The Bedford gazette. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1805-current, 1869-09-23
THE CALUmNIATORs 0F JUDGE
PACKER.

were so utterly void of skill that they
carried their own contradiction with
them. There was one tha: he had re
fused to pay his taxes, when it is we'll
known that this could not be without
the guilty connivance of the assessors
of the revenues, who are mostly radi-
cal partisans. The record of Asa Pack
er's entire life is too complete a refu-
tation of the poor tale that he attempt
ed to evade the payment of his debt to
the government, or any other obliga-
ton. Then there was the malicious
slander which originated here at Har-
risburg in Governor Geary's Office,
that Asa Packer had subscribed the
five hundred thousand dollars for the
Lehigh University in order to enhance
the value of his own land in the neigh
borhood Of the institution. This false
hood contradicted, it was meanly as
serted that Judge Packer did not real
ly make the donation, but the Lehigh
Valley Railroad Company. The Vice
President of tie railroad company en-
phatically consradicted this falsehood,
and the enemies of Judge Packer were
left without one first class SANDER that
could be made available in the cam
paign, until the Lehigh Register re-
Gently came to the rescue of a dying
cause with the following, which should
be employed at once by tee C0namer-
ciaI of Pittsburg, which has lost no
time in making use of all the other
falsehoods to which we have referred.
The Commercial need not pay the
slightest heed to the complete refuta-
ton with which the Justification is
met:
CASA PACKER AS A BENEFACToR.-
Many men risen from poverty to affiu-
ence, and possessing little or no intel
lect, have looked at their wealth and
realized for once that there are many
other things to seek for in this
world besides money. Among these
other things Is name, a reputation,
| and the easiest, least laboriouS method
COlIcgG.
! Asa Packer is one of this class. He
endowed Lehigh University. 1t was
/ purely business investment. 1t in
! creases immensely the value of the
/ property in South Bethlehem held by
| him, it improved the place, it increas-
| ed the business of the Lehigh Valley
/ railroad, and besides GH this, it won
/ for him the reputation of being benev-
| Olent, and his name has been in every
paper in this State and New York city as
/ benefactor to his race. And even now,
| when he accepts nomination at the
/ hands of rebel sympathizers, immacu-
late Union journals are kind enough
! to cover up his sins by awarding him
/ the honor of being generous. Those
| who know him laugh at the idea of his
| generosity. Here is one evidence OF
it. A noble engineer on a passenger
! train on Asa Packers road saw danger
/ ahead. He could have jumped from
/ the engine and saved his life, and
/ wrecked the train. But he stuck to
! his post heroically, was killed, but the
| train was saved. His widow, who had
I several children, and was left destitute,
| applied time and again, and piteously,
/ to Asa Packer, for aid, and finally he
told ner she could open a peanut stand
at the Mauch Chunk depot, and he
would not charge her any rent, Noble
man !"
This slanderous libel devoid of sim
/ gle grain of truth, says the Carbon
Democrat, was brought to the atten-
ton of the widow referred to, and she
Immediately sought to correct the er-
ror into which she thought the editor
had been honestly led. In the fullness
of her heart she wrote him letter,
calculated to disabuse the minds of his
readers, of the wrong impression form
| ed by his article. But with a con-
tempt for truth, only equalled by his
confidence in the gullability of the
readers for whom he caters, the editor
refused to publish the widows letter,
preferring to let the lie stand. Fail
| ing to secure publication of the letter
in the journal which first dragged hel
name prominently before the public
| the widow furnished copy of the
! same to the Allentown Democrat, from
which we copy it that all may see the
utter disregard for truth, and the reck.
lessness to which our enemies are
driven in circulating false charges a
gainst man whose public record as 8
citizen or business man is 50 far above
reproach, as to defy even an attempt
by political opponents to find blem.
ish thereon:
MAUcH CHUNK, Aug. %, 1869.
| ROBERT IREDELL, JR.,
Editor Letigh Register. -Dear Sir :
l have just come in possession of your
paper of the 28th of July, 1869, in which
you have an article headed "Asa Pack,
er as a Benefactor," by which you dc
him great injustice, after paying just
and merited tribute of respect to my
husband for sarifcing his own life to
slve the lives of others. You say
that his widow, who had several chill.
dren, and was left destitute, applied
time and again, and piteousIy, to Asa
Packer for aid, and finally he told her
she could open peanut stand at the
Mauch Chunk depot, and he would not
charge her any rent. New the above
reproach is utterly untrue. Judge
Packer never made any such propo-
sition and / feel it to be my duty, as
well as an act of justice, to have this
made public. You say that applied
time and again. | had but one inter
view with Judge Packer; his manner
toward me was kind and oonsiderate,
and while speaklng of the conduct OF
my husband at the sad accident which
| o-.t LIN, lie IiEn he ahnu.nd 1ant.nh fol