New-York tribune., 1886-08-13
A CJSE FOR THE NCGVUNPS.

It is not nice for The Washington Post to
say that the President has been personally ly-
ing Stripped of euphemistic Icriphiases, that
is what The " Washington Post docs say. An ac-
cusation of this sort is not half as unconlfort'
able however, as the proof OF ii, and The Post
submits in proof Of its charge peculiar state
mcnt. It's editor called upon the President per
sonally to inquire about the resignation OF
IIedden. The President, it remarks, was not
obliged to tell anything about the business
He could have said that he was not ready to
speak, ard had he requested that nothing should
be said about the matter, the request would have
been respected Hc chose to speak, however,
and declared fatly that Ileddcn had not re-
signed, and that the stories circulated about II
at Ncw-York were without any foundation
in truth" The Washington Post published an
assertion to this effect, but within two hours
aftcrward it became known, The Post states
that the President had appointed Mr Hcdden'-
successor. This is bungling piece OF busl
ress, of course. 1t would have been much
easier fol the President to tell the truth, or to
decline to make any statement. Bat hc chose
to make statement it seems. which The " ash
ington Post, being a good Democratic organ,
mildly charactc,izes as disingcnuous. Soft
words in such matter do no good. The Pres
ident is hurt, if at all, not by The Posts
phrases. but by its facts. II the facts arc fatal.
tho soft phrases arc only ridiculous. When the
President boils over with rage, because he l.
exposed to the light in this business, IT Will moi
molIily his w.ath in the least to observe that
The Post uses DO harsh language.
1t is not very long since certain jouInals'
which now worship Mr. Cleveland, were tell
ing an amused public that the most scrou-
thing against Mr. Cleveland's antagonist wa
that some rot particularly reputable man had
accused him OF telling an untruth. Pcicn1n2
to believe this charge, ard to accept it a. proved
by the statement Of a confessed blachmallct,
these journals with holy horror asked whether
the public could not read in this one act OF in
sincerity conclusive proof of the moral rotten
ness Of the candidate Tried BY this test, what
sort of man docs Mr. Cleveland apIcar TO bel
There In some evidence III this case beyond the
unsupported assertion of an interested accu~cr
There is the published statement Of a jOuIna
which has been peculiarly anxious to Icpc
sent Mr. Clcvcland's course i'll the best light,
and which unqucstonably would have been
careful not to make the statement that llcddcn
| had not resigned if it had not what il deemed
| The best authority for so stating. If the Pres
| ident is capable of telling an untruth, without
| an; strong temptation or decent excuse, are W.
| TO hear from sundIy Mugwwnp journals appio-
| pirate comments on the moral ro,tcnncss OF the
| nan which this disco,cs'f
II is not very long since President Cleveland
| in a letter to NJ Kcplcr, spoke of the lying
| ncwspapcrs,' in a way TO make the public sup
| pose that he considered lying n dishonOIablc
| thing. IL is now in order for him to point out
| what he means by the word. Other people
| mean telling an unti1lth with intent to deceive
| But the President cannot mean that. because
| If The Posts account is not explained away,
| it puts him IN the position Of telling an untruth
| with intent to deceive. That his mdc>ervcd
| ard indecent fling at public journals generally
| should thus be avenged, not by any political
| opponent, but by his own party organ at the
| National capital, is indeed rather interesting
| The President might well remember that
| he owes too much to the newspapers which
| habituaily lie. But for that small class OF
| papers, he would still be engaged in small
| law business in Buffalo The lying newspapers
| told the public great many things about him
| that he was a Civil Service rciolmcr, for
| example, and also that he was a truthful and
| honest man. II does not become him, Of an
men on earth, to find fault with them for a
| practice which his own organ at the capital
| insists that he himself INDUCES.