman can
manage not to garble or misrepresent our
positions, especially while almost in tho
very act of boasting of its fairness, it can
have its fill of courtesies. Honesty goes
before courtesy, and if at any time we so
far forget honesty as to garble our neigh
bor's language, or misrepresent his words,
We shall endeavor not to add to our folly
BY giving patronizing lectures on courtesy
and propriety to those who expose. our
Misrepresentation.
We have been acoustic med to think the
editor of the Freeman very good and
distinguished lawyer, but when the Free
"lan persists in maintaining that special
legislation has been transferred to the
courts, when it is only provided that the
Legislature may not act In such cases
wherein power has been or may hereafter
be conferred upon the court, and in view
of the fact that fully 1,043 acts were passed
BY the Legislature of 1866, of which
scarcely over one in forty was applicable
TO the State at large, we begin to wonder
if such recklessness of statement can keep
company with profound legal lore.
We shall close this article by giving an
additional example of the Frecnan's fair
ness and truthfulness. In its last issue,
it says:
"There are in Cambria county about a, 900
whites and about 100 negroes. None of the
former, during the last three months, have
been guilty of a Penilentiary offence-two OF
the latter have. We need not comment on this"
Now, by the census of 1860, the whites
in Cambria county numbered 20, ,040 per-
sons, and the blacks lis persons. But
the Freeman, il order to make ont as hard
. case as possible against humble black
people, assumes an increase of whites in
seven years of about "a one-hundreths
and decrease of the blacks of about Is
oie-hundreths. 1t keeps also from its
readers q fact we'll known to it-tbat
several whites were saved from the peni-
tentiary by the sheer mercy of the court
We need not comment on this.