The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1888-01-24
A TART LETTER
FROM HON. JANIS Il. FERGUSON
In Reply to Mr.. Oarskadon-Third Party
Again Discussed Its uoOn1lstSncy-Rs.
IpOpSlbIO for Democratic Victories.
Some very Pointed AilusiOnS.

Hon. Thomas r. CdTtEadoa:
sIR:-At las. have the tins to spare
for q reply to your "sweet.tsmpersd eFu-
sion" Of December 81, In answer to my
'ill.tsmpered sfuslon" Of former date.
You commence, as usual, with an asser.
ton Of the strength and power, and beauty
Of your own supposed arguments, and the
weakness Of mine in reply, and declare
that have "iailsd to answer q single
point" Of your argument showing the
necessity for now and bstEsr party"
Your continued reiterstion Of these came
things leads mo to conclude that you place
a very high estimate upon your own
powers, and that you Re very much In
love with yourself, which is all very well,
in view Of the fact that you have 80 few
rivals. But just here 1 beg leave to sug-
gess that 1t is not for you and l to judge Of
the force Of our respective arguments, and
as am perfectly content with that matter
as it etands, leave it to the public, the
final arbitsr in all such matters, to decide
between us, But l want NO better evil
dence than your last literary performance
that, ever in your own estimation, your
so.Cslled, have been complete
ly and efeCtually answered. 1! is an old
saying ~ well as true one, that "Wound-
ed pigeons always Autter," and the way
In which you squirm and hutteT, and COM
plain OF the language OF my reply to you,
shows that you feel that you are answered
and wounded, and badly wounded, in this
discusaion. You complRin Of the language
used by me- in my second reply TO You
and say that INDUCED in "abuse, ridi-
cule, SARCASM and personalities" but you
concede that in my first reply preserved
THE DIGNITY AND COURTESY
that should characterize gentlemen con-
tending for great principles" This being
the fact, why old you not preserve the
same "diSnity" in your reply 10 me2
And why did you, on the contrary, let
loose TRADE Of the most violent and abu-
siye epItheta against the Republican and
Democratic parties, and against every in.
dividuRl member Of each OF them who re.
fused, and ahould continue to refuse to
join you in your third party folly? Your
epithets we're low and coaras and insult
ing, and / replisd to you IN the only LAM
guags you seem capable Of sppreciating.
But deny that used single expression
not justified, and more than justified, by
the character of your reply to me. And It
10 plain 10 be seen that il Is not my Ian.
gupge under the effec. OF which you are
smarting, but tho facts and figures l
brought TO bear against your Quixotic en-
.eTpEise OF ''DeW and better party" as q
help to the cause Of prohibition.
And | beg leave here to remind you that
whenever you condescend to come down
from the high moral plane on which you
are wont TO move, and to mix with us
common mortGls, you must make up your
mind to take what follows. II you play st
bowler you must expect rubbers. And II
your righteous indignation should 90 move
you az to cause you to smite man on the |
right cheek, 1t is quite possible that, In
stead OF turning to you "the left also" he |
will forget your high and lofty pretensions
10 holiness and purity and give you q
whsCk On the nose in return.
A MISTAKEN MISSION.
The great trouble with you, my good
friend, 10 that you mistook your mission.
You had read a Bmattering Of the history
Of the great leadera OF the old Abolition
party, and the idea occurred to you that
you, too, would become q great party
leader, and thereby link your name and
famc with those Of Garrison, and Lovtjoy,
and Giddinge, midsummer, and Philip, and
that with them your name would $50
down the ases" as the founder
and leader Of q party greater, and stronger,
and, purer than the world has ever pro-
dnced, or even dreamed Of before. And
so, in disregard Of the advice Of an older
and nbler man than yourself to wait and
consider the necessity and propriety Of q
third party movement before engaging in
1t, you rushed into print and assumed the
burden Of proving such 'necessity and
Bat the indications are that
you have become painfully conscious OF
the fact that you are neither Garrison,
nor o Lovsjoy, Ior Giddipgs, nor
Sumner, nor q Philips, and that the
''thunderinG" to which you looked for.
ward with such Tosa.oolored anticipRtions,
won't thunder" and that your exper-
fence thus far in the role Of great leEder
Of great "nsw and better party" has
been anything but gratifying. This un-
pleasant awakening 10 sad reality hiss
put you In @ very bad humor, and one
Of your great troubles is to know what to
do about 1t.
THR ABoLITIoSIsTs DEFEATED THR WINGS.
II you had taken time to inform your
self, and had cared to DO informed, you
would have leaned that the Abolition
party proper accomplished nothing to-
ward the abolition Of slavery, and that
everything they did tended in the op.