Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1879-09-17
WATTERsog ON ooNKLlNG.
AND on rnE ALLOTMENT OF CRIME.


lIlenry's Block Island letter.
i belleve her Mrs. Sprague) to be q
vain, and to have always bcena daring
and imprudent woman, not q wanton,
ana l must say that tho provocation
she has had from her husband, and
the course which Mr.. Conkling has
pursued, together with the wretched
plight which | know her now TO be in,
I'LL me with sympathy mover ex-
pected to feel for her. Sho is the
daughter OF ono'oi BIO g1taless men
this country every produced, II woman
IN distress, abascd and brow beaten by
her husband, betrayed ana deserted
by her lover aud that Is enough for
me.
Why, do you know that l am credi
bly, informed that Mr.. Conkling was
assured by the New York papers that
If he would authorize a denial OF the
whole thing, on his honor us q man
and Senator, they would not only
suppress the details, but unite In an
Endorsement, and, II needed, defense,
and that Mr. Conkling refused. God
OF the universe J where are tho Bibles,
where are the stacks OF Bibles, so high
that the meanest wretch would not
mount them, as upon an altar and
light the pile with his own hands, and,
amid the flames beneath, swear TO the
honor OF the woman who had trusted
him, and who stood compromised by
bis act, until his senses lett himY
Mr.. Conklng, with characteristic
avoidance OF contamination to his gen
tlemanhood, has fled the field He
declines TO appear in his own person.
lie first invents a most absurd state
ment to the press, Ho next prepares.
not Tor himself but for Mrs. Sprague
to sign, an Inconsistent, illogical state
ment to the public In the first per-
son singular he has never word to
utter lie does not say, 81 let my
character go--do what you will with
lt-but tho woman IS Innocent" lie
does not have even the sclfpossession
or the courage to make diversion
upon Spraguo and to say to him, "Sir,
you are aseoundrel who have attacked
your own vile through me, and | will
hoiu you responsible, lie does moth
ing OF the sort. His greatness re-
strains him. lie flies back to Utica,
to the wife he has deserted, to the
daughter he tries to humillate, and,
covering behind these good women,
he asks the country to believe him
guiilless, whlle II, 10 company with
oprague, punlshes the daughter OF the
great Vhlei justice
Wish l may DC harpooncd-and l
am sure don't wish to be harpooned-
II ever l heard oil anything like 1t IN
my nerusal oil wicked history from
Ciaudlus down. to Henry Ward Beeeher
l can ma nothing at all akin to itany-
where, not even IN "plantation man
ners'" Yet 1t Is common to have II
said that justly deserved censure OF
this man-this would-be representa-.
tive oftho manhood, the manners and
the morals OF the North-spring'
either from rebel malice, or persona
plque. II is common TO see newspapers
which discourse nimbly OF the "pecu
liar civilization OF the South extol the
system in which, and in which only
such affairs as this are possible, totally
obliylous in their partisan zealand
blinded by imaginary scenes of carnag,
, Il thousand miles away-of the domes
tic tragedies they daily stumble over
the elopemnts, seductons, suicides
the entertainments, iorgeries anC
breaches OF trust, to say nothing o
the common quantnm OF routine crime
such as murder and burglary. Strang'
II is that this is so, and that the mel
who preach 50 one.sided a gospe
should talk about disloyalty and nation
alism as though they monopolizet
= both.
There is an allotment of Grim,
, everywhere, and one community is no
much worse or better at bottom thai
} another. In the domain OF eXceptlOna