The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1872-09-24

THE STATE JOURNAL, of Richmond, Va, makes
itself responsible for dead and decayed false
hood of Mr.. James Lyons, who attributed to Mr..
Greeley an indecent libel upon the women of the
South. When this drtv SANDER was new we
referred to it. denied that anything like it had
ever been said or written by Mr.. Greeley or the
Tribune and rom its general resem blance in style
to an indecent pamphlet published some years
ago as a burlesque of Republican doctrines, we
mistakenly attributed it to that source. Where
apon, Mr. Lyons, TO crafty a depraved appetite
for that species of filth, bought the pamphlet
and read it through, and finding that the
sentence he had attributed to Mr.. Greeley was
have written 1t, because he cannot lind 1t some
where else We think Mr.. Lyons good deal OF
an ass from his performances at Louisville and
Greeley ever wrote the words he attributes TO
him. There is more knayery than folly ir such
persistence. But as well-meaning correspond
ents have written to u.s. asking the true state Of
the case, we repeat once more, to satisfy them,
that the indecent language which Mr.. Lyons at
tributes TO Mr.. Greeley was neverused by him or
by the Tribune. This Mr.. Lyons very well knows
but has not the manhood TO admit. Yet If he has
one spark of q nature above that of currish
libeler in his composition, he VIII either retract
can be found in most considerable public libra
ries, as we'll as many private ones At the
Astor or Mercantile Library in this city he can
consult them TO his hearts content. Let him
abandon his childish pretense Of claiming to
have proved that Mr.. Greeley must have written
the garbage he has collected, because somebody
| gar slanderer he is.-Ne,o fork Tribune.
The Tribune will make no capital in this
section of country by calling men asses, '
nor by conducting controversy in any
such way as that which it has had with the
Hon. James Lyons of this city. The
STATE JOURNAL has never made itself
responsible for any statement of Mr.. Lyons,
but it simply held that, as the Lyons Gree
ley controversy then stood, the onus pro-
| bandi was on the Tribune. 1t now says
that it was mistaken in attributing the
language quoted by Mr.. Lyons to the " in
decent pamphlet" in question, and COM
pletes its denial by emphatically asserting
that no such language ever came from the
pen of Mr.. Greeley, or found its way into
the columns of the Tribune.
Had it said this much IN the first in
stance, in the dignified tone that becomes
American journalism, without flying into
rage, and using the language Of tn
fenmes des halles, the error into whlcl
Mr.. Lyons was no doubt inadvertently
led, would have been promptly acknowl
edged. 2ag2a rlig} rca9Et7 -E.a
But when the Tribune desires to deman'
retaction from gentleman, it shout
couch its request in at least geiiffemant
. language. AS it chose not to this, but re
sorted to the most offensive epthets in th
vocabulary of Billingsgate. the public
) hercabouts at least, was led to infer that tn
e charge against the Tribune was correctl
7 made and needed no further substantiatior
e But we did not go so far as this in the vie'
s we took Of the controversy, but simply il
e sisted that Mr.. Lyons had the Tribune o
t the er concesso, not the Tribune Mr.. Lyons
i As the Tribune now emphatically denit
n that the Indecent Language" referred
It ever appeared in its columns, we not onl
S give it the benefit Of its denial, but Il
: benefit of our belief Gf that is worth an.
i thing to it, in the denial made.
And here ends the first chapter of NJ
II Greeley's new work, entitled "You A
i An ASS" 9gg s