The Montana post. [volume] (Virginia City, Montana Territory [i.e. Mont.]) 1864-1869, 1867-03-02

alteration, abreviation, or changing in any way
whatever, except the supplying of such omitted
words as are necessarily supplied by every editor
who receives news dispatches.
B. HUGHES. Operator.
JOHN A. CREIGHTON.
Supt w. L. Tel. Co.
Virginia. N. T., Feb. a5. '67.
In addition to the above, the editor,
foreman and compositors of this Office,
will make oath that, since the telegraph
line has been opened 10 this city, there
has never been line or 1oord of tele-
grams copied from any Salt Lake
city paper; that they have aeUer,
since that time set reprint" of a tele-
gram, ard that the story about the dis
patches copied from the Fodette is an
unqualified faEsehood. The little quo
tation commencing, "and Mr.. Chairman"
we know nothing about. 1t is probably
a profound witticism, emanating from
the same source as did the story about
his aunt" which was a miserably
butchered plagiarism from the Nasby
Papers, originally attributed to Johnson,
but which with commendable family
pride was gotten off to show up the
smartness of "a maiden aunt of the Fisk
family" 1t will be seen, first, that the
personal attack in that article Is based
upon priUate conversation between Ben
r. Dittes, and James l.. Fisk What do
Union men of Montana say to the kind
of honor that prompted the publishing
Of "A private conversation? Knowing the
subsequent action of the latter party, to
what can they attribute the desire he
manifested in engaging in conversation
with Dittes, except with the malicious
intent to use that conversation, private
and sacred among gentlemen, as means
to injure his character? We will take
the assertions one by one, and answer
them directly. Captain Fisk says that
Mr.. Dittes declared in loud and un-
qualified terms"
First, '' That Radicalism could never win in
this Territory"
The palpable absurdity of an assertion
like this stamps it at once as manu-
factured, and Ben. r. Dittes did not
use the words. He said, THAT Radi-
calism could not win in this Territory
now, and any sane man knows that to be
a fact.
Second, s That no party advocating that
doctrine could ever elect a candidate on that
platform ia Montana"
This is on a par with the preceding
quotation, in point of absurdity. The
question was in regard to the propriety
of bringing out Radical candidate, for
delegate, in case the time of holding an
election for that Office should be changed
to the spring, to which Mr.. Dittes object
cd, using the following language: The
Radical party will be defeated if they
bring out Radical ticket at that cleo
ton" and there is not Union man in
the Territory to-day but will say, tbs
true, tits pity, and pity tits true"
Third, That you came here to make
money and you'd be id If you were going
TO tie yourself to any such cause or doctrine' =
which in your mind fwas so certain of failure ,
In Nos one and two, there was a GER
tain likeness of wording that somewhat
approaching the language used by Mr..
Dittes, was like that species offalsehood
which is more dangerous, because of it's
near approach to truth, but in this No.
3, the writer sprang free from every curb,
relinquished every attempt to pervert,
and from the fulness of his heart CON
cocted an unmigitated falsehood. Here
is the language used by Mr.. Dittes. He
said that " the proprietors of the Posi-
were determined to publish a good news
paper, devoted to the interests of this
Territory that they were guided by no
clique, faction or sect, and that it was
their purpose to go straightforward in
the continuance of that determination;
that it had won the confidence of the
people, and would maintain its
record" He did say that "he had
come here to make money, but in
his endeavor to make money he would
not barter away his principles, I"
and the words that che would not tie
himself to any such cause or doctrine,
which was so certain of failure, were
not used on the occasion. The intent of
that assertion is too evident to need
demonstrating, and we know, to our
qualification, that it is discredited by
those it was intended to influence, even
before we publish this denial.
You said you had just been calling on
General Meagher, and he authorized you 10
fnf onH hat hQ
friendly, indeed
Mr.. Dittes did tell Capt. Fisk that he
" called upon General Meagher every