The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-08-18
THE DENT LETTER.


JUDGE LEWIS DENT has evidently made up his
mind that if the "crown" of Mississippi (for
he calls offices ''crowns'O is to slip through
his fingers, he will at least have satisfaction
out of Secretary Boutwell,. It would scarcely
do at this iuncture to demand redress in the
good old fire-eating style, by ordering coffee
and pistols for two, and the best remedy left
is to attack the guardian of the public funds
in the newspapers.
So far as the matters in controversy be-
tween the high contending parties are con-
cerned, we are inclined to suspect that there
is some truth in the charges which each
makes against the other, and that Dent is
about as near right in alleging that Boutwell,
cherishes Presidential aspirations, as Bout
well in turn is in attributing to Dent the de-
sign of dividing and eventually destroying
the Republican party of Mississippi. 1t is
therefore a very ''pretty quarrel as it stands,
and if the Secretary can be induced to follow
it up it will afford no little amusement to the
public.
In Virginia and Tennessee Mr.. Boutwells
efforts to keep the Republican party in good
working order have resulted in over YhelminE
conservative victories but as he has taken
time by the frelock in his Mississippi expert
ment, that may prove more successful. Judge
Dent alleges that the interest displayed by the
Secretary in these campaigns, in connection
with the use of the national patronage to pro-
mote his views, is not merely perversion of
power, but purely selfish intrigue to under
mine General Grants prospects for a renomi-
nation and reelection Indeed, the more
direct charge is made that by ''dexterous
management and occult political strategy
Boutwell, has induced Grant to flourish the
club" with which he (BoutwelD intends to
break his (Grant's) head. SO that the bust
ness is decidedly serious.
The general tendency of the so-caed ''con-
servative" movements in the South is no
doubt Democratic, and they have at least
afforded great facilities for dividing the negro
vote. 1t is barely possible that some of the
conservatives, men like Governor Walker, of
Virginia, for instance, may be disposed to
yield faithful support to the President: but
certainly their organizations cannot be con-
sidered as reliably Republican. And Judge
Dent in calling the Mississippi faction, of
which he is the ostensible leader, ''Natona
of the fact that the main body of its supporters
hate nothing worse than genuine Republican
principles. He cannot deceive the public on
this point, no matter how much he may rail
against the Secretary. His diatribes are only
interesting and important in consequence of
his elucidation of the mysteries of the next
Presidential campaign. He has resolved that
If he must howl as bafled aspirant for the
Governorship of Mississippi, the world shall
know his opinion of the plans adopted by
Boutwell, to win the first prize in American
politics. He gives direct expression to the
rumors which have hitherto been circulated
only to be denied that the Secretary aims to
be the next President" He alleges that the
New York San is Boutwells organ, and that
in the same breath it ridicules the capacity of
his master" and praises his administrative
capacity; that Tullock, who is called an 'ex-
cellent tool" manipulated the Treasury De-
partment in the interest Of Boutwell's ambi.
tion; and that the Secretary has assumed
power as an 'infallible Pope of Republican.
ism, for the purpose of destroying the Ma
tional Republican party in the South, with the
intention of reconstructing from the shat
tered fragments Boutwell, party.
If Dent is to go down as gubernatOria
candidate, he is determined to sink with his
flag flying and his guns shOtted 1t is earl!
in the day to devise plots for the succession
but such things have been done before an(
may be done again, and although the publi
will receive with much caution the allega
tions against Boutwell,, who can say tina
there is not at least a grain of truth in them