The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1880-11-11


were given in the heat of the excitement
attending that Investigation, when it was
supposed that Mr.. Ames was truthful, and
before the testimony was all in. The evi-
dence did not convict Gen. Garfield of
perjury; the opinions of the Republican
press did not do it. At the most ii can
only be said by his enemies that it created
a suspicion-a strong probability, if you
please-that he was guilty and did not
make such a clear case as to warrant any
fair man in charging him with being
thief and perjurer. Leading Democrats
who hated his politics declared that there
was no case against him, and every intelli-
gent man knows that If Garfield had not
been nominated for the Presidency these
charges would never have been heard of
again. Gen. Garfield has several times
been on trial before the people of his dis
trict and once before the State when can
didate for Il seat in the Senate, aud every
time has received what must, by every fair
man, be regarded as a triumphant acquital
"a reelection by constantly increasing
majorities. The Republican press have
years ago given up the charge as unten-
able and unfounded, the assertion of the
Constitution TO the contrary notwithstamd-
ing. Now that the campaign is over the
Democratic press and many of the leaders
of the party unequivocally give him n
character above suspicion. Even as un-
compromising Southern Democrat as
Mr.. Watterson, of the Louisville Courier,
said, only last week:
Yielding to no one in detestation for the
party record of the man who has been elected
President of the United States, we declared
in the early part of the canvass what We here
take leave TO repeat, that he is q person of
commanding intellect, voluminous ex-
perience in public affairs, incapable alike OF
personal venality or malignity, and capable
OF being and Of wishing to be, q just Chief
Magistrate. . He is ambitious withal
and having q mind and heart which do not
want for virtues 10 guide him, il will
be a crime which he can measure IL he docs
not rely upon the country at large for his
support"
We could easily fill column with eX-
tracts from leading Democratic papers
giving his moral character an equally
clean bill of health, and yet so illustrious
sheet as the Elyria Constitution declares
that in order to cover up the bad charac-
ter of their candidate they sprung false
issue on the tariff question:" etc, etc.
The Constitution, on this matter, is at
variance with the best element of its own
party, and may as appropriately accuse
them of lying as the Republicans who dc
fend him..
The Pavement Contract ard Salary Grab
are equally bascless, and would never have
been heard of again but for the supposed
exigencies of this campaign.
But this same Democratic party that has
of late taken such high moral ground, as
suming itself TO he the apostle of political
virtue, in the last days of the campaign
forged and put in circulation a letter that
they purposed to be the political death OF
Garfield. Their leaders vouched for its
genuineness and proclaimed him liar for
denying that he wrote it; but their insin-
cerity is sufficiently shown by the fact that
the day of election was not fully over when
their leaders admitted they did not think
it was genuine, but said it made very
good campaign document. The leading
forgery, and denounce it as stupid
blunder on the part of the managers in that
they could not forcsee that the fraud would
be detected and recoil upon their own
| heads, or, as others put it, in not waiting
till nearer the time of election, so that i;
could have its influence on that event be-
fore its real character could be detected.
We have known Gen. Garfield in his
public and somewhat in his private life
for the last twenty years, and he has won
the confidence ofhis Democratic associates
in Congress and out. He has established
a character that no honest man would wish
to destroy, to meet the supposed necessities
of political campaign, and when we hear
men charge him with theft and perjury
not to speak of the lesser crimes men
to US, who respect and admire and love him
We do propose TO be fair and TO treat oul
opponents justly, and we leave it to dis
eliminating public to judge whether W,
are guilty of misrepresentation" of Z" in
dulging in false cxpedients," or whether
in justice, the criticisms of the Constitution
ought not to be applied to itself. VIZ
greatly fear that the moral constitut ion o
the Constitution has been constitutionally
impaired by long service in, and associa
ton with, the Democratic party, until i
has nearly lost the ability which its editor
might have possessed when he was ;
Simon Pure black Republican, to dis
tinguish between honesty and dishonesty
the truth and falsehood, or the compare
tive candor and fairness of his own and
Republican sheet. We suspect that il
editor has been pointing the small end o
the telescope at his own shortcomings
getting diminutive picture, almost beau
tiful to look upon, its deformities anC
moral obliquities obscured by the enchant
ment that distance lends, while he hat
been focusing the larger end on us, giving
him an exaggerated and distorted view o
our misdeeds.
Dear editor, just reverse the glass; get
good square look at your Constitution as i
appears to others, and our word for it, yor
will never find it in your heart to agar
complain of the treatment accorded yor
by the Republican press.
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