Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-07-12

Letters not infrequently turn up to
plague the writers of them. Experience
teaches that it isn't wise to express ones
self too freely on paper. over frank per-
sons sometimes add a postscript to the
letters, something like this, Burn this
letter." but that does not always protect
them. Blaine took that precautiOn, but
the Mulligan letters nevertheless were
preserved, and became great source OF
annoyance to their author.
The editor of the Times Union, at Jack
sonville, Florida, wrote a letter a year
ago last April to the President, to explain
which he has given a considerable
portion of the space of his val
liable paper. He says that
the publication of the letter doesn't
trouble him in the least, and, perhaps, it
doesn't, but he certainly deems it neces-
sary 10 explain it. Tie letter is very
frank one, and was not intended for pub
LEGATION. The President, however, re-
garded it as a document to be filed in the
department to the affairs of which it
alluded, and somebody hunted it up and
gave it to the press.
In it the editor told the President that
he was civil service reformer of the
stalwart sort, and that while he didn't
want any Office for himself, his friends,
or hencnmen, he wanted to be heard when
the time came for appointing Postmaster
at Jacksonville. The editor is interested
in having a good man in the post office in
his town, and it was all right for him to
want TO have a voice in selecting the
| Postmaster.
! If he had stopped when he had penned
his request for a hearing in the post office
matter he would have had no occasion to
make any explanation. But he didn't.
He went on to say that there were two
classes of Democrats in Florida, the "Old
Timers" and the New Comers," ana that
the odd Timers" were fixing things to
get all the Offices. With reference to the
"Old Timers" he wrote:
The "Old Timers" consider themselves
| lords of the soil, and as having a divine
right to rule, and are arrogant, proscrip-
! tive, reactiOnary, and unprogressive.
! They are willing TO share the prosperity
caused by the infusion OF new blood and
! outside capital, but there Is n tacIJunder-
standing among them that no New
! Conner" shall have any political place or
| preterment, and on this they stand to-
/ eether as one man.
or course this is not calculated to make
the editor popular with the "Old Timers"
| 1t may be however, that the political
enemies Of the editor are disposed to give
/ the phrase "Old Timers" too wide an APP
! plication. In justice to the editor 1t
must be said that he declares that by
sod Timers" he did not mean all the
| natives. ''The phrase was used" he
says, ''as it is continually used in Florida,
90 describe those who adhere TO the old
time ideas, who are opposed to the new
and free spirit OF progre ssive enterprise,
and who look with sort of sullen sus-
| picion upon new men and new methods
| it referred, in fact, to those who are ire
| quently called Bourbons.'"
Whatever may have been the meaning
which the editor attached to the phrase,
! it is certain that his political enemies are
| giving MIN quite little shaking up on
account of it. Perhaps his experience in
connection with this letter to the Pres-
dent will have the effect OF making him
more cautious in future about what he
puts into his letters.