Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1880-09-18
THE REPUBLICAN PRESS ON
GARFIELD,

1t is frequently charged upon the
democratic press and speakers of
1880 that they are fabricating SLAM
ders against Mr.. Garfield for cam
paign purposes. There has been no
need for such fabrications. In order
to show the unfitness OF Mr.. Gar
field for the great Office to which he
slspires, the democratic party has
only to reprint the comments of the
republican press of the date when
the frauds in which he participated
first became public-in order to
warn the people of the United States
against the national disgrace of elect
ing as theirpresident man so foully
stained as James E. Garfield. 1t is
true that the republican press of the
present day cOnspires to white-wash
Garfield, but in 1878, while the ex-
posures of the Poland committee
were fresh in mems minds, the
party saw that its only possible
escape from the damning record
was to throw over Garfield, and
heap the disgrace on him as an in
diVidual which would otherwise
overwhelm the party. Even Judge
Poland, the chairman of the invest
igating committee which then con-
demned him, has done his best,
since he became the presidential
nominee, to relieve him of the judg-
ment then given against him, but
in vain; the record of the committee
remains in print and cannot be set
aside. The press Of that day was
we'll aware Of tho truth and made
no effort except to confne the dis
grace to Garfield himself and ward
it off from the party.
We now give a specimen of the
way in which this was done. The
article is from the New York Tri-
bune of February %, 1873, and arti-
cles in a similar spirit might be
extracted from such stalwart papers
as the New York Times and Harp
er's Weekly, but this will suffice;
They found the prisoner in the highway,
rummaging the pockets of his dead victim,
tried him for murder in the first degree and
found him guilty of-breach of the peace.
That is about the nature of 1T. 1t would be
work of SupererOgatiOn to allude in this
connection to the parturition of the moun-
fnf on VI nj "a ri mo
Whoever has read the action of the house on
the great credit n7Obflier cases has been in
voluntarily reminded of all that already.
Never had trial or investigation so weak and
illogical an outcome; never was verdict SO
Utterly 9nt 9t Telatlpn WITH the gravity Of
the 9feHSs ehd ne e RgaEihg 9f fheSYidehee
charged sgainst him Nomore or less than
bribery, Not an attempts at bribery, but act
ual bribery--a contaminated and complete
offense. It was this that the committed was
sent ont to investigate; it was this for which
he was tried, and for which the committee,
after tender-fOoted inquiry that held the
case at arm s length shivering at every stem.
recommended his expulsion. 1t was upon
his own confession in writing that he in
tended the distribution of the stock to infiu-
ence the men who received it, by making 1t
"for their interest to look into the law" that
he was convicted. 1t was either bribery, to
be punished with expulsion, or stupidity, to
be passed with contempt. II it was cenSur-
able, it was more than that. The committee
had sufficiently belittled the transaction
in the absurd report that Cakes Ames was |
guilty of bribery, but that no one had been
brfhddi the house helittled even that, whit
Ting II down tp a more silly ana inen4se-
of guilty and resolving only that it f.abso- |
lutely condemned" the brfpef who had |
pfibed AQbody. Was ever Anything more |
utterly ridieHlens7 The manner and the
circumstance Of the dfsff bullion prove 1t he |
yond question 70 have been done with cor
fppt lhatiYe, IT did NOT need MF, Cakes /
Alpess HngFammatleAl explanation over |
his own signature 70 convince the most oas-
ual observer of that,
The men who received 1t were not fools or /
blind. They knew the tenor OF the TRANSACT /
ton; could not help knowing that this gift /
for 1t hardly had the thin disguise OF an L
investment-was for an object and with a I
purpose. The testimony need not be reca-
pitulated TO convince the reader on that i
head It Is fresh in the memory of the peo-
Pile, and that impression of il is distinct and
clear. If AmeR was guilty SO We're all the Il
rest. The committee saved the Others and /
I,ut all the guilt on Ames. The house went /
still more softly over 1t and saved Ames
from all except the two words s'absoluteiy
condemn" No other penalty. nothing but
words, and very empty, fiabby words at that.