Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-05-16
laufaster fntelhgenrer.
MONDAY EVENING, NAY 10, 1881.


A~AsNOA . nv 4S3SA&NSp "a 8OS 4o0As
The Unpardonable Sin.
Conkling's amanuensis keeps up his
appearance in tie New York Herald,
without, however, saying anything but
that he has said great deal and is anx-
ions to have some one call him liar
and prove it. One adventurous person
has emerged from the Indian office, we
believe, and discharged fight of arrows
at the Conkling gunner, but none of
them deadly. He says that it is not true
that Garfield called Conkling to that
meeting in New York, but that it was
Conkling's friends who seduced Garfield
to it. The Conkling man asks in reply,
what it matters whether he did lie in
this particular, since it is admitted that
Garfield went which may be said to be
first blood for the Indian, in that the
other man admits he lied, and first
knOck-dOwn for the other man since it is
clear that the arrow-shooter comedies
that Garfield was over in New York
bargaining for the support of the Repub-
lican leaders there which is the gist OF
of the accusation.
MI. Garfield's warrior, who declares
that he was in charge of his cores
pondence during the election time, asserts
that his positive instructions were not to
make any promises to applicants for
Office, and he would have us thereby con-
vinced that Garfield never did himself
what he forbade him to do and so that it
was quite untrue that he could have gone
to New York with the deliberate intent to
buy the support of its politicians. The
strength of this logic is not very appar-
ent; and especially will it fail to con-
vince those who arc acquainted with
Mr.. Garfield's weaknesses and inconSist-
encics; and the most Of people have by
this time fair appreciation of them.
If this fight between the Republican
factions goes on, there will not he left a
man, woman or child who will fail to be
persuaded that Garfield is capable Of do
ing almost anything that is weak and
foolish and even evil. We Democrats
used to say some very severe things OF
him, and we thought we proved him to
have been guilty Of doing some very
bad things. We showed that he took
4 five thousand dollar fee for The DE
Goiyer payment when he was chairman
Of the appropriations committee that
provided the money to pay for it "a; and
that he never did anything else to earn
his fee. We showed that lie had Credit
Mobiler stock and afterward swOre that
he hadn't; and that he had admitted
his perjury. And there were other dis
creilitable things in his career that We
proved but we failed to convince the
Republicans that they ought not to VOTE
for him for president, because he had
taken bribcs and committed perjury. He
Was clean enough for them with all this
smut upon him. They put him in and
we washed our hands of the responsible
ity. They have him, but they don't en-
JOY him.
Their lack of enjoyment, however, doe:
not spring from the fact that lie tool
bribes and Derjured himself, which W,
thought so Objectionable in Il president
They knew he did these things. Thi
ConklinS mlan of the Herald's nov
speaks of them with great calmness a.
illustrative of the character of the man
but he does not object to them. III
could not, for Con!lling voted for hin
and worked for him. In alluding nov
to these Garfield characteristics he sim
ply admits that he considered a perjurel
and bribe-t,ker to be fit to be president
Of the United States.
lie objects to Garfield rs president
only because he does not keep his prom
ises of public plunder to the men VIII,
were persuaded by them to support ant
work for him. He left COnkling unde
the impression that he was to he the dis
penSer of all the New York offices; an(
Conkling then rolled up his sleeves ani
went to work for him. Otherwise ht
would have seen him in the bad place be
fore he would have stirred hand or foot
COnkling was deceived, COnkling is dis
gusted; and lie is very mad with Gar
field, and raises his tOmahawk against
him; all because he does not pay up
not because he swears to a lie, and j!
bribable; he might still be virtuOu:
and worthy president for all that but
because he tells a lie to COnkling and
cheats him. That is the objectionable
sin.
A Sudden Silence.