Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1881-03-02
HON. JOHN M. GREER.
GA Card of Explanation" That Puts
Him in a Worse Light than Before.


of case in Court, had to jump up and
leave the Court. case, client and all, and
star, off to Harrisburg, in obedience to
dispatch he had received from the man
there. who was known the State over as
the "boss" of the machine, which ma
chine was then engaged in trying to
make one Mr.. Oliver United States
Senator. We also referred to the grow
ing practice of members of the Legisla-
ture leaving their public duties to at
tend to their private business, and to
the case of Mr. Greer being In that re-
spect very noticeable and noted one
The Eagle of last week contains what
It calls "a card from Hon. John Nj.
Greer but which is in fact a quite
LENGTHY letter. written to it from Har-
risburg and dated Feb. 7th, although
not appearing until last week, Feb. %,
In this card" Mr. Greer attempts
what he calls an explanation" OF why
he was at home and why he left here so
suddenly. And in order that no injus-
tice be done him we will give the sub
stance of his reasons as found in his
"card" of explanation, by which it will
be seen that his reasons are as absurd
as they are contradictory and full of
blunders.
He commences by stating that dur
ing zone of the weeks in December
last he requested that the cases, in
which he was concerned, might all be
nut on the list for one week." meaning
one of the weeks of the then coming
January court, $50 that Chez could go
home and finish his business, and not
be compelled to go home every week. !"
Now, what have we admitted in the
above bv our honorable and faithful
member of the State Senate? We have
it admitted that away in december he
was asking the Court and arranging
| for the trial of his cases in one OF the
| weeks of Court to be held in January
The Legislature had to meet on the
first Tuesday in January, 4th day
| This fact was of course known to him.
Mr.. Greer knew he was elected to serve
his constituents and that it was has du-
tn to be at Harrisburg attending the
sessions of the Legislature; and he knew
that the Legislature would be sitting
all through the month of January and
February too. Notwithstanding this,
and by his own confession now made,
he arranged in December last for his
private business to the consequent neg
lect of his public duties. And what IS
| the oath he had to take, on January 4,
before he entered upon the discharge of
his public duties. Part of that oath IS
"that will discharge the duties of my
Office with fidelity" How can MEM
Der of the Legislature discharge his du-
ty to his people and the State with
fidelity, if he is at home by the whole
week attending to his private affairs !?
And what kind of an ide: has Mr..
Greer of his public duties when, as he
admits, he made arrangements for his
private business at a time when he
knew his public duties would require
attention. He speaks of being "com-
PEELED to come home every week." as if
his duties were here and not in the Leg
islature. 1t may be that neither the
people of the State or his constituents
might lose much by his absence from
the Legislature entirely, but the rea-
sons he gives are as new as they are
stupid. Under his oath of Office he had
no right to be at home at all for the
purpose he states.
But another contradiction in his
"cardn is in relation to the then pend
ing election of the United States Sena-
tor. He states on that question, that
after he got to Harrisburg, and before
he returned home, to try his import
ant cases" that he had in December
caused to be put down for trial, that II
Chez arranged pair, so that the Repub-
lican party would suffer no harm, and
went to Butler in regard to my busl
ness,n etc. Further on a little in his
card" he states that on Tuesday al
noon he returned to Harrisburg in re-
sponse to dispatch" etc. This is the
dispatch we alluded to in our article
headed power of the machine" and
the Tuesday" mentioned by him was
Tuesday of the court week he had come
home to try his important cases. ,
Now, if he "was paired" on the o. S
Senator question, as he says he was
why then was it necessary to haster
back to Harrisburg on that question
That was the only important business
on hand" as he stated himself, and al
though he had arranged pair OF
that question, yet he runs for the frs
train after getting the dispatch. Eithe
he had no pair, or it was not goot
one, or his whole statement on thi
point prores the truth of what we said
to wit: that he went back at the com
mand of the boss of the machine, wh'
wanted him there to aid in forcing up
on the Republican party its choice for
Senator. In any light it is taken, hi
statements are, to say the very least
|