New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-08-25
cJru SERVICE DISCUSSIONS.

Gail Hamilton concludes, in this morning
| TRIBUNE, the most brilliant ana the ihos'
widely read series of criticisms ever cohtriD-
uted by womans pen to the literature OF
American politics. In recent letters she mas
been treating questions of legal and Con-
gressional rights but to-day she returns
TO more pungent details, ana lor inc
first time stops to deal with her assall-
ants. Mr.. Samuel Bowles, Mr.. Meulli'
Gen. Scburz. The New- York Erening Post me
advertiser and The Journal of Boston, all
receive her notice, and emerge in turn, each
more or less dilapdated, from the attention.
Mr. Bowles fares particularly ILL., The relentless
critic. after indicating her first assertions
strikes to the marrow of his character Ill
single sentence: nj,
:, s now that the ordinary division OF labor in The
pbcgn Office is that the gentleman whom the Editor
incef does not is to be sandered by us Suoo'
mates while his personal friends are reservoir 10 DO
slandered by himself
No other political contributions have or late
wears attracted anything like the editorial at
tentiOn given these letters, and yet IN It's treat
ment of them the American Press has not al
WAYS shown itself at its best. Many OF the as
sailaHts have miscOnstrue" the real point OF
the discussion. Gail Hamilton never once I'M
dertook to state the acts of the Administration
or TO furnish the facts on which her censure
rested. What she did was to take up the
stories promulgated by Reform newspapers
themselves, at the very time when they were
chanting paans to the new Administration
and to show how inconsistent was
the news they printed with the eul0gy
they based upon it, She did not say she
knew their news to be true; she dld not
saw she thought their eulogy to be
undeserved; but she did show how poorly the
news and the eulogy fitted together IN the
same paper. To hold her responsible for their
news was silly, while to evade responsibility Tor
some decent relation between their news ana
their culocy was dishonest; but too many OF
her NOT oycr-ciyiI critics have done one or both.
Little else has been said to break the force OF
her articles, unless in the story That Mr. Blame
wrote them for her, or inspired them, with
which she deals to-day after her own 1ashloh'
or in the sheer that at any rate she Is her
self lust as mcrccnary as the professors ol
unselfish politics she has transiXed, since, OF
course, THE TRIBUNE hired her to do the
work. On the last point it is pertinent now 10
print the essential part OF the private letter 10
the Editor of this Journal, in which she gave
the first hint Of her desire to publish the series
of communications to-day concluded, and made
the only business arrangement that has ever
existed about them:
nave written series Of papers on CiVil service re
form going straight and slam against the gram yours
and everybody c'sc who in the gall OF bitterness ana
the bonds % nquity like you both censurc and praise
the Administration rs meet, and in short, deal on eX
act and caual Justice to everybody. As they would bear
my own name you would not be answcrabe for the opn-
ions And IT, after they published, children cry
for them and YOU should rant to pay me tIiie OF
$4,000 or So you might, il You didn't. you miShtnt
should at least have the satisfaction Of having done
missionary work on good heather ground.
She has done the missionary work with
courage and power that her ASSISTANTS envy
while they SANDER, and it Is already bearing
fruit There is perceptibly less gush than
there was about the Administration, and more
serious sense of the exacting responsibility OF
the time We are no longer predicting
impossibiliues, or praising success and blunder
with equal and undscriminating ardor What
Mr.. Lincoln used to call "ths business OF
proclamating has been measurably stopped.
| And the more distinctly the occasional errors OF
| his sub0rdinatcs are recognized, the more dis
tinctly appear also the sincerity, the dlSinter-
estedncss ard the patriotic purpose OF Presl-
dent for whom we believe a great work in Amer
| lean politics is yet reserved.