New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-11-29
4 FRAUDCLENT DEFENCE.

| No one prctends any longer that the Morey
letter was anything but base and impudent
forgery The only defence that leading
Democrats set up, or that is made for them,
is that they knew nothing of the letter until
it appeared, investigated it then, and honestly
| believed 1t genuine. and thus were imposed
upon completely. Now, there are few facts
which prove beyond question that this de-
fence is as false and fraudulent as the letter
| itself.
Information that some such letter WAS
about to be published, which would decide
the Presidential contest, was given in this
city as early as Thursday, October II. Whis-
! peled from one person to another in that
| whirlpool of rumOrs which has its centre in
the Stock Exchange, it was not supposed to
have any foundation, except by some who
believed they had it from sources deep i'll
Democratic councils. As all know, at least
one conspicuous operator was on the Demo
cratic National Committee, but there were
others who had paid largely to the cost of
| the Democratic campaign i'll Indiana, and by
! that means or by personal relations, had Sc
! cured sources of confidential information at
| headquarters. From which of these the story
first came probably never Will be discovered
But the fact that such a story was whispered
on Thursday, and came to the ears of ReDub-
hcaus ON Friday, has an evident meaning.
Again, it was on Friday, October Is, ac-
cording to two gentlemen of high rcsDecta-
bjlitv known 10 our correspondent at Wash
jngton, that they were told at a hotel in this
CITY, by General w. w. Averlll that such a
letter would soon appear. Their statement is
that General Averill said 81 have just come
from Governors Island. / cannot divulge
"what is going on, but it is big thing.
There is a letter coming out which
"you will see i'll the papers. 1t may be
published in two days, and it may be
"in four or five. We are going to send
sit TO the Pacific Coast. When il comes out
Garfield cannot carry single Pacific State
General Avcril was particularly positive
that Hancock would be elected, " as sure as
"you live" because the letter was " going to
&" turn the whole thing" Just five days after this
conversation the MOrey letter was published, and
Mr.. Barnum tciegraphed it to all the leading
Democratic journals in the country, saying,
1.-The letter is genuine. Denial is worse than
useless From whom did General Averill
get his information, accurate and minute as 1t
was, both as to the tenor OF the letter, the
use to be made of it, and the time of
its publication No one will imagine
that 1t was communicated to him, or to Demo-
Gratis in Wall Street or on Governors Island,
that the forthcoming letter was to be for
gerry. No doubt all the Democrats who knew
of the matter, except the few who concocted
the letter, were led to believe it genuine
But what becomes of the pretence that the
Democratic managers knew nothing of the
letter before il was published, and then, hav-
ing little opportunity to examine it, were i'm
posed upon
Again, Bridgeport is the largest town and
the chief centre of political activity in the
district which Mr.. Barnum represented in
Congress. He has there intimate and conf
dental friends. But The Bridgeport Standard
states that the forged Morey letter was known
about, and It's publication predicted, fully five
days before it appeared, and 1t was expected
10 create a great revolution III the aspect of
polltical affairs. That IS, it was known In
bridgeport Just when General Avenl spoke
Of il. on Friday the 18TH and on the same
day the whispers came to Republican ears on
Wall Street. Now IL is III order for M Bar
mum TO state how his friends in Bridgeport
came 70 hear of a letter which, it is pre-
tended, the Democratic Committee knew
nothing OF until five days later.
II is an interesting question how this whs-