Daily Kennebec journal., 1879-02-12
From the New York Tribune
The Case of Mr.. Tilden.

scene of intense dramatic interest was
witnessed at the Fifth Avenue Hotel on Sat
urday. In a low dark room, excessively hot
and denselv packed, the whole world sat al
the reporters tables, or crowded close with
notebook in hand, 10 catch the faint whispers
that fell from worn and haggard old man.
With the look of a corpse except in moments
of excitement, with slow, far-away voice, and
slow, painful movements, dropping left eve
lid, parchment-like cheeks, and quivering
hand, Mr.. Tilden repeated his statement.
evidently prepared with great care, in voice
much of the time hardly audible four feet
away. His manner showed intense and in
creasing nervous excitement, by great effort
restrained: the body rose and fell in the seat
necessarily, as if he were trying in vain to
rise, and the seemingly half-uselcss left arm
shook like Il leaf. Then the excitement burst
restraint, the face flushed almost purple, the
lip quivered, the right arm repeatedly smotc
the table with great force and passion, and
the voice rang through the room with painful
intensity, like the shrek of a drowning man.
After every such effort, the sentence died
away, as il the voice were stopped by closing
waters. The effect was almost that of death
bed declaration. Had the matter thereof
equalled in force the soemnity of manner
this declaration would have had great effect
Not, indeed, that the people would have been
more ready to lift TO the Presidency man so
broken, and so manifesty living only in bitter
and torturing memories. But the matter was
by no means equal TO the manner in impress
iveness, nor could any unpreiudiccd hearcr
avoid contrasting the declarations of Mr..
Tilden with his own admitted conduct toward
men whose deeds fill dark page in the his
tory of the country.
NJ TiItap,s t..,;,,o,,..
strong as, after four months of preparation
and consultation, ii was possible to make it.
That il was not exceedingly strong was due
to the inherent and nsuperablc difficulties of
his position. 1t was not possible for him to
state that, IN respect to Weed, Marble.
Wo0lley. Coyle or Pelton either in watchino
their doings, knowing their character AS he
did, or IN reprobating their acts when they b,,-
came known 10 him, his conduct was consist
ent with the spotless virtue and unwayerinv
purpose which he professed II was not nos.
sible for him wholly to conceal that low moral
tone which half excused Pclton for irving ia
buy votes, because he was swift to believe
without evidence that others had done or al
tempted the same thing. His only intense
feeling was not wrath because Of crimes COM
mitted, but wrath because of loss sustained
FELTON, was tolerated and kept when lac was
A'''" W nave ueHc wrong. ! ears atterWarl
he was disowned with Indignation only when
the public had found him out.
Mr.. Tilden's declaration of his ignorarco
ot corrupt negotiations seems as broad. full
and emphatic as il could be. If there were
mental reservations, as it now appears there
were in his published card of October last nf
such character that an exact statement of
truth had the public effect of s,atnrnor.
that was false, they do not vet appear IT,
claims TO have had no knowledge tha, pe,ton
was communicating in cipher with the demo.
cratic agents at the South; no knowlcdoc
that Weed had gone to South Carolina. nnfii
he returned; no knowledge that Woollev had
gone TO Florida, or Patrick 10 OREGON n,
knowledge of any corrupt proposal a. 10 Soutl
Carolina, until it was arrested bv Navn,
cooper's refusal to provide money for it. and
no kBewiedge even then or afterward of th,
true nature of the negotiations in that Stat
tr the others These assertions, if fully be-
lieved, acguit Mr.. Tilden of one charge onl,
10 convict him Of another quite as fatal to hi,
POSITION as a Presidential candidate. Fo