The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1874-01-09
A Down.East Joke,

Some two years ago Gen. y. Il. HaWley,
editor of the Hartford CO,rdnt, received
the caucus nomination of the Connecticut
Republicans for the office of United States
Senator in the place of Mr.. Ferry, whose
term was about expiring. Mr.. Ferry had
few friends in the Legislature who were
not averse to boiling the nomination OF
Hawley, and, when this fact was discov-
cred, the Democratic members of the Leg
Iislature, by concerted movement, threw
their entire vote for Ferry and elected
him. 1t was supposed, at the time. that
Mr.. Ferry had gwen some sort OF pledge
to the Democrats, but this was soon dis
proved by a letter from Ferry himself. SO
the mystery of his reelection in spite OF
the Republican party caucus remained un-
solved.
It has now transpired that Gov. Eng
glish was at the bottom of the transaction;
so far as the Democrats were concerned, land
that he took this method OF Furnishing
, Hawley for bad joke perpetrated upon
himself in the preceding Gubernatorlal
campaign. In April, 1861, English was
the Democratic and Jewell the Republi-
cvn candidate for Governor, The cam
paign was an excited one Richard OGor-
man, of New York, was announced tC
speak at the Democratic meeting at New
i Haven on the Saturday night before the
= election, but, being called away to Albany
telegraphed to English that he could MOI
q 90. English at once telegraphed to OGor
man at Albany, care of Tweed: DO no
disappoint us; nothing could be more dis
astrous. j. E. English" Gov. Jewel
obtained in some way copy of this dis
! patch, and, emitting the name of OGor
:, man, he carried it to the Office of the Con-
= rant, and giving assurance OF its genu
. ineness, caused it to be published
% as a dispatch from English to Tweed
II with the intlmation that Tweed had agreed
! to send large body of roughs into Con
u necticut to carry the election. This wa
= followed up by constant stream OF dis
= patches on the day of election, from point
., on the line of the railway, announcing tina
~ Freddy the Blacksmith and a gang o
- Tammany roughs" had come into tn
ae State to seize the polls, beat off Republi
~ can voters, and elect English. These dis
~ patches we're bulletined at every voting
n' place in the State, and, taken in conneC
h. I, ton with the published dispatch fror
~ English to Tweed proved most disastrou
= to English, who was consequently beate
~ by Jewell. That Reddy the Blacksmith
20 % and his companions did enter the State o
u the Sunday before the election, with
- gang, was fact, but it has now turned OF
10 that Tom Murphy, of New York, had hire
~ them to make the trip through the Stat
70 on Sunday, and that Gov. Jewell and tt
- Republican State Committee paid the bill
~, To this day that Democratic raid is r.
';S membered in Connecticut with indign
i of ton, and now it is at last proved that
.or was an election trick, and sequal to Il
l o;r forged dispatch from English to Tweed.
20 20 English naturally felt outraged at VIII
=" he deemed the disreputable conduct
MO- Gen. Hawley, and, making that the groul
fnSr of personal complaint united the Dem
~, nd Gratis in favor of Ferry. Jewell. who W
a nu present, and knew that by explaining t
b;s, facts he could relieve Hawley and probah
;n7 secure his election. kept profound silenC
~, nd Gov. Jewell is now Minister to Russia, b
,or is, nevertheless, candidate for the Unit
uo States Senate, and it is understood th
rU this revelation of his fraud upon Engli
~; and his bad faith to Hawley will send
be bo Joke back to his own doorstep.-Chi
Tribune.