The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1880-11-21


and plate glass of which no word Of truth
ever reaches the incumbent, to write you q
few words in the same intimate and friend.
ly spirit that marked our intercourse when
both occupied cheap boarding house;
when carried my fortunes on the slender
tip OF my pen as newspaper correspon-
dent, and you sought to support yourself
aud family on the meager pay Of a con
gresham. | 90 back to the time when
you gladly accepted my aid and sym
patty in your troubles and my heartfelt
congratulations in your trumphs, and |
yours. feel more anxiety about YOU, my
friend, now that you are fortunate, than in
the darkest hour of your life, when life IT,
self seemed so horrible that an escape from
it was temptation. You have passed from
the hands of friends to the keeping of
enemies, to play the part of chief executive
for four years"
Mr.. Piatt then tells General Garfield that
he is not only no politician, but that he is
hated by the politicians, and that history
never has, and probably will never put on
record such an infamy as that upon which
he was elected He adds:
I'VE have among us certain persons who
are bent on changing the form Of our pres
ent government. They seek TO make the
presidency a life tenure, and under the
name of stronger government escape the
return Of power to the people. You know
the man who is to serve their purpose 10
the reasonable scheme They bank upon
his military record and supposed popular
ity.'
The writer then warns Mr. Garfield
against the politicians, who are determined,
as he has indicted, to change the form of
government, and hopes that he will have
nothing to do with them, except looking to
breaking their power. In this he uses the
following language, which has attracted
more attention than any other part of the
letter.
1T was your committee tina, investigated
that national shame called Black Friday,
wherein Fisk, Gould and Grant sought
througha use OF the nationa! treasury to
enrich themselves at the expense OF thous-
ands OF honest men. 1t is not my purpose
to recall the details of that infamy. The
chief criminal was traced to the Threshold
OF the executive mansion, and your COM
mittee passed resolution calling upon the
president to appear before the committee
and defend himself from the damnine
proof that made him the chief conspirator
The night of the day that the resolution
was passed you called with it upon the
president. 1t was after midnight before you
left the white house, amazed and sick al
heart and at your suggestion thai
very day the resolution was revoked
need not say that you and I know why
that resolution was so suddenly abandoned
The fact that under the circumstances thu
order was revoked, tells the whole story
The very democrats of the committee
shrank from the threatened exposure
/ The letter closes with these strong words
"But you are not great man. You reaC
in your library of heroic achievements
Your soul swels over the poetic expressions
You are full of thought and Impulse, ant
all ends in support of men you despise ant
party with which you have nothing il
common"
The letter is earnestly written, Colonc
Piatt's relations have been very intimat,
with General Garfield and becaus,
OF that intimacy he probably ha:
the right to advise earnestly. But the bar
gain at Mentor destroyed Garfeld's powe
to cut loose from the ''Imperlalist' crowd
He will be compelled to "swing on thu
same gate" with them all through his term
and to assist in the third-term scheme a
the close OF it.
The letter does excellent service in show
ing up the lnfamies Of the administration
which the ablest republican leaders tried
to reinstate, and propose yet to fasten or
the country. 1t also dscloses how actu
ally near and threatening Imperialism has
become, when leading republican editor
in his earnest manner warns a republican
president elect against IL