The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1881-03-10
AN OPEN LETTER TO MR..
SCHMIDT.

| you have for several IS bestowed up
on me such great personal attention, that
it seems fitting I should make some &C
acknowledgement of your courtesy.
Your readers say that your paper has
recently contained more editorial matter
each week, upon the subject of the
County Judgeship alone, than it gener-
ally presents upon all news topics what
ever. If the discussion of my character
and humble services does aught to enliv-
an the columns of the Nord- Westen, /
am willing to assist you in making any
improvement which your subscribers
must appreciate, even to the extent OF
becoming correspondent of yours.
am encouraged to take this step by
reason of your repeated assurances that,
in your efforts to give me notoriety, you
are actaated by no personal feeling or
| prejudice; but that on the contrary your
judgment is impartial and, so to speak,
nicely balanced, upon the question of
who shall be chosen as my successor in
Office.
| Some of my friends advise me that
that those assurances Of yours are decep-
tive, and made for tho purpose of con-
cealing from your readers the true state
of your mind. They claim that your
calm, unbiased editorials wherein my
name appears so frequently are bitter,
unprovoked attacks upon me; that prior
to the election of last fall you declared
your determination to prevent my re-
election; that before the close of last year
you announced your intention to open
fire on me Immediately through your pa
per, and to continue to assail me until my
defeat was accomplished; that you have
loudly and publicly, atyarious times and
places, proclaimed your resolve to ''bolt"
if I should be nominated; that you are
trying to fan into flames the smoldering
embers of w-nothingism, with view
to accomplishing your declared and cher
ished purpose; and that you have sought
interviews with republicans, in which
you have counseled and advised them as
to the candidate whom they should select
to oppose me in the event OF my nomina-
ton.
To these arguments of my friends, I
can only make reply, that you are one of
Al l., e nj
have for far more than 80 years long"
enjoyed a generous share of whatever
county patronage that party could be-
stow; wherefore it would be but common
gratitude in you to desire the unity and
success, rather than the disruption and
! defeat, of the organization whose bene-
| fciary you have so long been; that was
| not aware of having done you wrong, or
given You cause for the exhibition of
malice or animosity; that the deliberate
statement in print, of one who has b6en
grave and reverend senator of this
State, ought to be worthy of credence,
since no honorable man, although he
were unable to lay claim to the title which
| is prefxed to your name, would solemn
| ly assert as true that which he knows
| to be untrue. And then point to your
| published admissions that, III the choice
of a county Judge, you know no bias or
| prejudice for or against any OF the pres
| ent candidates, and only wish to serve the
| true interests of our people generally, but
more especially to defend the rights of
the afflicted "Yidows and orphans, for
whom you make such touching appeals
| in your editorials.
Having gathered yourself well in hand,
as it were, in relation to the iudgeship,
and having philosophically disciplined
your mind into q condition of judicial
repose and equipoise, you will of course
be anxious to correct any misstatements
unintentionally made, and any conclu-
sions enormously but with great consid-
Grafton and impartiality formed, in re-
| spect to me.
And the first item in the bill of partic-
ulars, to which 1 would most respectfully
invite your attention, is that in the case
of Anna Stroka you charged me with the
commission of blunder, which charge
you have not withdrawn although you
well know that it was not correct. You
demand that the county judge, whoever
he may be, shall be capable and honest.
That is well. Don't you think that ca
pability and honesty are excellent quail
| ties in an editor, too? If you accused me
of making mistake which you knew
did not make, were you honest in SO do
ing? If you made the accusation without
taking the trouble to first learn whether
there was ground to sustain it, did you
therein show much ability as journalist!
Next, you stir the blood of your read
ers by the startling announcement that
the editor of the Pilot is my brother-in
law, and to this count in the Indictment
which you have drawn, / must plead
guilty. But that he may be shielded
from the storm of Indignation which this
ed that he is in no way responsible
negligent of his duty, in failing to protest
against my candidacy as vigorously as
you would, no doubt, denounce any
brother in-law of yours, who should have
the hardwood to aspire to Office; and il
is evident that he is somewhat wanting
in that nice degree of impartiality fol
which in this matter you are SO justly
distinguished.
You demonstrate with your usual clear.
ness that man in public life should not
be married to any lady who has brother
But if there were no obnoxious brother
in-law in my case, don't you think that
for the purpose of showing how fair ano
unprecedented you are. you would be ca
pable of Directing to me because [ have
mother-in-law? 1t was very wrong fol
the Pilot to obtain city and county
printing which would otherwise have
been given to the Nord- Westen, and
somebody should be made to suttel
therefor.
A few weeks ago, you wrote that the
Nord- Weston and its editor had Otter
supported ignorant and Incompetent
Irish politicians, but had grown weary o.
that pastime. This very courteous Ian
guage of yours was employed, I suppose
for the benefit of the democratic party
whose welfare is at all times SO dear t
your heart. The Ignorant and incom
petent Irish" were enabled to read YOU
estimate of them in the translation O.