The Portland daily press., 1877-08-31
From the New York Tribune.1
Gail Hamilt0n's Twentieth Letter.
Lnst of the series-Eurther Talks with
Mr.. BOwles and MIR. MediII-schenclk's
Case-Mr. schurz's Campaign Speeches
Lnst Words.
To the Editor of the Tribune:

call attention with some exultation to the fact
that not a.single statement in the whole nine
teen letters has been successfully impugned!
Very few attempts in this direction have been
made, and these few have been as futile as fee
BILE. l shall, nevertheless, trespass so far upon
the patience of my readers as to notice them.
The first attempt was made by the SPRING
field Republican. 1t very fairly published my
letter containing the charges against itself, ap-
plying various heading, each of which involved
falsehood, but none of which is it useful to
specify, since thesRepublican's falsehoods have
a sort of polyp organization, and only multiply
| by severance. The Republican has certainly
this sign OF being prophet of the Lord-thar
the Lord hath put a lying spirit into its mouth.
But am not concerned now with its rebuttal
of my charges. &S
1t says, that 1 am ''as reckless with facts" as
l am brilliant with epithets." Several papers
that sympathize with the Republican have
copied this general disclaimer, but have never
seen one that ventured to copy its bill of par
| ticulars. 1t is this:
Gail Hamilton omits to explain that the attack on
Judge Frenchiwas communication to the Repub-
lican from person connected with the Amherst Ag-
ricultural College over his own name; that it was
printed in the absence of the Of the
paper, who alone knew Judge French personally
that upon his attention being called to It by mu-
tual friend not as attorney, the disclaimer and
Endorsement of Judge French's character were
promptly and heartily given.
Look at the 'facts' of which have been
reckless
1. 1 omitted to explain that the attack was COM
munication from person connected with Amhers t
Agricultural College over his own name.
L said distinctly "The Springfield Repub-
lican came out with letter." The ''person''
who wrote the letter is of no consequence.
ANY ''person' may write letters till the end of
/ tho world wa q ho my nf fha latf
| in the Republican that made it public slander.
As matter of fact did not know, and nothing
in his letter indicated, that the "person' was
connected" with the Agricultural College.
The Republican now says that he was, and that
creates presumption that he was not But
whether he were or not, has not the slightest
bearing upon the case. L had never heard of
him before; and have never heard of him since.
and have nothing whatever to do with him.
said everything that was necessary when L said
that the Springfield Republican published let
ter.
2. That 1t was printed in the absence of the Editor
in-chief.
1t is true that did omit to state that the
SANDER was printed in the absence of the
Editor-in-chief, for the simple reason that he
failed to notify me of his absence. Nor did
any statement in his paper announce his alb
sence. On the contrary, this full-fedged, flap
ping slander indicated that he was at home.
But all signs fail in dry times and even this, it
now appears, can no longer be depended upon.
The Editor-in-chief has so infused his spirit
into his subordnates that the hand of the ap-
prentice cannot be distinguished from the hand
of the master, and if we are to know in future
what is what, the Editor-in-Chief must mark
his necessary absences by borrowing from obit-
put at the head of his paper on his of-days:
"Gone but not forgotten"
8. Who alone knew Judge French personally.
did not know that the Editor-in-chief knew
Judge French personally or that his subordn-
ates did not. Nothing of the sort appears in
the paper, and the Editor-in-chief has never
furnished me with list of his personal ac-
quaintances. 1t seems now that the ordinary
division of labor in the Republican
office is that the gentleman whom
the Editor-in.chief does not know is to be
slandered by his subordinates, while his per-
sonal friends are reserved to be slandered by
himself. The amount of work accomplished
by the Republican in this line shows the advan-
tage of thorough organization.
4. That upon his attention being called to it by a
mutual friend, not as an attorney
In letter over his own signature dated Aug
"a. 1876, Mr.. 81. Il. French says: 81 wrote to
A. L. Soule eof Springfield. to call on Mr..
Bowles as my friend and attorney, and ask him
whether he held himself responsible for the
libel. -.
s. The disclaimer and Endorsement of Judge
French's character promptly and heartily CIV
The slanderous letter was dated Aug. s, and
printed August IL. The retracton was printed
in the Boston Advertiser August IL. If the
Republican will give us the date of the retrac-
tion in its own coldmns, 1 think it will be seen
that ten or twelve days elapsed between the
slander and the confession. and that the con-
fession did not appear till after the appearance
of the attorney, That it was prompt and heal
ty then, can easily believe.
