Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1881-11-02
Communication.


l-Inasmuch as you last week opened
your columns to an assault upon the
whole Republican ticket in a commu-
nication signed Miffiin,' perhaps
you will not object to pabhsh word
in favor of the Republican nominees.
The article in question seems to have
been inspired by an individual who
seeks to condone his own faithless-
ness to his party by trying to induce
others to violate their party fealty.
Are the reasons urged in this article
sufficient to warrant the action rec
commended Has anything been
done by anybody which will justify
the slaughter by Republicans of the
many good men whose names appear
on the Republican and Union ticket
These inquiries are entitled to a care
full consideration and q candid an
swer. The burden of Mif8ins COM
plant ie that the School Directors
who voted for Wellington Smith for
County Superintendent have been
'.hounded" for doing 80. If they
have been criticized for their vote,
they have experienced just exactly
what all office-holders under our sys
TEN of government must expect.
Neither the highest nor the lowest
officials of this nation are exempt
from criticism for their official action.
''The cat may look at the King, and
the people may say that they are dis
satisfied with the official conduct OF
School Directors, and assign their
reasons why. How we're the School
Directors who voted for Smith
''hounded," The writer fails to state,
and as they seem to be living as hap
PLY as ever before, it is fair to as
sumo the bounding" consisted in
nothing more than fair and just criti-
cism. No man has claimed to have
suffered specific injury on account of
his vote for Smith except Postmaster
Books, of AIifflintown, who chooses
to assign his vote for Smith rs the
reason why his removal from his Of
fee was attempted In fact the ma
jority of the Republicans of this
county desired his removal long ago,
and nothing but sympathy for his
disability restrained the attempt for
his removal until 1881. ''Miffiin
says the office of County Superinten-
dent is not political, and asks why
the Republicans who voted for Smith
are 'hounded Oh that he might
have explained what "hounded" in
his vocabulary means. What has
been done that constitutes "hound-
ingi" Perhaps the facts might not
be as he states that any one was
bounded" While the Office Of
County Superintendent is not politi-
cal, this refers to the Office as it is
contemplated it shall be exercised
The office of minister is not political,
but men who are in that holy calling
sometimes prostitute the Office to the
basest political and other ends. 1t
is here charged, and ample evidence
can be produced to prove that Wei
lington Smith has been a most vio-
lent political partisan ever since he
filled the Office of County Superin-
tendent; that his official power has
been used from the beginning to
advance the interest of the corrupt
Democratic ring, of which he is Il
member. No more INSCRIPTIONS
tool of the Boss does dirty political
work in Juniata than this same Smith
He seems to have no scruples about
the use of falsehoods to accomplish
the degrading political work which
his master assigns him. Witness the
Infamous story that he circulated that
Judge Junkin and DIR. Atkinson were
the owners of the Juntdtd Tribune.
He knew this to be a falsehood of
the viIest kind, yet to him was as
signed the duty of asserting it, in
order that Judge Junkin might be
injured. Because he rsas and is a
partisan, and has used and is now
using his office for partisan purposes,
many Republicans believe that Smith
should have had no Republican sup
port, and they have right to say so.
The Ring Democrats made no mis-
takes; their orders were issued to
them beforehand, and every last man
of them in the convention voted for
Smith That any promises have ever
been made to Captain Patterson to
give him the Office of County Super
intendent Mifflin produces no
proof, and it is believed his allega-
tions are untrue. Captain Patterson
can and will answer for himself. Says
"Miffiin, "The ringsters abuse every
body. What ringsters, pray7 The
Democratic ringsters are content, and
have lately given substantial aid to
one of the '.hounded' Directors, at
time when he was in sore need. Who
has ever assailed the character of a
Republican who voted for Smith |
No assault has been made on any
man S character. Many of the Re
pubicans who voted for Smith are
men of the highest character. Their
are not assailed for voting as
they did. Doubtless they voted as
their Judgment dictated, and these
men have been .'hounded by no
body. The communication of ''Mif.
fin has been made to try 10 induce
them to vote the Democratic machine
ticket; but the trap is too transpa-
rent to catch the sensible Republi-
cans who did vote for Smith. They
may have been entrapped into voting
for him, but they did not intend to
leap into the fond embraces of ring
Democracy when they cast their votes.
A very small Republican, who I'M
agines DR. Crawford has a mortgage
on his soul, may go over, and vote
the Democratic ticket on this account,
but no other. A political ring is an
of men who unite to
share together offices and their per-
quisites There can be no Republi-