The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1872-11-21
TIE OTTUMWA COURIER
A. U HAMILTON, zs:..
1Af4 YR II WARuEM. 1uIteEs'
GnEELEY.S JOURNALISTIC REAP.
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Greeley. We had hoped upon as
Stunning the editorial control of the
Tribune, that whatever political views
he might advocate, he would conduct
the argument in q becoming and gen.
tiemanly manner. and not drag in the
dust the standard of journalism. In
his first r~e-appearance we have been
sadly mistaken and are driven to the
conclusion that his waywardness fol
the past twelve months or more has
become chronic, and we fear beyond
any curative power.
In order 10 give our readers the
facts upon which we found the above
remarks. we shall quote from Mr..
Greeley, a. we find him speaking to
his hundreds of thousands of reader;
through the columns of The Weekly
Tribune of the date of the 18th inst
In that issue appears his card of Nov,
9th, which commences as follows:
'sThe undersigned resumes the edi.
torship of the Tribune, which he re.
linquished on embarking in anotherline
ofbusiness six months ago. Hencefortl
II shall be his endeayor to make this q
thoroughly independent journal, treat
ing all parties and political NOV ementi
with judicial fairness and candor, but
counting the favor and deprecating the
wrath of no one.
Further on in this card he says:
~ "Since no will never again be a can
didate for any Office, and Is not in full
accord with either Of the great partie;
which have hitherto divided the coun.
+ try. he will be able and will endeavol
aste give wider and steadier regard to
tho progress OF Science, Industry and
the Useful Arts. than a partisan jour.
nal can do; and hewill not be provok.
ed to indulgence in those bitter per.
sonalities which are the recognized
bane of journalism
That card stands at the head of the
Il editorial columns, and Immediately un.
der it is the leading editorial from
which we shall extract a few para.
graphs. and in doing so, shall be care
It'll to do full justice to the context
The editorial is headed sitter the BAT.
tie" We give an entire paragraph o,
two. He says:
The Liberal party, whose objec'
was primarily to reform the Govern.
ment, will, we believe and trust. &C
but tile more zealously to work be,
cause the case has grown more mac
accessible and ins and outs, while cool
ing, will have time to discover tina
+, personal vituperation is not argument
that the fact that one of the leaders O
"A party is a thief or the leader of an,
other Q his tfowsers too short
hardly touches the principles of OH,
platform or the other"
Here is another paragraph:
against the gigantic appliance.
possessed by the ruling party, it wa
perhapsQuixotic to hope for success
but behind the rulers are the people,
IN power slow, steady, infallible in it
ultimate perception of sense
Justice and right. The country IA
borne the rule of time servers. traitor
and drunkards: it went through TIL
savage blood-letting of the civil wa,
and arose from it like a giant strength
encd by wrestling
Now reader, let us systematically pu
that and that together and see hoy
Horace Greeley stands in III
light of honorable, gentleman
~ dealing: how he professe
Us he says i'm his card, that honeefort
he will'treat all parties with iudicia
fairness and candor; that she will nc
be provoked" as he says s.to indulgenc
in those bitter personalities which al
the recognized bane ofjournalism, an
then, in an editorial following im,ne
diately that card. he adroitly, bu
nevertheless surely, and in the use &
language Sc severe as to be even az
tionable al law. abuses plainly th
President Of the United States, his lat
opponent. What does he say? 9Th
tact,H not the allegation, not the charge
which is subject to be proven or dis
proven; but "the fact" he says, 'tha
one of the leaders of a party is a THE
or the leader of another wears hi
trowsers ZOO short, hardly touches tn
principles of n platform orthe other.
Now, it is a recognized fact, as every
body knows, that Greeley is careless i,
his dress that the bottom of his pant
often creep well up to his knees. This
whether an affected style Of his or not
he is aware that his readers know ittt
be a fact. and hence he so states it
aud purposely. TO make more pointed
the slang Of the disappointed old man
that per ceatsu Grant is a thief.
Again: Greeley speaks of the vic.
tory for Grant and then blandly philos.
ophises in this wise: 'sThe country
has borne the rule of time servers
traitors and d~runkards," as much as to
renew. and plainly, by inference, to
reiterate the stale charge of drunken.
ness against Grant.
Now, the above may be considered
judicial fairness and candor accordin,
g Greaicy IT may be deemed by him
abstinence from bitter personalities
hut his readers, his warmest friends
who are honest. will fail t so think
We arc sorry 10 see Horace Greeley
place himself in such a predicament
a,td all in the same column ofhis paper
His u~nhallowed ambition has turned
to ashes in his vain clutching after
place therefore disappointed, soured
misanthropic, he in one breath, talks
Of his candor and honesty for the
future and in the next breath, vents his
spite and yenom in cunningly devised
sentences. As we have said, we fear
Horaee's disease is chronic. that bis
rare editorial fountain has become ire.
~coyerably foul and for the rest of his
days, we must endure his piebald effu.
sions.
The New York World. since the
conyaiescence of Manton Marble and
his return to active duty upon that pa
per. and since the election is over, its
mouth is unmuzzled, now splits upon
the Cincinnati platform and calls it a
thing of nonsense. 1t says:
cit was a platform framed by Re.
publicans, and intended to be a denial
that they had deserted the principles
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