Daily Los Angeles herald., 1879-01-08
a NnwsrArEn is supposed to b

u.RR - roileo upon AZ tnfh OHce.
A NEwsPAPER is supposed to be
. public lector, at least to certain
oxtent. The "leading' article is
founded upon that supposition, and
the editorial "we'' has been
ovolved to relieve the relation OF
anything like person ality or ego.
tlsm. 1t has been our pleasure to
read. often, In the columns of the
Star, articles signed indiffsrsntly
"B. L. Peel" and s'Peel." They
are frequently very good. We are
told hewevsr, that even Hemsr
nodo oocasionally, and we suppose
that We shall not be deemed per.
sonally disrespectful to our well
known fellow citizen II we sugge OF
that, In the dIscursiveness Of an ac-
tive intellect, he sonetimes gets out
Of the straight and narrow road
Wkioh leads to the realm of fact.
Before getting down to details,
howovsr, We grieve to be obliged to
reprovs the Judge for grievous
fault In taste. He speaks of the
persons who, according to our con-
victions. hold the correct ideas
with regard to the national
finances, ~ "toadies to capital"
ssidiots," and other pronounced and
not ersditable vagaries Of the hu-
man species. We would beg to re-
mind the Judge that these are
scarcely epithsts fitted for ears po-
lite. Il IL just a supposable case
that there are persons so abnor.
mally developed intellectually
that they would like to bestow on
this volunteer puudit and expos
itor OF political economy the very
slighting phrases which he. we
cannot help thinking, in a fit of
temporary intellectual abstraction,
has bestowed upon them. IF they
should indulge this splenetic i'm
pulse, and picture Judge Peel as o
sort Of modern Dogberry, they
would commit o grsat Injustice,
which we would heartily deprecate
much such another as he himself
has com mitted in characterizing &C
harshly persona, including our.
selves, who differ with him, and
who. we repeat, W. think, are
right. We by no mcal4 condemn
Judge Peel for a temporary breach
Of good manners because we are
perfectly convinced, SO thoroughly
are ws aware of his native good
sense and good nature, that he viii
be the first to regret the indiscre.
tlons into which lie allowed his per
to run. But, with all our gooG
humor for the Judge personally
We cannot forbear condem ming the
glarinR and hnrribie n,issts ar,aonts
Of fact which make his article in
the Sunday Star a mistake from
any standpoint. No man is eman.
cipated, under any circumstances,
from the obligation to bear witness
to the truth, ths whole truth and
nothing bnt the truth. In his Sun
days article Judge Peel says, In
substance, that during the pas
year four hundred millions O
greenbacks have been withdrawn
BY the government and put in the
shape of interest bearing bonds. Ii
our respected friend aware of the
fact that at no time during the pas
hve years, has the greenback cur.
rency OF the United States amount
ed to four hundred millions? Is hi
aware that, during the panic Of
1873, the Washington authorities
inflated the greenback circulation
to the amount of fifty odd millons
OF dollars, and that it stands now
Substantially as it stood after thaI
expansion? We have vague rec.
ollsotion that the total greenbacl
circulation of the United States il
$356, ,000,0 900, or at the outside
$3.50, 900, 900; and, if the large sum
named by Judge Peel had beer
retired during the past year
the retiring officials would have
been embarrassed to the exten
Of S44, 900, 900 or 10000, 900; for, in
spite Of Judge Peel, it is very diff.
cult to retire what has no existence
and, as there are good many
gresnbacks still floating about, tho
difficulties of understanding thu
financial situation from Judge
Peel's hypothesis are very mucf
complicated.
II we are right in our premises
It follows that Judge Peel has beer
guilty OF more than four hundred
million unveracities, for every dol
lar that has not been retired is {
witness against the accuracy of hi
facts, premises, minor and majol