Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-12-15
JOHN KELLY DEFENDED.

"Steeptng Beast of Btgot3y."
To the Editor OF the Globe.
Your paper, in common with others, has
on several recent occasions, reflected severely
upon Hon. John Kelly as the party respon-
sible for the loss of the State of New York
to Hancock. He is made to appear, gener-
ally, in anything but favorable Gght-as
an INSCRIPTIONS and dishonest leader of the
''rabble' of New York city. An admirer of
that gentleman, (as result of being close
observer of his career for the past twenty
five years. have refused to believe him to
be deserving of the censure heaped upon
him, and have waited to see. him
vindicated, and justice done him. | assert,
without fear of successful contradiction, that
he is an honorbcle, upright gentleman, and
incapable of The treachery and dishonesty
imputed to him in some of the articles which
have appeared in the GLOBE and other pa
pers. This is now found to be the truth
and ls being acknowledged by papers and
individuals, who have no object in conceal
ing the truth and shielding those who are
really guilty; and believe your paper to be
one of these. In proof that Mr.. Kelly has
been unjustly treated in this respect, l quote
the following editorial from the Chicago
Times of the 22d ult.
Now that the smoke Of the political battle
has cleared away, and no reason remains why
the truth should not be told about everybody.
it is coming out that the Tammany people in
New York have decidedly the better of their
opponents inside the Democratic organization.
All the abuse which was heaped upon the head
of MIR. John Kelly for having, as WAS so loudly
alleged, made mere personal friend of his
the nominee for mayor, at the risk of aTousing
the sleeping beast of bigotry IN a Presidential
campaign, seems to have had no fact on which
to defend itself. Mr.. Grace was not the
choice of Tammany nor of Mr.. Kelly. He
was the choice OF Irving hall and OF the Demo
cratic business element which finds its voice
through that organization. It must be adj
mitted by even Mr.. Kelly's political opponents
that he displayed a singular party devotion in
bearing In silence, so tar personal explana-
ton goes, throughout campaign. an extra
ordinary amount of malignant criticism, with
clear consciousness of deserving none of It,
The nomination of Mr.. Grace was certainly
blunder, since bigots have votes; but the blum
der was not Tammany's.
Had the advice of Tammany been taken, it
is very likely that Hancock could have car
ried New York. For, whatever Tammany was
in the days when Tweed ran the affairs of both
parties In that city, it is not susceptible of
a.
head of the organization, it has done substan-
tial service in that city and State. The Judi
clary. for instance, es i has been chosen by
Tammany. is confessedly high and pure
There are no more Barnards or Cardozos All
the municipal offices have been administered
with ability and honesty. Mr.. Kelly himself,
in the controllers department, has reduced the
debt of the city more than ten millions And
1t is a fact which should not escape public
knowledge that Mr. Kelly has never been con-
nected, directly or Indirectly, with the frauds
which, in the election four years ago and in
the recent campaign. brought so much dis
grace on the Democratic party. He had moth
ing to do with buying electors; his name was
not touched with the smut of the cipher dis
patches. He had nothing to do with the stupid
and Infamous Morey forgery. When the lead
ers of the party have had that sort of business
on hand, they appear to have carefully avoided
letting John Kelly into their councils. Those
methods he has ever fought by word and prac-
tice; and 1t is curious, too, that they have
been employed by the very faction of the party
which has always fought Kelly.
SO persistent an effort has been made to rep
resent John Kelly as typical TammanY rough
that it may surprise those who have been de-
ceiVed into thinking so to learn that the Tam
many chief is gentleman of extremely re.
fined and modest Manners man never known
to use profane or coarse or violent language
a gentleman in every sense. His private for
tune keeps him above even the suspicion of
mercenary motives in politics. and events show
that his party is indebted to him considerably
more than be to his party. The cut on Grace
has produced profound feeling, which, in the
reaction, is to the decided advantage of Tam
many; and John Kelly is to-day the strongest
man in the Democratic party in the State of
New York. Had his counsel been followed,
his party would have different story to tell
over the Thanksgiving turkey.
1t will no doubt surprise many to learn
that Hon. John Kelly is the worthy gentle
man which he is by the foregoing shown TO
be. II is the truth, nevertheless; and the
Chicago Times would be the last TO SO state
if it were otherwise. If the responsibility
for the defeat of Gen. Hancock does not rest
where the Tunes places it would like to
have some gentleman show it. I assert that
it cannot be done and That the Times is cor
rect.
Viewing the matter in the light Of the per-
sonal success of Gen. Hancock it was no
doubt a mistake to "arouse the sleeping beast
of bigotry" by nominating Catholic for
mayor; but, as shown, "the blunder was not
Tammany's." But viewing it from the
standpoint of principle, no better occasion
could have been selected to test the
liberality of that class of Democrats
WHO couiu nOG vote Tor Ar. Grace
for the only reason that he was q
Catholic. If it is true that large portion
of the non Catholic democracy are SO bigot-
ted that they cannot vote for Catholic,
who is otherwise qualified for the office he
has been nominated by the party to ill, it
is time Catholics should know it. In the
language of that leading Catholic organ,
the New York Catholic ReUieao "If this ac-
tion of these New York bigots be
approved by the Democratic party,
it is about time for Catholics to
take new departure in politics. The
country is prosperous. There are now no
vital principles at stake between the two
parties. Let them choose for themselves in
the future, judging the principles of parties
by their acts. Let them punish those who
would punish them; shake off those who
would desert them. * < * Catholics, as
Catholics, belong to no party at all. and in
voting are influenced solely by public inter
ests. Religion only influences their vote,
when their religion is attacked; as it was, so
bitterly and basely, in the recent contest"
1t is true that "the cut on Grace has pro-
duced profound feeling" especially among
the Catholics of the United States sAnd why
should it not? 1 regret that do not feel ct
liberty to ask you to yield enough more
space to publish the complimentary notices
of MIR. Grace which appeared in the New
York dailies when he was nominated, partic-
ularly those of the Tribune, Graphic. Jour-