Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1884-08-15
The Private Character of Mr.. CIcvc-
land.

The charges and disclosures affecting the
moral character of the Democratic nom
inee for President are now under such ex-
tended discussion, among both his sup
porters and his opponents, that no journal
which desires to keep its readers informed
of the course of the campaign. or of the
considerations necessary to an intelligent
comparison of the candidates. can afford
to withhold from them the prominent
facts of the case The charges. it is to be
noted, differ from common campaign
lies in that they were first promulgated
by members of the same party with the
candidate; and that they are sustained by
II large amount of non-partizan testimony
as well as by remarkable backing of re
sponsibe names.
The assertion that Mr. Cleveland's NOR
al character was bad, was first we believe.
plainly made by the correspondent of the
Boston GlObe, an out-and-Out Democratic
paper, in attendance on the Democratic
National convention In II letter from
Chicago of July Sth two days before
{ the opening of the convention, this
Democratic correspondent said 'the
, moral character of Mr. Cleveland is
assailablc." and to make his meaning
clearer he added that he had discovered
that MIR. Cleveland has altogether too
large family for a bachelor" The next
significant intmation was likewise from
Il Democratic source The nomination of
Mr.. Cleveland was followed, as our read
ers remember, by the news that Mr. Pur-
cell, editor of the Rochester EuiOH, Il
prominent and leading Democrat of the
Empire State. and Presidential t.lector
ON the Democratic ticket. had resigned his
dictatorship and withdrawn from the edi-
tOrship of the THiOH. because he could not
support Cleveland, and among the reasons
given by him for this action was the asser-
tiOn that Cleveland was "a moral leper.
Soon after this,a religious paper, the organ
of the Baptist denomination of New
Hampshire, pu blished at Dover, y. H.,
stated significantly that charges against
the personal character of Mr.. Cleveland
had been brought to its knowledge, which
if not disproved would make it impossible
for decent people to support him. The
matters thus limited at were IA few DAYS
later stated in some detail by the Buffalo
TcIcgr0ph, an Independent paper, publish
ed at Mr.. Cleveland'S home The article
was written bythe editor of the Tcegruph.
who is vouched for as Il reputable man.
and who stated that he had made ptrs plal
inquiry into the facts, and that he pub
iished them solely in the interest of moral
ity and decency, and challenged investga-
ton of them His statements, in substance,
were. that Mr. Cleveland was addicted to
gross licentiouSness that. as one in stance
he several years ago seduced Mrs. Hal
: pin who was Il saleSwoman in the dry
L. ~ iii, E
Buffalo: that She bore an Legitimate
child, of which Mr.. Cleveland was the
father: and that Subsequently. to avoid
, annoyance from the woman, of whom he
had become tired, he procured her
incarceration in an insane asylum. from
. which she was soon released by the inter
vention of other parties who pited and
| befriended her: and that Mr.. Cleveland
finally paid her five hundred dollars to
: avoid further trouble that on one OcCa-
. sion the police We're called in to disre-
putable house in Buffalo. to quell a row
= about Il strumpet, between two half-n-
I toXicated men. one of whom proved to be
: Mr.. Grover Cleveland and that other
. similar instances of personal immortality
on his part--one, alluded to, having oc-
e CURED since he has held the office of Gov
p ernor of New Gork-could be established :
= all showing that he was man of low
tastes and associations, as well IA of
$ vicious habits.
r The next important contribution to the
e case was made by the Boston JOurndl-
= which we need not say is an old, respecta-
n bic and truthful paper, not at all given TO
!, sensational journalism or personal de
J. famation The JourHdl sent cores
5 pendent to Buffalo, to investigate the
+ matter, and published his report upon the
!, case. The substance of this was that the
+ material facts stated by the Ttlegrdph
: were fully confirmed by Rev. George Ii.
i Ball, ID. d., pastor of the Hudson street
n Baptist church of Buffalo. a clergyman of
e twenty years standing, highly esteemed
p, and trusted in and out of his denomina-
5 tion and by other prominent clergymen
o of that city: and that the facts of the Hal
pin case in particular were established by
I the testimony Of the employers of the wo-
5 man, the physician of the lunatic asylum
n to which she was taken, the lawyer who
= was employed to procure her release, and
$ other respectable witnesses. The journal
i vouched for its correspondent, adopted his
. view of the matter,as distinctly proved and
E
e Cleveland as unworthy of the support of
h men who consider chastity virtue.
$ On the 22d of July the famous confer
a ence of the Independents met in New York
= city and did two highly contradictory
+ things: First, declared that the issue of
5 the campaign was ii moral one, rather
: than political, and. second, indorsed
e Grover Cleveland for the Presidency. The
= Boston .idrcrtiScr's special report of the
i conference contained this significant state
f ment
"All the morning some of the Western
New York delegates had been laborng
among the rest against Cleveland, on ac-
count of some alleged personal faults of
J. his, and AT one time they threatened to at
e tack him in the open meeting Fearful of
Il this, Gen. Barlow moved to take re
- cess
= What was the information which the