New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-11-15
ISIr POLITICS or SLANDER,

Mr.. Leyerett Saltonstall was one of the
Democratic visiting statesmen who went to
Florida in the interest of Mr.. 1ilden in No
yember. 1876. When the cipher kilograms
were published last month a reporter OF The
Nec- York Herald made some inquiries Of him In
Boston. Mr.. Saltonstall, after reading the trans
lations of the dispatches in which Marble, Wool
lev and Pelton discussed the project for purchas-
ing the Florida Returning Board and settled
upon the price, calmly remarked that he
did not believe there was any effort
"to use bribery on the Democratic
sidc,n and spoke Of tho publications III
THE TRIBUNE as "pretended EXPOSURE"
and "imagined translations." He went
on TO intimate pretty broadly that he
considered the dispatches-or Mt any rate the
Neutrality-suspicious., and the Editor OF The
TRIBUNE forger. When he was asked what
reason he had for assuming that Mr.. Marble
never sent the kilograms attributed to him, he
replied that he occupied the next room To Mr.
Marble at Tallahassee, and as he did not
hear of any cipher dispatches passing back and
forth he had no hesitation Ill believing
that there could not have been any. This was
remarkable reasoning for a lawyer and re-
spectacle citizen OF Boston but it was moth
ing to what followed. For while Mr.. SaltOn-
stall, with the Democratic cipher dispatches
right before his eyes, confidently de-
clared that they did not exist, lie as
serted with equal pOsitiveness that cor
rupt negotiations were telegraphed between
Republican politicians. although q Democratic
Committee of Congress has spent mouths in a
vain attempt to find traces Of such CORE =
spondence. In particular he laid these sup
posed infamies to the charge OF Secretary
Sherman and General NOyes. " My belief is"
he said L" that there were daily kilograms ex-
" changed between Secretary sherman and Gov
"ernor Moves, who was at Tallahassee, and
Constant stilfenlng up of the Florida Board by
these dispatches until the Louisiana Board
.'hal acted. The Florida Board, believe. did
mot dare to commit the frauds which they
committed wholly on their own response
"bility. Governor NOyes Is not the
"saInt that he affects 10 be; and IL all his
"doIres were exposed and all the telegrams
" that he received and sent were translated
and published i think chapter OF lnfamy
would be exposed to the people that would
"make this pretended TRIBUNE exposure,
"even if true, appear very trivial"
DIR. Salstonstan added THAI if the dispatches
could be shown to be genuine and nightly
translated, his Indignation would be as hot as
that of any man. Well, the proof that MIR.
SaltOnstall wanted was supplied some time
ago. None of the persons accused of sending
those dispatches have ventured to deny them.
All except Colonel PeltOn have made, on the
contrary, either virtual or formal acknowl-
edgment Of their work, and Colonel Pelton
has fed from the public sight. 1t must
be presumed that Mr.. SaltonStall, ac-
cording to his promise, is now shrivelling in
the flames of patriotic anger. But it Is an
internal combustion which gives no outward
sign. We have not heard of Mr.. Satonstalrs
retracting his caumniOus remarks about The
TRIBUNE, or expressing the regret which
every gentleman must feel when he dis
covers that he has made a false charge
against his neighbor. We cannot say
that We are surprised ut this. We be-
lieve that it is not customary with Boston
gentlemen to retract SANDERS when the victim
happens to be one who moves in "the keen,
bright sunlight OF publicity for instance.
newspaper editor, or a Cabinet officer, or
an ambassador, OF the President Of the United
States. Hence we do not expect Mr.. Salton-
stall to take any notice of the in
dignant and very proper letter in which
Mr. Moves writes: "Not one single tele-
"gram, in cipher or otherwise, passed be-
tween me and Secretary Sherman, or be-
tween me and any other person in Louisiana
"during the whole time | was in Florida
Against this positive declaration Mr.. Salton-
stall has not ore fact to allege in sup
port of his "behcf." No such tele-
grams as he talks about can be found,
although a Democratic committee has ran
sacked the telegraph offices IN search of them.
No testimony that such kilograms ever existed
has been offered. Nobody processes ever to
have seen such kilograms, or to have been
aware of their paging. But Mr.. Saltonstall
"guesses" that there must have been n cor
respondence between Messrs. NOyes and
Sherman, "guesses" that. it must have re-
lated to q conspiracy of fraud, "guesses"
that it would. disclose awful things if one
could only find 1t and, on the strength OF
these utterly unsupported guesses, he accuses
some OF tho highest officers of the Govern
ment OF crimes which deserve O State prison.
MIR. Saltonstall would DO accounted In
famous, and would stand good chance of
being horsewhipped besides, if he were to
say in the newspapers of some private citizen
who happened to be his connection In business.