The Portland daily press., 1880-10-26
THE FRAUDULENT LETTER.

A Democratic Paper Points Out the Abb
surdity OF the Claim that Gen. Garfield
Wrote it.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 24.-Tne Sunday Capital,
an outspoken Democratic paper of the most
pronounced character, in its issue of to-day
has the following editorial article on the
fraudulent Chinese Garted-Morey letter:
"SympathiZing as we do with the efforts of
American labor to emancipate itself from the
gathering thralldom of monopoly, we awaited
withsmuch interest the publication in facsimile
of Garfield's alleged letter to Morey, of the So
called Employers Union at Lynn. We con-
fess that we feared Garfield had written such
a letter. He has habit of rushing into the
most absurd condolences. Possessing brain
of phenomenal activity, he is always evolving
notions and theories upon all sorts of topics,
which facility, joined to an impulsive and
ELUSIVE temperament, has caused him to
spread a great deal of literature over the land
in his time. But this letter is clearly not
part of the literature which our friend James
A. has from time to time spread over his be-
loved country. 1t contains for one thing
phrase which Garfield would never have
thought of framing; and for another thing,
there is defect in its photography which to
any one at all acquainted with him makes the
idea that he wrote it ridiculous. The phrase
to which we refer occurs in the first sentence,
where Garfield is made to say the question
of employees &c. Now, if James A. is anything
he is an arlistin the employment of language
either on his legs or at his desk. No man now
in public life is SO thorough or so scientific in
his mastery of the Kings English as Garfield.
Indeed, we have often marveled at the chastity,
even severity,of the style that marked his inn
promptu utterances upon the floor of the
House when they came into the print of the
Record. No master of the English language
would say the question of employees This
phrase is not only meaningless, but it is awk-
ward ard uncouth. 1t is the phrase of a
bungler, of a novice, of man unaccustomed to
studious selection of forms of expression. The
whole sentence is: 4 take it that the question
of employees is only question of private and
corporate economy and individuals or COM
panys have the rghtto buy labor where they
can get it cheapest This is the exact form of
the published fac simile. We are familiar
enough with Garfield's style to be able to indi
cate the form into which he would naturally
put such proposition. He might have said:
take it that the relation between
employer and employee is a question:, or,
preferably, he would have said: "a matter of
private OR corporate economy &c. But we
are sure he never would have thought of using
SO crude and so unmeaning o phrase as the
question of employees Again, the fabricator
of this alleged letter so makes Garfield spell
companies with Y, thus: 'Companys,' We do
not think any further analysis is required.
We are astonished at the stupidity of the Dem
ocratic committee in lending its countenance
to the circulation of such rank fraud on its
face. But hold on-we are not astonished at
any stupidity of the Democratic committee.
Maybe Barnum himself spells companies with
a ~