Morning journal and courier., 1881-01-04
News by Telegraph FROM ALL QUARTERS. THB MORBY FORGERY. AN INTERESTING REVELATION OF
 ThE FRAUD. 4 Full Confession by Truth. Open Acknowledgment of an Alleged
 Mistake.
 Chances For a Refunding Bill. Congressman Wood Confident of Its
 Passage.
 NEW YORh.
Chances For a Refunding Bill.
NEW YoRh.

FdSSdSts
 NEW YoRk.
 The Mercy Letter a Forgery-ssTruth'
 Tells the Truth at Last-Honest at the
 Eleventh Hour-A Complete Distraction
 of False Charges-An Open Letter to the
 President-EIect-ssTr Implicatei
 Other Parties.
 NEW YORK, Jan. 3.-The Mercy Chinese letter will tomorrow be pronounced for. gerry by Ta-uth, the journal which originally published the letter. The following is to be published as an open letter to James A. Gar field, repudiating the Mercy letter and de- claring it forgery.
 To JGmes 4. GagJiesd, Presidemt-elect::
 Sir-After searching investigation, in which we have spared neither time, energy or expense we have traced the Mercy letter to it's origin and ascertained that it is a forgery. This acknowledgement is due to you from the journal in which the letter first appeared. It is made voluntarily and as an act of simple justice, for, while we believed as we did until within a few weeks past that you were the author of the letter, no bribe could tempt nor threat intimidate us into making contrary statements But having ascertained our er-
 
 the same prominence to this acknowl- edgment that we gave to the forged letter itself, and thereby make all the amend in our power for the wrong of which Truth was the unconscious instrument. Up- on the instant that our Investigations con- vinced us that the letter was spurious we privately informed you of our conclusion. At that time we were advised that the ends of justice might be impeded by a public avowal such as we now make. But as will appear by the appended letter from B. G. Jayne, Esq, that consideration no longer ex- ists, and we do to-day what an observance of the principles upon which I1-ath was estab- lished and by which 1t has been conducted would have impelled us to do immediately upon the discovery that the letter was forgery, and which nothing could then have prevented but desire to fasten the guilt where it belongs, I9uth published the letter in good faith, believing that you were the author. While we so believed neither temp tation, threats nor force could influence us to repudiate it. Likewise, having now satisfied ourselves of it's spurious character, no false pride nor selfish motive of any kind can re strain us from announcing our conclusion and thereby allaying the doubt that now ex- ists respecting its authenticity.
 Respectfully yours,
 TRUTH
 The following letter will also be pub lished:
 NEW YORK, Dec 31, 1880. To Joseph Hart. Esq.
 Dear Sir-In answer to your note of yes- terday, would say I can see no good reason for longer withholding the statement you de- sire to make in your paper, viz, that you are now satisfied from the evidence in your DOS session that the letter published by your paper purporting to have been written by General J. A. Garfield to H. l.. Mercy of Lynn, Mass, was forgery. Fully under standing the imposition practised on you by the members of the National Democratic com mittee, upon whose assurances you relied with regard to it's genuineness, and knowing how earnestly you have worked to ascertain the authorship of the fraud by following every clue that seemed to lead to it's solution, and fully approaching your oft repeated declara- lions that your only wish in the premises was to ascertain and proclaim the exact truth, I time has come when you should say the letter was forgery. For, with the proofs in your there can be little doubt as to the real criminals. Very respectfully,
 B. G. JAYNE.
 In connection with this transaction Truth will say editorialAy under the caption, ''The Mercy Letter Forgery" as follows: To- Mercy letter forgery. Iaatth was estab- ished for the purpose of publishing the ruth, the whole truth and nothing but the ruth in all matters of public concern; and from the first issue effort or expense have not been spared to accomplish this high mission, regardless of whom it might help or whom it might hurt. But it is mission too llgh for human honor or skill to wholly accom- olish. Its attainment can only be approxi- mated, though in aiming at perfection high sr standard may be reached than that of journals which willfully distort or suppress facts injuriously affecting certain interests, and invent or magnify others whose effect upon such interests would be beneficial It s inevitable that erroneous statements will be made in daily paper, however carefully conducted. But while no newspaper can be nfallibly truthful, it is possible to remedy he injury which it's errors cause when he errors are discovered, and it is the rec ognition of that possibility which dis ;inguishes IrwM from it's contemporaries. When the Mercy letter came to us we believed t to be genuine letter of James A. Garfield. Dur belief became absolute conviction when Speaker Randall, Senator Barnum, Orestes Cleveland, Abram s. Hewitt and other prom nent members of the Democratic National committee, all better able to judge than were we, unhesitatingly pronounced it genuine. Upon their assurance we published it in a form best calculated to impress the convic- ;ion of its. genuineness upon the peo- 
 light, we were impervious to bribery and firm against the thunders of and force. There was no infu- once on earth seductive enough or powerful enough to induce us to repudiate the letter, believing it to be General Garfelds. Iaatth would have been crushed out of existence and it's publishers would have submitted to the most relentless persecution rather than it's columns should be defled by false con- tession or hypocritical apology. But when in court the envelope was cut at the ends and @ single thickness of paper held between the eye and the light revealed for the first time the fact that the original address on the envelope had been erased and that of H. l.. Mercy substituted; when it appeared that the Lynn hotel register containing the signature of H. l.. Mercy had no such sigma ;ure upon its pages when given by the hotel to the agent of the Democratic who brought it here; when it ap- peared that the same agent procured the at- tendance of Samuel Mercy, who falsely 1t appeared that the same agent was active in procuring the Lindsay af- idavit in Maryland induced us to send for Lindsay, who proved to be 8 perjurer; and when photographic ex- periments with the Mercy envelope proved that at least four addresses had been on it, each erased in turn, except the fast two, with
  then Is71th made every effort to solve the mystery and ascertain the origin and history of the letter. In doing so we enlisted the services of B. G. Jayne, who is well known to the countay as special Treasury agent. Our investigations resulted in the discovery of positive proof that the letter is an un- doubted forgery. Having made that discov- cry we now announce it as as we published the letter, that there may not remain a trace of the belief which unquestionably still exists that it is genuine. We owe this not alone to General Garfield as an act of justice, but we owe it also to the principle upon which Tratth is founded Truth cannot always avoid errors, but upon discovering them, Truth can ac- knowledge them and thereby sustain the in- tegrity of it's motto. And this we have never refused to do and never shall refuse, whether tho error effects the President of the United States or the mean -G