New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1872-09-03
ought not to vote for Mr.. Greeley unuer any
decisions for he does accept them LII ic''oi
and in spirit.
coNy1TTY IND JONES.

Mr. DOOlittle has made O reply W oh0 "''
The N. y Times in the COnnatty mattel,o i "hi0h
we nrint this morning all the essential portions.
The case is q very simple one. The man Con
nottv. one of those crawling parasites, Without
honor or conscience, which infest the Capital,
obtained q permit to trade in cotton towards
the end of the year 1864, when they were ire
ouently given. Wishing to curry favor WIN
n prominent man, he went to Mr.. DOollttle
with his permit, and voluntarily onered 10
assign him portion of the profits OF the en-
terprise. He urged this upon the Senator until
he consented to the arrangement, and at Con
natty's suggestion drew up private and con-
fidential memorandum embodylng the SUI
stance of the conversation. Nothing ever came
of the matter Connatty kept the memoran-
DUN, and recently, after the lapse OF elght
wears, desiring to turn dishonest penny ny
the sale of this confidential paper, he sough'
the only quarter in America where so dirty
niece of business could be transacted, ana sou
if to The N. Y Times That paper printed III III
fact has contained very little else Tor the paS'
month, and the Grant Committee have hau d
fac smile of the memorandum prepared ioi
extensive circulation. -
This is the whole story, as it appears from
the statements Of Mr.. DoolIttle anu u ~.
natty. On points where they differ tne pupi,U
will of course believe Mr.. Doollttle' loiio"
who would sell confidential letIer Aioni
fiond will of course not hesitate al pelJuJ'
Rnt tho DISCREPANCIES are not essential no
ino;dopt ia sufficiently clear. Mr.. Dooilttie
oor,r,itted the error of believing and trusting
aoorpdrel whom he should have klckeu OUT
of doors and pays the penalty in TINS diSa-
oroeable controversy. But no canulu HAN o''n
saw that in doing this, to use MS own ians "'so
he "yiolated any law of Goa OF man. AN
error of Judgment and an error Oh taste Is Tue
full extent of his transgressloh' -,
We take this occasion once more 10 cal the
attention of the Grant organs 10 lar llole
serious charge made by far more reSpecVa-
b1o authority. against a far more prominent
nersonage. Mr.. DOolittle IS private ctlzeh'
NOT an ofice-holder nor a candidate for Office.
He was accused by The ". y. Times, which is not
norticular in matters of libel, OF an act which
If nroved would have been merely an olfense
AGAINST taste and delicacy. We have puDllsheu
tbe charges and the defense. But we nave
never seen in any Grant organ q word OF
mention of the grave accusation made III me
Cbicaoo Tribune, the principal organ OF puDhc
oninion in the Northwest against the per-
sonal and official integrity OF the Pres
ident. in the matter of the SWedlsh
Colony lands. This was no mere
error of Judgment, but an objectionable
nublc sin. The President was accused, in the
most formal manner, of having accepted from
I. Russell Jones of Galena the deed of val
liable piece of ground in the outskirts OF
Chicago for the nominal compensation OF One
Dollar, Jones having obtained this land IN an
alleged illegal manner from the Trustee OF
the Swedish Colonists who owned 1t. a
which adds to the suspicious
character of the transaction is, that about the
same time this J. Russell Jones, man con-
spicuously unfit for diplomatic position, was
appointed Minister to Belgium, where he still
remains.
We published the attack upon Mr. Doc
little the morning after its first appear
ance. We delayed the publication Of this
grave charge against the President several
weeks, waiting and hoping to see it contra
dcted by his authority. We published it at
last with the expectation that the publicity
given it in our columns would provoke the
President or his friends to set at rest 80 lnJu-
rious a report 1t is not to any ones interest
that il should be true. We should be glad
even now to see some trustworthy or plausible
exclamation of the matter which might cleanse
the stain upon the Presidential office. We
have all some property in the character Of our
Chief Magistrate. We should all be glad
To see the more sordid charges against
Gen. Grant disposed of. We should rather
defeat him on the ground Of his failure
"a q civil servant than on grounds of mere
personal morals But his friends ought
to understand that charges like the one we
have referred to, made by an authority so
powerful and respectable as The Chicago Irib-
une, and apparently proved, cannot be passed
over in silence. If not disproyed they
will be believed, and if they are be-
lieved, it will not only Injure Gen.
Grant to an extent not easily calculable by
the constituencies politicians who surround
him, but will seriously damage and tarnish
the prestige of the Presidential Office. We do
not yet relinquish the hope that the President
may clear himself from this imputaton. We
could have no worse news to announce than
that the story is true, and the President doesn't
care to notice it.