Through column after column, and para
graph after paragraph, and paper after paper
of spasmOdc slander, the Chicago Tribune wal
lows foaming in its struggle to free itself from
the charge which have fastened upon it. But
through all its lashings and meanings and
roarings penetrates the still small voice of one
vital little truth wrenched out from its agony
that paragraph did appear in this spaper."
This is all that is really essential to my case.
Around this one little luminous disk of truth,
the Tribune gathers in vain attem pts at eclipse
cloud OF falsehoods, each one apparently as
prompt and perfect and pestilent as the original
sin. OF these, select as a specimen a single
group:
Not long after the time of the appearance of the
Irl99ne paragraph. Mr Blaine addressed letter to
Pittsburg paper, which he requested published, Civ
ing a short biographical sketch of himself. Mr..
Blaine stated in his note that this article substan
tally embodied the facts to his religious position
that he "had never been Catholic; that he be-
longed to no church, and had not enough religion to
boast off, The article which he sent was printed in
the Tribune.
This paragraph believe to be fabrication
and by strange fatality, the truth-around
which think it is feebly fooling-not only ex-
hiblts Mr.. Joseph Medill in the full exercise of
his lively and depraved imagination, but also in
the very act of affixing the stamp of fraud to
his own brow!
1. Not long after the appearance of the Tribune
paragraph Mr.. Blaine addiessed letter to the edit
or OF the Tribune.
After the appearance of the Tribune para
QraDh. / ventura q Q11i 10 Ia hot
Mr. Blaine ever addressed letter to the Trb-
une editor or held with him any communicx-
tion whatever.
2. Mr.. Blaine stated in his note that he belonged
to no church.
It's absolutely impossible that Mr.. Blaine
could nave stated in any note that he belonged
to no church. 1 demand of the editor of the
Chicago Tribune to produce any note at all
written to him by Mr. Blaine after the appear
ance of the paragraph in question. and L de-
mand OF him to produce any note from Mr.
Blaine saying that he belonged to no church, or
else to take the place and part assigned him in
the eighth verse of the twenty first chap,er of
the Revelation of St John the Divine.
8: The article which he sent was printed in the
Tribune.
The article referred to, and which Mr. Blaine
may have sent to the Tribune, was written and
published by DR.. james King at time when
the air was full of wild, foolish and contradc
tory stories about Mr.. Blaine's religious faith.
Or. King was one of the leading physicians of
Pittsburg, had been one of Mr.. Blaine's precep-
tors at college, and was afterwards for many
years his mothers family physician. Mr..
Blaine knew nothing of this letter till it ap-
peared in print in the Pittsburg Gazette, JAM
uary 8 1876. If Mr.. Blaine sent this letter to
the Tribune, as the Tribune alleges, he must
have sent 1t not long after its publication and
long before the publication of the Tribune para
graph; so that, if my theory is correct, the
Tribune declares itself to have been made ac-
quainted with the facts by Mr.. Blaine's college
preceptor and family friend, and certified of
the facts by Mr.. Blaine himself long before it
published its falsehoods
Mr.. Medill has access to his own files. L
have not. demand of him to give the date of
the publication sof DR.. Kings letter in the
Chicago Tribune and the date of the sanderous
editorial paragraph for which have arraigned
him. These dates will convict Mr.. Medll of
second falsehood by way of escape from the
first, or they will convict me of an error of
memory: for in this matter write wholly
from my memory of events which made the
deepest impression upon me at the time, and
which l shall be amazed to find that apy apss
of m onths or years has disarrapged
For the Tribune editor to say that what
| consider so disgraceful is alleged mem
bership. ia the Catholic church is a char.
acterlstlcally mendacious method of in
flaming religious bigotry, but it does not
meet my charge, To descend into the street