Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1883-05-18
laucaster 3ntelltgenccr.
FRIDAY EVENING, MAY 1s, 1883.

.A8uCa8IEL SltlEllt4Is'I]>'
FRIDAY EVENING. MAY 1s, 1883. i
Our Answer.
The editorial article of the Philadel
mia Times, which we reprint, calls on
Pattison rather than the In
to answer it, but SO faf
as It reflects on the independence, the
fair dealing and the truth telling OF this
or the candor of any OF its edl-
tors, it will be as promptly met as it can
be easily answered.
In the first place the NTELL1GENcEh'
as it has had previous occasion 10 e*.
plain to the Times, is not the oracle OF
the Democratic state organization " nor
has it ever assumed to be the organ
thereof. Its editors alone are response
BILE for its utterances, which are their
independent opinions and they are as
free to form and express them, without
e" suppression or perversion, as the
Philadelphia Times or any other Journal
in the land. What Mr.. Hensel says ana
does as chairman of the Democratic state
committee he is responsible for as such !;
the distinction between his functions as
chairman and his position as editor IS
quite as clear as the distinction ichCol.
Mcclure once eloquently made before
the supreme court between his duties as
an editor and his rights as a lawyer.
AS one of the editors of the INTELLI'
GENCEH, responsible for all its editorial
utterances, except when his dissenting
opinion is expressed, he has never as
sumed to magnify or diminish the sig
nificance of its opinions by reason OF his
official relations with the Democratic
organization.
But, for the sake of the present issue
raised by the Times, we insist that neither
the INTELLIGENCER nor the chairman
of the Democratic state committee has
done or said anything in public or pri :
vate to justify the charge of a lack OF
candor or to cali for correction. The
editorial which the Times reprints, was
published in the INTELLIGENCER. (ths
Times disingenuously omits to state,
before Col. McClure's explanation OF how
he came to complain in the New York
Herald of May, that Gov. Pattison had
appointed recorder before moving foI
the abolition of the Office, when il
November he had unQualifiedly written
to Mr.. Pattison. that he, the governor
elect, was "right in the suggestion te
appoint recorder at once," and that he
Editor Mcclure, was wrong in sug
gesting delay for legislative action" Bat
when the veteran editors explanation OF
this apparent inconsistency did appeal
the INTELLIGENCER saw no reason tt
change its mind, that he had Overleapet
himself in his New York Herald assault
upon the administration. Col. McCiure's
allegation that his unqualified recon-
mendation of the immediate appointment
of a recorder, was modified by an under
standing that contemporaneously witt
the appointment the governor was Il
recommend the abolition of the office
is not shown by any evidence that ha
been adduced by him, and it was only th'
evidence thus far produced that tn
INTELLIGENCER commented upon whel
it said later
Tho governor may have deceived The
worthy and trustful Mcclure and mean
to be vicious, when his appearance was
virtuous but unfortunately for Mr.. Nc
Clure he does not present the evidence t.
provo his case. The record is agains.
him. He cannot fail to observe that his
letter to the governor does not say q word
in modification Of its approval of the ap
pointment of new officers. If Brother
Mcclure had been an individual inexpe-
rienced in the wiles of the world AID the
politician and the uses and abuses of Ian
guage, we might not wonder that he said
one thing in writing when he really meant
another but it is certainly surprising to
hear from an editorial warrior of SO many
battles and scars that he had written over
his signature an unqualified approval oI
certain action, which yet he did not mean
to approve unless it was cotemporaneous
with certain other action.
The editor of the Times raised an ISSUE
with Governor Pattison not discussed in
the extract from the INTELLIGENCEI
of which it complains when it charged
that he withheld material portion of the
truth in suppressing an understanding
between them which modifieS the mean.
ing of Col. McClure's letter. OF that the
INTELLIGENCER knew nothing; with
that it had nothing to do. 1t will leave
it to Governor Pattison to answer. No
such understanding appeared on the
record if the editor of the ITmts
alleges it and the governor denies it the
burden of proof rests with the Times.
What the INTELLIGENCER las said il
reiterates, that McClure's letter advised
the governor to do just what he did -
nominate recorder, without waiting fcl
legislative action. What took place be.
tween them outside of this letter we dc
not know, and we will be better quail.
fed to comment upon it after Gov. Pat
tison has replied to the challenge which
the Times makes in its assault upon his
veracity.
The Times just as widely mistakes or
misstates the position of this journal and
of the chairman of the Democratic state
committee when it intimates that the
interest of either one or the other in
i" having the governor vindicate him
self " would lead it to play the role, un.
known to it, of a superserviceable party
Ornon in n,abliclsr dofond;nxr a..z aL.,.onl.