Litchfield enquirer., 1876-10-12
WHOLE NO. 2628.
DiscredItabIe EIectioneerIng Tao.
 tlca. ..- .L -.


 It was to have been hoped that our Presidential canvass in this centennial year would be conducted with more mod eration and candor, and less personal abuse than have heretofore been common in such contests. We regret that this hope has been disappointed, We have not seen, in our time, a Presidential canvass in which personal character has been more rudely assailed or the honor of can didates more foully aspersed. Senator Conkling established new title to public respect by that part of hls speech in which he deprecated this mode of party war fare. We are glad to find our own senti- ments on this point indorsed by SO strong and zealous partisan. as Mir.
 Conkling. who sees that neither party
 gains anything by campaign of cal umny which is as easy for one side as the other, while it debases our politi- cal contests and makes them sloatheolne to 2 large portion of our community: The most recent specimen of this kind Of tactics (a very small and mean ane, in- deed, ,l happens to come from the Demo cratic side. We refer to the fac-simiie of letter written by Governor Hayes's spff. vate secretary which was paraded yester- day in the two leading Tilden papers of this city. Aplate for printing the fac-sim- ile was also offered to the HERALD by the Tilden shop in Liberty street, but we de- clined to use it. 1t does not quite do to assume that the readers of a newspaper are idiots, who think that the exact repro duction of a piece of handwriting gives significance to it's subject matter which it would not have in printers type. What in- terest can any two legged creature have in the handwriting of so obscure person as the confidential clerk of State Governor? The attempt to make the contents Of,this clerks letter important is beneath con tempt The so called American Alliance, of whose bylaws and purposes Governor Hayes probably knew nothing, passed resolution indorsiDg his nomination for the Presidency. Like all Presidential candidates who are in daily receipt of a mass of complimentary effusions it would be waste of time to read, he turns over such correspondence to his secretary, with instructions to make civil replies Governor Hayes's clerk seems to have been discreet enough, for he merely ac- knowledges the compliment. Governor Hayes desires me to acknowlege the re- ceipt of your valued favor of July 2, en- closing resolutions of the Amerlcan AL liance, and to say in reply that he is deep ly gratifed by this expression of conf- dence." It is not probable that thls note of mere formal couttesy was submitted to
 the inspection of Governor Hayes. but,
 even If 1t was, there was nothing in it, which it was worth while for him to tell his secretary to alter. It was mere ac- knowledgement, couched in courteous terms. Governor Hayes had never seen, and did not care to see the trumpery con stitution of an obscure set of men who had seen fit to indorse his nomination, and he did not stop to waste a thought on so trivial 8 matter, He thought it due to his character as a gentleman, and his po- sition as a candidate, that his clerk shonld acknowledge the receipt Of respectful com munications, but he did not feel that it was incumbent on him to make minute investigations into the organiza- tion of every insignificant body of men who professed their intention to support him, But MT. Tlden's shop in Liberty street, having got possession of this paltry the American ATli6nncs 'is''a eat SF thai thai Nothings The Liberty street shop there upon conceived the brilliant idea of ma king MT. Hayes responsible for the prin- ciples of that obscure organization and of twisting the note of his clerk into an ac- ceptance of those principles. We are sorry that any respectable newspaper should have lent itself to so despicable a trick.-M y. Herald. Oct. 5.