New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-11-27

the SUSPICION Oh having ucch SoiinNN'S
the conspiracy to purchase the Presidency
The atlanta Constitution, being conscious
that General Gordon was able 10 give
ga clear and convincing quietus 10
"this and similar vicious comments from the
irreconcilabe journals of the Northern hidl-
zeal nres..r sent a reporter to him to get It,
Bringing him at once to the point, the reporter
handing him the ,"vicious comment Irohh
The TRIBUNE. said, "What have you to say 10
that ~ With what the reporter admllhgy
calls ga directness and sarcasm that are pc
{" cuIiar to his methods" the Senator replied,
"My friend. I really do not think it is worth
noticing at ALL" There IS a reharhho'o
felicity III this reporters use OF language. f."
what could be more direct than Ior
a man who is called upon to explain his con-
nection with a series OF cipher dispatches
pointing plainly to corruption ana prloe'y'
Than To say he did not think them worth
noticing? Or what could be more sar-
casticl We hardly know which most 10
admire, the "dircctness" or the sarcasm
IL seems, however that they are pc
ocular" to Senator GOrd0ns NERVOUS.
Doubtless he INDUCES constantly III just surl
" dircctness and sarcasm and .his consult
uents have become accustomed to 1t. lhey
don't call those methods or that manner
of answering quesuon by such names
elsewhere. But 1t seems an easy way
to disnose of uncomfortable questions. IL Is
not unlikely that the Democratic Congress
may treat the call for an investigation OF inc
South Carolina election methods with the
same "directncss and sarcasm" by YotlnS
that such matters are not worth noticing.
But the Senator did think it worth while,
upon the reporters suggestion that his
friends would like to say that he had spoken
"upon the subject" to explain that he
had no recollection of any such as
patches as those referred to in The TRIBUNE,
"especialIy,r he added, "slnce 1t is stated
"that they refer to money uanNac-
"tion.r This is singular qualltcatl0n.
He doesn't remember any dispatches from
Mr. Weed, especially if they referred 10
money transaction. Z" Has he got the
" gIandersl" asked person examining
q horse of the boy III charge. Il don't really
"know,n was the discriminating answer. - ii
"theyre anything good he's got cm; lttheyfe
"ag'in him he hain't.' Senator Gordon forgetS
having had any dispatches from Smith Weed
but he especially forgets having had any
crooked ones. However, he says he did have
something to do with a money trans
action, to wit: with raising $4,000 TO pay law
yers' fees in connection with the South Caro-
lima election cases, and he says, II any dis
"patch in reference to any money was sent
to me in cipher or otherwise by Sir. Weed,
at was certainly in reference to that
money! The Senator is getting little mixed.
In the first place he doesn't remember any
dispatches from Smith Weed, and especially
does not remember-h1 has degrees OF forget
ting, it Seems-any that refer to money
transaction. Then he remembers that there
was money tTansactiOn-a perfectly haiti-
mate one concerning lawyers fees, and he
SAYS, I" If any dispatch in reference to any
" money was sent TO me in cipher or other
" wise by Mr. Weed, it was certainly in ref
ercnee to that money" 1t begins to look as
though the Senator made n mistake III per
hitting himself to be beguilcd into an ex-
planatiou. He would better have stuck TO his
" neculiar methods" of " drectness and sar-
" casm,n and insisted that the matter was
" not worth noticing at ALL" "Dut," persisted
the reporter, after considerable irrelevant con-
" did YOU have any cipher to use
- in the campaign~ The clear and
" convincing quIetus" is given we suppose
in the Senator's answer " had no cipher that
" recollect, but if any dispatch was sent 10
" me in cipher at all it could only have referred
"to the matter of which | have spoken.
" Indeed, / am quite certain that l never had
ga cipher, and the only communication |
" could have received in cipher was III refer
ence to the So 900 of which have spoken"
This gets more and more mixed. First,
he does not "recolect" having cipher,
and if any cipher dispatch was sent
him il must have had reference to
the $4,000 lawyers fees. Then he is
quite certain that "he never had
cipher,n and the only communication he
could have received was in reference to this
$4,000 "Quite certain" that he had no
cipher, and equally certain that if any
cipher dispatch was sent him it referred
TO the legitimate money transaction
he describes. Without questioning for mo-
ment the clear and convincing character
of this "quietus," may we be permitted to in
quire how, if he is quite certain he had no
cipher, he is able to tell 80 definitely
what the cipher dispatches sent him by
Smith Weed-"if" any such were sent
referred to How does man who has no
cipher translate cipher dispatch SO as
to tell with snch pOsitiveness what it refers
to2 We hope it will not be considered the
vicious comment" of an irrcconcilable
journal of the Northern Radical press" if
we ask Senator Gordon to vouchsafc TO in
Gown, ua a little further On this suhiact Uo
admits the possibility Of his having received
cipher dispatches when he tells what "cer-
"tainly" they referred to, if there were
any. Now will he tell us how he
knows what they referred to, if he had