Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1872-08-08
The Carmichael ROOrback

L ne exposure OF the nrSG Illll- grown,
sturdy canard of the campaign comes
so speedily and is so complete as to
cast shadow of Encouragement upon
the efforts of the most ingenious in
ventors. In no other way than by
considering the desperate political
condition of the Grant organs can we
account for the blindness that has led
them to accept unquestioned the state
ments of an obscure rural journal, and
to endorse as true the most absurd
charges against Mr.. Greeley of favor
ing the payment of pensions to ex-
rebel soldiers, and of bargaining with
the leaders of the New York Demo
cracy for the Presidential nomination.
The innocent origin of this vast decep-
ton is a plain farmer of Unadilla, N.
Y, by name Carmichael, who has for
some time had casual correspondence
with Mr. Greeley. The immediate
facts are the statements Of the local
Grant organ that these letters show q
corrupt agreement with the Demo-
crazy in which the Presidential nom
nation was the price of Mr. Greeley's
desertion from Republicanism: and
the affidavit of a young and ambitions
journalist, who swears that, in one Of
these letters, he read the opinion Of
Mr. Greeley in favor of bill granting
pensions to disabled Confederate sol
diers. Withregard to the first charge,
that Of conspiracy with leading Demo
Gratis, the statement Of Mr. Carmichael
himself is sufficient This gentleman
distinctly declares that "the New
York Times charges, copied from the
Binghamton Republican, are false in
gross and in detail; and that in no
correspondence with Mr. Greeley was
such a subject preached.
But it does notneed Mr. Carmichael's
testimony-although it is also given
on this point in equally forcible Ian
guage-to explode the second charge,
that OF favoring pensions to rebel sol
diers. The young journalist himself,
in letter dated just one week after
his affidavit, retracts his sworn state
ments in so many words, admits a
doubt whether he ever saw any letter
at all from Mr. Greeley, and suggests
that his false impression was due to
the fact that he received his ideas from
an account given by Mr. Carmichael of
a letter which he intended writing the
editor of the Tribune! 1t is unneces-
sary to comment upon the circum-
stance that, on July II, this young
man swore to having read, in Mr. Gree
ley's handwriting, an expression Of
views " favorable to the passage Of
law providing that the General Gov
pay pensions to Southern dis
abled soldiers; and that, on July "a,
he "retracts the statement" In char
ity we must charge the error, not to
deliberate perjury, but to certain
weakness of mind and of memory that
finds illustration in much more distin-
guished persons. 1t is the absurd ca.
gerness with which the Administra-
lion organs have seized upon the hoax
md made it all their own, that calls
for remark. The story has hardly had
line to become current, Administra-
ion editors have but just begun to
levelope its vast possibilities as
topic, when its originator
suddenly "retracts," and the source of
t all describes it as "a dish Of false
'ood only fit for gudgeons to swal-
ow. The position Of the gullible
Grant journals is ludicrous, notwith-
Standing the disaster that has come
lpon them in this their first sortie of
he campaign.