Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1884-10-02
CaIumny Will Not Stick.

mating" said Beaumarchais; "some will
stick" Mr. Blaine's enemies have adopt
ed this atrocious maxim as their guiding
rule. From the beginning they opened
their batteries of SANDER and kept up an
unceaSing fire upon the evident theOIy
that with constant iteration and reitera
tion some of the mud would stick. But
calumny is dangerous only when truth is
silenced. In the light of free and open
discussion it is the man who wrongs and
not the man who is wronged that will
stand condemned. The American people
above all things love fair play; they are
true in their instincts and sure in theil
judgments; they enerringly pierce the
wells of sophistry and falsehood; and JUS
tice to men as well as the broad determi-
nation of great public policies may safely
be left to their deliberate verdict.
Violent as the crusade against Mr.
Blaine, it is not more malignant and ran
corous than the assaults upon great pop
ular favorites who have preceded him
We live so fast in these days that the
memory the past is soon dimmed in
the glare of the present. Yet few can
forget the storm of defamation which
thundered around Garfeld'S head four
years ago. The lamented leader of that
campaign was vilified with a virulence
quite equal to the malice which pursueS
Mr.. Blaine. He was tattOoed all over by
his enemies with the marks of De GOlyer
and Credit Mobilier. The calabstiC
1899" was chalked on every other door,
step. 1t is no condemnation of Garfield
to say that the charges against him were
of grayer character and rested upon
better evidence than the accusations
which are leveled against his great asso-
ciate. As the independent Senator Rog-
ers Justly said, there was much more in
the public career of Gen. Garfield which,
for his complete eXculpation, called for
generous trust in his own assertions of
good motives than there is in that of Mr..
Blaine. Yet the people. with righteous
indignation repelled this attempt to
blacken statesman of illustrious public
service and elected him President by an
overwhelming majority. They rightly
decided that the charges were not sus+
tanned; that they should not count against
the whole tenor and character of his
splendid career; and they could not weigh
against high considerations of public pol
icy.
There Is no sober minded man, looking
at the matter free from partisan influ-
enceS, who believes that the people made
a mistake in that national verdict. The
solemn judgment of history will stand
that they decided wisely upon the
grounds both of personal justice and
public welfare. The same essential ques-
tion confronts the people to-day. 1t is
whether wantOn, persistent, malignant
calumny-calumny iterated and reitera-
ted in the face of complete vindication
lis to carry the American intelligence
against supreme issues of public safety.
The personal cloud which hangs over Mr.
Cleveland presents a different question.
The verify of the charge OF personal i'm
purity is admitted. The character of his
life in this respect is clearly established
There is no dispute upon the material is
sues of fact. The exposure is net slander
but truth; and it is for the American
people to answer whether they wish that
sort of President and whether they
want that kind of morals introduced into
the White House. There may he those
who think that personal profigacy should
not be weighed in the scale of public
1t they can find public
reasons for electing Mr.. Cleveland which
should blind their eyes to private de-
they must accept the response
bility of such decision. They will at
least understand the full force of what
they are doing. The facts are clear and
and when they take the
man of unclean private life they will do
it deliberately with the distinct knowl-
edge of what they are choosing.
But truth is one thing, and calumny is
another; and it is calumny. foul and dis
graceful, which pOisons every shaft AIM
ed at Mr.. Blaine. The charges are false
and infamous; the vindicatioE is direct
and complete. There is nothing against
what he believes or what he represents
He has been right on all the great ques-
ions of twenty-five years; he has been
in all the legislation of that
period; he stands to day for all that is vi
al and progressive in American public
policy. No flaw can be found in his pub
ic position, and there is nothing left but
, campaign of calumny. 1t will not win.
Its failure is already apparent. The
American people will not follow unprin
;ipled slanderers; they will stand by their
rue, frank, manly representatives, and
hey will stand by Mr.. Blaine.-Phila.
Press.