The Van Buren press., 1877-04-17
Show Your CoIors, Gentlemen.


ell. editor Of the Gazette, has % many
good things in it that We cannot, though
long, help giving place to it. This seal
ping Of the two sore. headed, dsorganiz.
ing organs in the West, Is done in such q
happy, sarcastic, truthful manner that
everybody was set laughing in their
sleeves. They are working to build
themselves up by trying to pull down
the administration of Gov. Miller:
1t Is q current matter OF street.talk,
among the avowed enemies of the DEM
ocratic party Of Arkansas, that within
our own ranks there exists an element, in
cluding prominent politicians and journ'
alsts (whose names are not given)
which protesting unstained loyalty to
the party, and to the principles which the
party represents, is, at the same time, sc
cretly plotting to reverse it's policy, and
themselves to rule it, or, failing to rule,
to ruin it. These Radical quid nuncs
will confidently assert, whenever they
can find crednlous listener, that this
imaginary disaffected clement of the De-
mocracy has its organization and its mu.
tusl understandings. its proposed organ
in the fu .ure, and its second hand fiddes
of the press in the present; that while
the big wheel OF the State Administration,
created "of the people, by the people,
and for the people," is TRANQUILITY and
steadily drawing the State to prosperity,
A. xvkaal 10 hur
zing away with such tremendous veloci-
ty as fully to account for the fact Of it's
spokcs remaining invisible. They will
assure you that it is no part Of the plan
to make any direct assault, at present,
upon the Administration or its policy,
but rather to IN Get it with the loving sal
utation, " Art thou in health, my broth
er p to take 1t by the beard with the
right hand, to kiss it, and while it takes
no heed to the sword that is in the left
hand, to smite it, Herewith, in the fifth
rib, and shed out its bowels to the ground
To damn with faint praise, to put up kind.
ly apologies for supposed shortcomings
that had no existence, to tell little lie
here, and smuggle in a little insinuation
there, then to mark the paragraph with
pencil, and send the paper to kindred
paper, which will republish without com
mcnt, and thus gradually to sap the
trunk Of public confidence in the Admin
istration until it is nearly ready for the
woodman's interpretations and myste-
rious hints of all this can be obtained to
order, by application to the proper radi-
cal sources.
Now, we know exactly what all this
stuff Is worth. The Democratic party Of
Arkansas, seated in unquestioned power
which it has scorned to abuse, and secure
in its domination against every assault,
unless it be domestic treachcry. has moth
ing to fear from any plot to divide it, and
to secure at the next election Radical CO
operation with the boilers; and We know,
of course, that such a plot has no exist.
encc outside Of the wish that fathers it,.
But we do fear that some Of our friends,
acting in the security of friendship, are
unwittingly giving some little color to
these rumors. We do not mean because
an Administration has been placed in
power by the cheerful unanimity Of the
party. and even where temporary divi-
sion of sentiment may have taken place
upon particular points, has been substan.
.;.lly s"...;"~a. in thA final A~e"., 10y the
representatives of the people in another
branch Of the Government. that the Dem.
ocratic press is, therefore, to abstain from
frank and kindly criticism. But We do
urge, and earnestly urge, that pains be Ia.
ken, before criticism, to ascertain facts.
and to state them truthtully, and that the
tone Of criticism be not such as to be ca.
pablc of being tortured into malignity.
1t was but a day or two ago, for exam
pie, that we had occasion for gentle re-
mo STRANGE with our brother of the Fort
Smith Herald, who somewhat hastily
construed into failure to meet the re-
quiremcnts Of the law, the care that
prompted the Governor and Secretary of
State-who had no necessary concern,
whatever, iu the notification of certain
special election-to superadd additional
notification beyond that require by law.
Our friend even went so far as thought
cssly to throw into his article an entire
ly uncalled- for insinuation about official
notice being conveyed through person
age purely imaginary, which insiuuatiou
he knew, perfectly we'll. when he wrote
it, to be uncalled for and unfounded. He
made nice. sharp article; but a reader
who didn't know that he was joking,
might have been prcjudiced against the
State Governments consummation
which our friend Sparks would deplore
as deeply as ourselves.
And now our excellent cotemporary Of
the Van Buren Argus, squints with one OF
its hundred eyes, in q manner which
would be alarming, if we did not know
that it still has ninety and nine just
eyes which need no strabotomy. He says
that "Mr. Miller has given us o very good
Government in tae main;' and the Ar
gus has" not noticed any very marked
criticisms upon Gov. Miller's public acts,
as Chief Executive, exceptup his course
in sending the militia in Scott county and
his special message on the subject of our
State finances" The special message
on the subject Of our State finances" has
taken pretty good care of itself, up to
date-its gist being that there was no oc-
casion to hurry the subject of finance
till we should find out what our creditors
asked, and the Legislature having take.
exactly the course recommended by the