The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-06-05
Comptroller Green and tho schoo
Tcachcrs-A Pleasant Interchange Q
Amenities.

/
Department, evidently belongs to that class OF
modest men who "do good by stealth and
blush to find it fame" He has been pleased
to make such secret of the urbanity OF his
manners that we must do him the justice to
bring it to the pubic knowledge, although we
are sure that we shall make him blush like
red rose when its reluctant beauty is IN
folded to the summer sun. 1t is too late for
the full blown rose to go back and hide its
loneliness in the concealing bud when once
the June sun has expanded it to admiring
eyes. We are sorry 10 offend Mr.. Green's
modesty and suffuse his manly face with in
genuous bushes. but we cannot deny our
selves the pleasure of recording the fact that
he can receive compliment with as much
grace and return it with as pleasant q courtesy
as if the arts of pleasing had always been
his study. To prove that we are not
INDUCING in o rhapsody or invent
ing compliments to soothe the vanity
of gentleman who has so long
astonished the public by his manners, we
refer our readers to the epistolary billing and
cooling between the. Comptroller aud Mr.
Switzerland, printed in another column. Mr.
Switzerland, who is an officer of the School
Teachers Association, is prompted by his
grateful sense of Mr. Green's kindness lin the
matter of payment Of salaries to write him
a letter of grateful encomlum, which affords
the modest MIR. Green an opportunity to reply
with long encomium on his own virtues.
This charming exchange of honeyed common
dations is now given to the press, perhaps by
some subordinate of the Comptroller, who is
unwilling 10 let these flowers of courtesy
'blush unseen and waste their sweetness on
the desert air. The publication of these
letters may have been SO long withheld be-
cause subordinates were not quick to take the
hint that it would be q grateful service to
steal copy and send it to the newspapers.
That the courteous Comptroller has "done
good by stealth might be safely affirmed on
a knowledge of his character But we have
strong conirmatoIy proof, as will be seen In
the report of an interview yesterday with Mr..
Switzerland, who wrote the letter praising
Green, to which the Comptroller replied at
great length, praising himself 1t appears
that factotum and underling of Green
Clark by name-whom he keeps in pay to
manufacture public opinion by stealth and
mako it fame in the newspapers, called on
Mr.. Switzerland and urged him to write such
o letter. 1t appears that the President of the
\ School Teachers Association merely acted
the part of an amanuenss to Green's facto-
tum, SO that the complimentary letter to
which the Comptroller SO politely replies was
a letter in his own praise gotten up by him
SELF He induced Mr.. Switzerland to write his
eulcgy, and the praise being pitched in too
low key Mr.. Green takes occasion to make
reply, wherein full justice is done to his own
great merits, which no pen but his was likely
to set forth. The literary public was amused
somo years ago when Walt Whitman
begaa his Leaves of Grass" by
the frank declaration, Il celebrate
myself" This was SO refreshingly cool and
frank that the public relished it but our
ingenious Comptroller is more artful and
refined He, indeed, celebrates himself but
''for ways that are dark and tricks that are
vain" the heather Chinee was not more "pecu-
liar" The surprise at Mr. Green's publicly
treating anybody with courtesy is mitigated
by finding that he is virtually replying to his
own letter; that having inspired by under
hand means an epistle of praise to himself, he
echoes and exaggerates the praise in a reply.
Readers OF the interview with Mr. Switzerland
will see how this thing stands and be able to
appreciate the arts by which Mr. Green angles
for Endorsements which never come to him
self-profered.
lie pretends that he does not read the
HERALD, and that he attaches no importance
to anything it says about him, and yet he
sent one OF his tools TO Mr. Switzerland, asking
him to make reply to a paragraph in the
HERALD, which lie had not seen. How
serenely unconcerned the Comptroller must
be at the HERALD's comments lie does
not even read them he would care
nothing about them if he did read
them, and yet nc intrigued in q way that will
make him blush like coral, now that it is ex-
posed, to get q paragraph in the HERALD con-
tradcted. Itwould seem that Mr.. Southerlend
is a religious man at any rate he says he
does not read the Sunday newspapers, and as
the paragraph to which his letter relates APP
peared in the HERALD Of Sunday, May is, it
is obvious that the idea Of writing letter
about it was put into his head BY somebody
else. And he tells who it was that asked for
it-a man who is o notorious paid sycophant
Of the Comptroller, and has been employed
by him before in similar tricks to practise
upon the public How very indifferent Mr..
Green must be to what the HERALD says Of
him when Ire resorts to arts whose exposure
will cover him with bushes to parry the
effect OF its criticism. What model Of cour-
tesy this churlish man is when he dictates
letters Of compliment to himself and replies
to them with his own pcnl So true is it in
his case that courtesy, like charity, "begins OF
home," aud bids fair to stay there.
The HARLEM FIATs.-General Smith
crnntnd n snnsatinn IN the Rnard Of pnlica