Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1884-05-20
BITING SATIRE.
saUyraaas LETTER rO sRIsruw.
Tho Fs-Attorney General Dips HIS rsn
In ssii and writes what he
Knows OF Arthur

In .sll and writes what he
Knows OF Arthur.
Ex-Attorney General Wayne MacVeagh |
has written the following open letter to
Ex.Stcretary Bristow, who is to address
tho Arthur business men In New York
tonight:
PHrLADELPHIA, May 10, 1884.
DEAR SIR l notice that you are an
nounced TO address meeting to. morrow
night In New Iolk In support Of the prop
osition that the political career of Chester
A. Arthur makes his elevation TO the
presidency by the votes Of his fellow
citizens more desirable than that for
instance Of Senator Edmunis or Senator
sherman, or any other of our eminent
public mon whose names are frequently
used in connection with that great office.
AS you extorted my admiration and sup.
| port, and Mr.. Arthur's oontemptuous
hostility, eight years ago, by your efforts
to bring the guilty in high places to pun.
| ishment, | am sorry to find myself differ
| ing so radically from you as to the present
duty of men who care for higher and
purer public 80. But my warm personal
regard for you makes me desirous that
your speech should be good speech, even
in bad cause. venture, therefore, TO
offer you few suggestions.
At the threshold | ought to warn you
that while nobody euvies Mr. Arthur the
great prize, as far beyond his expectations
as his deserts, which he drew 'n the
lottery of assassination" yet nobody has
forgotten the pregnant fact that Guiteau
was the original Arthur man, that he
killed President Garfield expressly to make
Mr.. Arthur president, and that he did
make him president by that act for nearly
four years. Now, in view OF this awful
tragedy and its results, IL has always
seemed to good many people, outside Of
Wall street, OF course, that proper sense
Of decenCy and of the fitness of things,
would have led President Arthur and his
friends to see that his true course was to
be satisfied with the one term thus Sc
cured TO him and not TO challenge his
cOuutrymen to review his political career
and to express their opinion of it. AS,
however, you propose to hold up that
career as worthy of especial honor, and
even of the highest Office 10 the gift Of the
people, in preference, for example, TO the
political career of Senator Edmunds or Of
Senator Sherman, will gladly help you to
few points in the line Of your argument.
Arthur and His Machine.
: assume that your first words of eulogy
will bo devoted to what Is your candidates 5
chief political achievement and upon
which his admirers have always rested his
title to famo-the building up aud mauag.
ing Of the Republican machine OF the
city of New Gork-a machine the latest
. triumph of which at Albany causes the
hearts of all true patriots To throb with
joy, for the defeat of Mr.. Roosevelt leaves
Mr.. O'Brien at liberty TO continue those
deals with corrupt Democrats poll
tioians which gave Mr.. Arthur his first
renown as n practical statesman. As
the merits of this wonderful mechanism
are not generally appreciated as they de
serve you would do well to explain them
in some detail, and you can triumphantly
ask what "machine" did Senator Ed
: munds or Senator Sherman ever set up or
'boss ?'
Then you will naturally pass, with
glowing words of praise to the noble at
titude Mr.. Arthur maintained towards
the civil service orders of President
, Hayes -defyipg both the president and
the secretary OF the treasury and refusing
either to obey their orders or to resign his
, Office. You will no doubt introduce copi
Gus extracts from the commission which
investigated Mr.. Arthur's administration
Of tho custom house and found it worthy
Q Of such high cOmmendation, and q
+ rebuke could DO neatly administered at
this point to Mr.. Roosevelt the son, by
reminding your audience how his honored
father was rejected with contumely as
collector of the port, in order to keep Mr.
Arthur in that important office in spite Of
the expressed opinions of both his supe-
riOr officers that he was an unworthy
official aud deserved to be turned out
Arthur ana Uonkling at Uhicago In 1880
You will next praise him for the prom
ineIt part he acted in the effort in 1880 to
| IpNt h.,, al nd ba >
rule the voice Of q large majority OF the
Republican party against third term for
anybody and particularly for one whose
second term had been as unsatisfactory as
that Of Gen. Grant. You may, however,
feel some personal delicacy in dwelling
upon this part of your favorite's career
and il SO you can easily blame Mr.. Conk.
ling for it and represent Mr.. Arthur as q
Ielormer in disguise.
II at this portion Of your address II you
wish materials for pathetic and thrilling
picture you will readily find them in some
Of the well known incidents of the Chicago
! convention four years ago. You can tell
how everybody was determined that Mr..
I Conkling must be placated at any cost
and how everybody begged him not to
force Mr.. Arthur upon the convention and
how Mr.. ConkIing refused to consider any
3 other name and by his chivaric devotion
3 | - his friend compelled his nomination for
/ the vice presidency. But | would not, il
. in your place, weary the audience by the
details of the grateful return Mr.. Arthur
; has made for this devotion.
After all, you must reserve your highest
flight Of cloquenoe for an adequate de-
1 scription of that occasion where your can.
o didate displayed his true nobility of soul
and made his only recorded public speech
| need not say | allude to the Dorsey ban.
quet at Dclmonioo's in February, 1881.
Y Refresh your memory il necessary by read
ing the Nation OF about that date, and an
extract or two from its files Of that period
, would be interesting reading for your
= hearers. Mr.. Arthur's words upon that
y OCCASION deserve TO be written on the
palms of the hands and worn as frontlet
between the eyes " by every signer of the
call for your meeting-if for no other rea
son--for their praise Of the free use of
Z soap" You eau tell your audience, with
out fear of successful contradiction, that
1t was the first and last occasion In our
history when one man publicly praised
another for bribing voters.
Mr.. Arthur's part in the designations of
Mr.. Conkling and Mr.. Platt, and his con-
duct at Albany until summoned to Wash.
iugton by the sound Of Guteaus pistol,
perhaps you had better touch lightly.
There are some sentimental " Republi-