Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1870-10-22
A Mountain from a Molehill.

| oAauu VI .AaStuS. ttC u'tCSdeS-' w
Sunday evening prior to their departure
called upon the Governor The Tribune
the Administration organ, the next day
published an account of this affair az Q
public entertainment, eulivcned by the
performances of the "Glcc Club, and rep
resented that the guests were reluctantly
called from the festive scene by the sound
of the whistle of the departing steamer
The matter thus having become public by
scmi-official announcement, we deemed i,
no breach of social privilege on our par,
to alludc to the publication for tho purpose,
not of questioning the private rights of the
Governor or his guests, but to call the at.
tcntion of the public to the fact that a
newspaper, profcssedly the organ oftempcr-
ancc and morality, while assailing personal
character and the private rights Of citizens
in like cases; had not word to say in re-
gard to a published account of Sunday
festival at the house of the Governor, be-
cause he was of its own political party ;
the same paper uniformly giving the weight
of its position as temperance organ to the
support Of notorious drunkards and gam
blers of its own political party, in prefer.
cnce to men of unexceptionable moral
character of the opposite party in pol
tiles.
Founded upon these publications, the
Walla Walla Statesman states, on the as
sumed authority of San Olympia paper"
that Gov. Solomon engaged in a disgrace
full drunken carouse. Certainly no COM
ments of ours justified any such statement,
and it is very far from the truth. Neither
the Governor nor any of his guests, on the
occasion alluded to, are men of intempcr-
ate or dissolutc habits. The Governor is
no Puritan-except by utilization with the
Puritan clcment-and he is just as far
| from being either drunkard or rowdy.
In his personal and social relations, his
character is that of genial, liberal gentle
man, as free from social vices as the best.
In this community, the only assaults upon
his character VIC have ever heard were
from membcre of his own party, who do
not affect his nationality nor the beer
drinking habits of his countrymen. We
exceedingly regret that any Democratic
paper should initiate the Radical practice
of assailing men personally on account of
political differences. When the Governor
offends in his official or political relations,
as he did on his first arrival here, he will
be proper subject for newspaper criti-
cism, and not till then.
In this connection, we were greatly
amused at the unsophisticated appeal of the
editor of the Tribune. He says:
ave here appeal to the sense of honor and
the claim to truthfuncss of the STANDARD edi-
tor to vindicate both himself and the Governor,
for, as the matter now stands the former is the
author of the libel upon the latter"
But short time since, without any per-
sonal provocation whatever, the same Iyi.
bune editor represented the editor of the
STANDARD as a social pariah, detestcd by
men and followed by the curse of God"
If he believed what he then said, with
what prorricty does he appeal to our
sense of honor and claim for truthful
ness 2" He has already impeached his
own witness. Our personal character is
no less dear to US and those dependent upon
us than that of Gov. Solomon, and yet
there is not Radical paper in the Terrific
ry which has not sought to blacken it by
defamation more baseless than that of the
Statesman upon the Governor, which we
are appealed to to rebut. As to our au-
thorship of the libel, we should never have
dreamed of dragging the Governors social
relations before the public. Our remarks
were based upon the 7ribunes own state
ment of the matter, and not upon any per-
sonal invasion of the privacy of the Gov
errors dcmicil.
~ Henry 7, Tihhalls Esn has recent