National Republican., 1883-10-30
A Very nInh Rnformer.

| Very Mad RefOrmer.
Nothing is moro certain than that Mr.
Charles Emory Smith, of the Philadelphia
Press, is very, very mad. In another column
we copy an open letter which he has ad-
dressed to tho postmaster general 1t is not
written in that wild western sty 10" which
seems to rasp on the cultured nature of Mr..
Smith, but instead it is written in that fluent,
courtly, and dignifod eastern style of which
Mr.. Smith claims to be a shining representa-
| tive. 1t glitters with such classical gems as
coward" "poltroon," "sneak,' and other
like phrases. THE REPUBLICAN republishes
tho article in full for the reason that It issthe
most full and complete answer, in Mr.. Smiths
opinion, that has yet been made to the charge
that he originated and engineered through n
scheme which resulted in taking over 100000
out of the public treasury, and for tho reason
that The REPUBLICAN promised Mr.. Smith
that it would publish in full his denial. The
most powerful electric light could not bring
out Mr. Smiths littleness Of char
acter in moro prominent colors than
ho does in his letter to the postmaster
general. lie belongs to class of newspaper
men whose chief aim in life is to abuse, vilify,
and misropresent men in public life. For
two years no man prominent in official life,
from tho President of the United Statos
down, has escaped tho carpng criticism and
coarse abuse of this little fellow, who
now finds himself shown up to the public in
his truo character. The roasting he has re-
ceived ut the hands of The REPUBLICAN, for
tho past two months shows that,
while he is over willing to
abuse and vilify Others he has neither
the manhood nor tho courage to receive
blows IN return He squirms and cringos
and crawls, abusing some and fawnug at the
feet of others in the most contemptible and
disgusting manner. He is not now moro
lavish of his abuse of Mr.. Hatton than he
was in the very near past of his abu sc of the
President Of the United States. TIE REpuB-
LIcAN is very sorry to SEQ the young man n
such rage. 1t will do him no good. He
has not yet printed line to disGovo
the charge made by THE REPUBLICAN. His
latest exhibition of wrath and lying
aimed alike at all the assistant postmastors
general and Col. Thompson, superintendent of
tho railway mail service, only shows to what
desperate straits he is driven. The interview
with Gen. Elmer published in this paper yes.
terday morning in which he says, as the of
fcer having charge of the transportation of
mails, that he is willing to make full and
whenever q guarantee is sent him by Mr..
Smith that the same will be published in the
Philadelphia Press will strike people as fair
If Mr.. Smith accepts this proposition and at
the same time prints in the columns
OF his own paper, o copy of a letter which he
has addressed to any member of tho next
house asking that tho whole matter be fully
investigated by committee that can send for
papers, and receive the statements of officials
of the department who know all about this
questionable transaction, it will be quite time
the feathers of the turkey gobblcr and de-
mand of tho President, whom ho has
always abused and misrepresented the re-
moval of any officer. 1t is too late
for him to come out now and whine
to the postmaster general or anybody else at
any treatment he has received at the hands
of The REPUBLICAN,. For months he went
on bascly abusing and misrepresenting ofli-
cals here and he had no reason to expect
anything else than the rasping and pepper
ing process which has been applied to his
hide. THE REPUBLICAN asks careful
perusal Of Mr.. Smiths letter, published in
another column, on the ground that he is
entitled in this paper to tho most complete
answer, as he considers it, he has yet made to
the charges against him. In the meantime,
will Mr.. Smith accept the proposition of Gen.
Elmer? And in addition to that,w he ask
for the investigation about which The Re-
PUBLICAN has occasionally intimated?