New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1867-01-10
uHO is MR. MoGLNNISi

WHO IS MIR. McGLNNISi
It is a considerable time since we asked this
question, briefly but explicitly, and although our
circulation is also considerable, we do not yet
know who is the ilustriously obscure man ap-
poInted to reside as our Minister at Stockholm.
Mr.. McGinnis himself might write but he don't;
some of Mr.. McGinnis's friends might write,
but they don't; to add to the botheraton,
we shall get no information when inc
nomination of Mr.. McGinnis is debated Ill
fine Senate. This is trifling with historical
facts. and threatens to add another to the
catalogue, already too long, OF historic
doubts and problems. IL is all well enough to
leave the matter unsettled now; but fancy the
perplexities of writer's A. D., 1857; the essays
that will be written about the shadowy John !;
the folios that may be printed to prove that
it was not this nor that John, but some other
John; the pondcrous arguments to demonstrate
that there never was any McGinnis repet-
ton of the bother about William Penn and
George Pcnnc, to which, in this day, historical
students have been treated; communications to
THE TRIBUNE in the next age asking our sue
cessors who Mr.. John McGinnis was searches
by snuffy antquaries of the journals OF the
Senate populations of still snuffier antiquarles
going over to Stockholm to investigate fights
between irascbe antiquaries; long CORE
spondence, perhaps in Latin, between friendly
ontiouaries; elaborate articles in the quarterly
reviews of the period upon the subject; theo-
ries that Mr. McGnnis was a myth; other theo-
RES that he was a hero who did wonderful
things which have been forgotten; Betsey
Prigg's asserting that there never want no
SIGH person. and Sairy Camps indicating tho
existence of this diplomatic Mrs Harris
and all because nobody will write nor to let
us know who Mr.. McGinnis really is
This will never do. There arc pcrpleNues
enough in history already. Think of the Man
in the Iron Mask! Think Of the Rev. Elcazer
Williams, n Bourbon "a doubtful as most OF
the fluid Of that name Think of the Man who
| Read the Mannknsl Think of the Man who
sorcly smotc M William Patterson Think OF
Mr.. Patterson himself whose history is all ncb-
ulous. and of whom nothing is known except that
compaatiyely nothing is known of hint And
here comes Mr. John McGinnis rs dubious as
a modern Dauphin, as impcrsonal as one OF
| Ossiau's ghosts, as shadowy as the Author OF
| Junius-and must "Stat Nominis Umbra" con
/ time TO be said of himP Not if we can help
| IL In such pcrplcXity, any theory is better
/ than no theory; and one has been suggested
! 10 us which we feel il TO be orr duty TO give.
II has been limited that Mr. MEG innis is merely
/ Mr. Doolittlc attempting to fly from the wrath
of the people under an assumed name. There
are reasons for this when We consider how
many motives there are which would naturally
induce any man of modcsty in Mr. Doolttle's
situation to expatratc himself; but, on the other
| hand, Mr. Doolttle, SO far rs our observation
of him has enabled us to judge, is not what
may be called n man of modcsty. That he is
uncommonly angry and somewhat sore about
| the head we can easily believe; but he proba-
| bly, considers himself to be an extremely in
jured individual, worthy of more potent and
profitable plaster than the embassy to such n
cold court as that of Stockholm. He is suf-
4 ficcntly out in the cold already without going
to a country where, so to speak, the heart OF
the thermometer is always in its heels. No!
we cannot say that we believe that Mr.. Nc
| Ginns Is Mr. Doolittlc.
! There is another theory which we consider
I TO be about as good in its way rs poor Miss
Bacon's notions of Shakespeare's plays. This
asserts the identity of the John Jones of Mr.,
| Tylcr's administration and the John McGinnis
of Mr.. Johnson's John Jones is so common a
name-in fact, so near no name at all-that we
| suppose man would have right to change
it without application to the authorities OF
! Mr.. John Jones We know something. He wrote;
and distinguished himself by writing the very
worst editorial articles which have been printed
since the invention Of newspapers-they were
in fact so extremely bad that we have seen
nothing half so good since There was none of
your tame-medocrity, hateful to gods and men,
about them-thcy were worthy, in fact, of the
remarkable man to whose defense they were
dedicated Mr.. Tyler vetoed right and left,
and John Jones stood by him-Mr Johnson
vetoes right and left and John McGinnis
stands by him. But here the parallel becomes
confused. Mr.. Tyler kept John Jones by him
to the last, Mr.. johnson sends Mr.. John Nc
Ginnis into kind of honorable Punishment.
This argues, we are willing to admit, an en-
couraging sagacity OH the part of Mr.. Johnson
because we hold that the sooner he gets rid of
all his friends the more comfortable rs a man
and the more profitable as a public servant he
will be- But We do not see that we help the
matter at all by writing about it. In middle
we began, and in middle we are likely to end.
Wherefore we resolutely leave OFF, only once
more asking-we must ask, whatever may be
the consequence-who is Mr.. John McGinnis7
------------
Gen. WALTER HARTMAN, who has just been
nominated for Governor by the Republicans of