Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1872-08-31
Gen. Farnsworth IN u Forger
and F0lsiflcr.

General Farnsworth Of Illinois ID speaking
in this State for Greeley and Brown. He
endeavored to get nomination in his district
for Congress. in the regular republican con.
vention, but being beaten he wheeled about
for Greeley and Brown. He not only misrep.
resents the President but actually commits
forgery. The New York Tribune published
an extract from . speech made by Mr.. Fsrns.
worth at ST. Charles, Illinois, about Aug.
18th. In that speech Fsrnsworth said:
1.-The President sent in his annual Mes
sage to Congress, to which I desire to call
your attention. Being on the Committee of
Reconstruction, and finding q passage in the
Message which l will read to you and which
l did not understand, took 1t to the Pres,-
dent, as you will see. This is the passage.
Speaking Of Georgia, he says: Under
these circumstances, would submit to you,
that is Congress, whether it would not be
wise without delay to enact law authorizing
the Governor Of Georgia. that is Bullock,
to swear the members originally elected to
the Legislature, requiring each member to
take the oath prescribed by the Reconstruc-
ton act, and none to be admitted under the
third clause of the Constitution
Well, As the Reconstruction act had never
presented an oath to be administered to men,
bers of the State Legislature, was at a loss
to conceive what the President meant; for
you would think it would be strange If Con-
gress provide that this peculiar oath should
be given to the members Of the Illinois Leg
islature; 1t would be stepping outside Of its
business. Congress has provided this test
oath for the officers Of the United States Gov
eminent. supposed that the President had
been imposed upon. went up to him, and
said to him, Il and passage in your Message
which do not quite understand, will you be
| good enough to explain what you mean by
| it?' and I read the passage have just read
to you. The President took his cigar out Of
his mouth (aughter) after deliberate Whit
or two, and looking it over answered me
thus: Well, really cannot say what that
does mean. Morton put that in CHEERS
and laughter.")
| The Washington Republican which exposed
the forgery says "But what will be thought
| of this model reformer, Farms orth, when it
Is show that Gen. Grant sent no such Mes
sage to Congress; that no such extract as
that which Framework quoted is to be found
in any Message; tina, Farnsworth, as we be-
lieve, falsely and maliciously garbled the
Message to subserve partisan purposeI Ex-
actly what the President did say is A. follows,
and it will be found on page Of the Con.
gressional Globe, second session Of the Forty
FIRST Congress"
"Under these circumstances l would sub
init to you whether it would not be wise, with.
out delay, to enact . law authorizing the Gov.
ernor Of Georgia to convene the members
originally elected to the Legislature requiring
each member to take the oath prescribed by
the Reconstruction acts, and none are to be
admitted who are ineligible under the third
clause of the fourteenth amendment"
1t will be perceived that in the above ex-
tract Farnsworth deliberately falsified
the Presidents Message. The President
wrote: "Convene the members of the Legis-
lature." Farnsworth said in his speech
"Swear the members Of the Legislature
Which makes all the difference in the world.
1t is entirely unnecessary to pursue the record
further. Farnsworth, out of his own mouth
stands convicted Of deliberately altering and
classifying Message of the President Of the
United States. We leave him to get, the best
way he can. his neck out of the vice in which
he has placed 1t.
Now, in answer to the charge that "Mor-
ton put that 10, We have this to say. Upon
the highest official authority we hereby deny
that Mr.. Morton, or any one else, inserted
that passage. And we also hereby assert,
upon the same authority, that no member of
the Cabinet, no Senator, no Representative
no private Secretary, no clerk in the Execu-
tive Mansion, has ever seen any portion of
any one of the Presidents Messages until
ready to be trans mitted to Congress.