Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1876-05-13
A HIGH TONED u JOURNAL.

of its contemporaries or OF pubic
men. We had supposed that "a
Charlestown Free Press, with n ;to
faults, would not descend 10 .,.ch
low and despicable piece of .bus;nrss
We are sorry that We ars compelled
to change aur oErlnion in regard to it.
In it's zeal to fix the, political status
OF this PAPER it las resorted to the
lowest specimen of garbling and mis-
representation that has ever come
under our notice. 1t needs bat few
words of comment. The mendacity
of the act is SO apparent that it can
not fail to strike all honorable men
with its Nervousness. We invite at
tention to the following from the last
issue of that paper:
"The Martinsburg INDEPENDENT
which boasts that it is mot more
Democratic than Republican, yet
assumes to dictate to the democrats,
especially of this Senatorial and Con-
gressional District, rather lily con-
ceals its happiness as it remarks
''The Republican prospects for car
rying the State grow brighter daily.
What blessed thing" etc.
The extract given by the Free
Press as quoted from the INDEPEN-
DENT, was garbled from the follow
ing paragraph which appeared in the
INDEPENDENT
The wrangle of the Democratic
politicians in the Third District this
State, is kept up with increasing bit
terness, and as it progresses the Re-
publican prospects for carrying the
State grow brighter daily. What
blessed thing it would be for the
State if the People would take the
entire management of affairs out of
the hands of professional politicians
and Office seekers.
Now we ask all candid and fair
minded men to read the garbled lines
given by the Free Press, and then to
read the paragraph from which it
was taken and misapplied, and if
they do not pronounce it the mean
est and most contemplate piece of
classifying and Misrepresentation
which has ever come to their notice,
we shall have nothing further to say.
When paper is driven to such des-
perate and degrading acts to main
tain discussion with a contempora-
ry, it has sunk too low for the fur
Their notice of respectable journals
But the Free Press does not even
stop with this one act of baseness.-
Further commenting on the garbled
extract above, it says
"These things are not unexpected
from the INDEPENDENT, which in
| one column leads off in "gush" over
Mr.. Blaine's exl lanation, and in an
other speaks of Hons. Ran. Tucker
aud Ben. Hill as 6 cattle.''
The Misrepresentation in the above
is perfectly characteristic of the pa
per that would garble a sentence to
suit its purposes of classifying the ut
terance of another.
The "gush' over Mr.. Blaine's ex-
PLANTATION was simply that we ac-
corded to him that justice and fair
ness which he received from Speaker
Kerr and large number of Demo-
Gratis in Congress at the close of his
explanatory speech, and which has
been accorded to him by every de-
cent and respectable journal of both
parties in the country. The Free
Press, we take it, belongs to that
small class of journals whose parti-
zanship is of such character as to
prevent it from doing common JUS
tice to an opponent under any cir
cumstances. It's especial forte is to
give publicity to everything that
may help to blacken the character
of all public men opposed to it in
politics and when the charges which
it assists in circulating have been
fully and fairly met and dispelled in
a manly and straightforward manner
by the parties assailed the Free Press
is not of the kind to make any repa-
ration, or do the slandered individual
even the common justice of publish
ing his denial.
The Free Press, in the above ex-
tract, says the Independent spoke of
"Hons. Ran. Tucker and Ben. Hill
as CATTLE" We did nothing of the
kind, and defy the Free Press to pro-
duee it from the columns of our pa
ner Whilst we do not aoraa uit h