Litchfield enquirer. [volume] (Litchfield, Conn.) 1829-current, 1880-11-04
Forgery as a Campaign Dodge I?


The ways Of politics are not the ways Of
| legitimate business nor even of common hon.
esty. No stronger proof of this, or of the
folly of placing the reputation Of great
party at the mercy of so thoroughly unscru.
| lous manager as WIN. FL. Barnum, can be
found, than in the history of Garfeld's alleged
| Chinese letter.
Week before last there appeared in New
York paper called 1.-THE Truth" what pur-
ported to be letter from Garfield to 'H. L.
Morey, Employers Union, Lynn, Mass, ~
favoring the employment of Chinese labor. It
was at once denounced as a forgery by the
Republican Committee; Mr.. Garfield denied
that he ever wrote such letter; prominent
citizens of Lynn denied that there had even
been an employers Union" at that place, or
any Fl. L. Morey connected with it; and the
postal authorities at Washington declared that
the stamp upon the envelope was not in use
there at the time when it purported to have
been postmarked. Mr.. Barnum could find no
one in Lynn who ever knew any 81. L. Morey,
there. Nothing was known or at least pub
lished, showing the history or previous where
abouts of the letter. Nevertheless, in spite of
its more than doubtful authenticity, Mr.. Bar
mum proceeded to have electrotype facsimiles
of this letter and its envelope, made, and
scattered broadcast for publication in every
Democratic organ throughout the country.
But the Republicans were by no means dis
posed to let the matter rest even in the doubt
full shape In which Mr.. Barnum left it. A
sharp investigation resulted in the procure
ment of proof which establishes beyond per-
adventure, not only the fact that Mr.. Garfield
never wrote the letter in question, but that,
in all probability one Kenward Philip, associ-
ate editor of the Truth, did write it, and that
been received is one that was originally
addressed to some other person, at New York,
and not at Lynn, and which is covered with
erasures and other indicia of fraud.
Philip was arrested on charge of libel. It
appears that, Immediately upon the publica-
ton of Gar6cld's letter of denial, he had pub
lished an abusive editorial asserting the genu-
ineness of the letter and calling Garfield liar.
Republican detectives obtained the original
manuscript OF this editorial and on submission
Of it to experts they declared it to be the same
handwriting as the Chinese letter. Philip,
when arrested, was put on his preliminary ex-
animation before Judge Davis at once.
Experts swore to the indemnity of the hand
writing of the Chinese letter and the Philip
editorial. One witness acquainted with the
accused swore to his incorrect habit of making
plural by merely adding an 8, as appeared in
the case of ''companys" in the Chinese letter.
The examination occupied several days and
that of Friday was almost as sensational as a
court scene in one of Charles Reade's novels
The original envelope as we'll as the original
letter had been produced in court and several
peculiar things about the former attracted the
attention of the experts. An examination
with the microscope showed that its original
address had been erased and the III. L.
Morey, Lynn, Mass" written over it. The
''E- O." Esq.,, ending the former address,
was quite plainly visible. A long erasure ap-
peared on the back of the letter, and figure
was written in with pen or brush beside a
printed figure. A careful examination left
little doubt that the envelope had been origi-
nally addressed from Washington to some one
in New York, and had been postmarked on
the back of the envelope, New York, Reed"
The original address had been erased and also
the postmark on the back, which would not
have been placed there had it gone by due
course of mail to Lynn. In other words the
forger had procured Congressional envelope
which had been sent to some one in New
York, erased address and postmark, and writ
ten as a new address the now famous III. l..
Morey, Lynn, Mass"
That an obscure newspaper writer for an
obscure journal should try 10 play a trick of
this kind on the public is by no means an un-
precedented performance. The humilating
fact is the gluttonous appetite of the Demo-
cratic partisan press for scandal, and of the
Democratic managers in furnishing food for
that appetite. Whatever mistakes Mr. Jewell
may have made as chairman of a national
committee, his conduct has always been that
of a gentleman. Mr.. Barnum, on the other
hand, has adopted the methods, and let him.
self down to the level, of the lowest bar.room
politics