New-York tribune., 1869-03-18
HOW ENGLISRMEN TAMPER WITH AMER-
ICAN CREDIT

memory.
HOW ENGLISHMEN TAMPER WITH AMER-
ICAN CREDIT
Is there any use in exposing one more attack
of The London Times on American creditf
American opinion on that journal was long ago
made up, and Americans understand that the
spirit of the paper has never really changed,
spite of its occasional lapses into patronizing
friendIness of tone. Never during the war,
nor ever since the war, has it sought to injure
America by an act of more fragrant dishonesty
than it committed a few days ago.
The passage of Gen. Schenck's financial bill
through the House of Representatives was an
nounced in The Times by special dispatch
from its Philadelphia correspondent, stating
thai the bill provided for payment of the bonds
in gold, but prohibited their payment until green
backs had become equal TO gold! Mr. Reuters
telegram appearing in all the other papers, cor
rectly stated that the bill prohibited payment
before maturity unless greenbacks should mean
time become equal to gold. Now the habit of
The Times is, on receiving two dispatches, one
from the regular agency and one from special
correspondent, to print both, although In both
the information may be the same. In this
case it was not the same, but the differ
ence was very important, and on the
face of it the Reuter- telegram was
correct and the Philadelphia telegram incor-
rect But The Times in its second edition re-
printed its own and again suppressed the other
When the Senate struck out the prohibition,
another Philadelphia dispatch was prominently
printed in The Times, containing no correction
of the blunder. This time the Reuter- dispatch
was also printed. but was so wOrded as to be
partially unintelligibe to readers who had put
faith in the first Philadelphia telegram. Finally
came dispatch announcing the agreement OF
the two Houses and the passage of the bill.
The TImeSs telegram does not say whether the
provision to which the Senate objected was
retained or struck out. The regular telegram,
again suppressed in The Times, specifies that
the bill as passed was substantially the House
bill. This statement is quite enough to show
that the leading journal had first deceived Its
readers OH the material question OF repudiatlon'
and then withheld the evidence which would have
undeceived them. That is far from being the
worst. On Tuesday, March g. after the receipt
of two dispatches truly explaining the charac-
ter of Gen. Schenck's bill, The Times had the
incredible audacity to reassert in leading ar
tjcle the false statement of its Philadelphia
correspondent. 1t affirmed that the bill con-
"tains a stipulation that the bonds OF the
" United States, though ruled to be payable in
"gold and not IN greenbacks, should not be
pdid ofdt all till greenbdcks and gold shall
represent equirdient values. 1t would follow,
"in fact, that the whole currency question OF
:" the Union must be successfully settled be-
fore payment of the Public Debt on that
footing could so much as begin" We do
not use a strong word in describing this rs an
act of dishonesty. 1t was open to The Times
TO credit its own correspondent in preference
to Mr.. Reuters agent, but it was bound to ad-
wise its readers of the discrepancy between them.
From the bold assertion above quoted, no one
could imagine that the Philadelphia statement
had been repeatedly contradicted in every
other English journal. In fact, the whole
Stock Exchange had the information. Reuters
telegram was knOwn to be right, and the Phil
adelphia telegram grossly wrong, and on the
the faith of the former, and in contempt of
the latter, bonds had gone up to So. The Times
deliberately set itself to bearn them, and for
n day succeeded-Or for part of day, till men
had time to take breath after reading state
ment so astounding. Down to the 9th inst,
the date of our latest mail advices, The Times
had refused to correct its statement. though
both The Pail Mall Gasette and The Daily
Ne,Cs have challenged it, and it is impossible
to attribute its misstatement to inadvertence,
or its obstinate silence to anything but dis
honest purpose.
The Philadelphia writer has persistently en-
deavored to represent the reputation party as
triumphant as the following extract from
letter In The Daily NecS may serve to show:
About four months ago this oracle began TO pat fOrth
important and to bondhoders alarming prophesles
concerning the future OF American finance In Oct3Der
fOresaw that kind OF reputation was nevaoe, III
November the elections took place. the result OeH
able 10 the Republicans who had gone DelorS le people
with platform plainly denouncing every sohome 0l rc
pudation But as the returns reached fnladelpha,
they held by the correspondents OF IHe Tunes III tAl
city to indicate tho triumph OF ropueiauon iStIer
from him appeared In The Times Ol NOV 10, eheny de.
voted the financial aspects OF tho election IN wnlch ~
was shown that tho House or representatives WOuu
contain 5 repudatoTs against 81 OF an hOne
payment OF the public debt In CON- was admitted that
the Senate leaned tho other way, ana so ~ was hAli-
tained that te result must be aoomproulse, by when
tho debt would be paid In con' but win an arbitrary To-
duotiOn OF Interest, - l.,