The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1888-07-19
CROP OF DEMOCRATIC OALUM-
MES.

In spite of the protestatiOns of salts
factiSn that this was going to be {
clean campaign, and one "deyoid O
personalities, the Democratic organs
have begun their work in a manner
which shows that the spirit which man.
ufactured and circulated the "Morey
letter" in 1880 is still the dominant spirit
in the Democratic party. 1t is less than
two weeks since Gen. Harrison was
nominated, yet the Democratic papers
have circulated the following stories
against him, all of them deliberate inven.
tiOns:
Calumny No. |. That Gen. Harrison
had once in public speech spoken
abusively ofthe Germans. This proved
to be long exploded fiction without a
particle Of foundation.
Calumny No. 2. circulated as a sort
of corollary to the foregoing, that Gen.
Harrison was Know nothing This
also is fiction, and has been fittingly de-
nounced as such by the Pilot, with an
added expression of satisfaction that
irlsh-Americans were not concerned in
its circulation
Calumny No.3, That Gen. Harrison
resigned his command in order to ac-
cept a small civil office This was
started by the New York World. and
was twice printed in that paper, but
was afterward openly withdrawn, with
frank confession that it was based on
mistaken information.
Calumny No. 4. That Gen. Harrison
is friend of "Chinese cheap labor" as
against American labor. This is an alb
urd falsehOOd. the only foundation for
which is the fact that Gen. Harrison
when in the Senate voted against break
ing down treaty obligati ms by an act OF
Congress, though he voted for the sup
Elementary Chinese Exclusion bill. The
Democratic papers have rung all the
changes upon this, as if it were an ac-
tual issue in this campaign. At New
Albany, Ind, the other night, they got
n Chinese laundryman drunk and per-
suaded him to illuminate and set off fire.
crackers as a Republican procession
went by, in order to stimulate the anti
Chinese feeling-a proceeding which
even the malignant New York Times
describes as an outrage.
Calumny No. 5. That Gen. Harrison
acted harshly toward workingmen in
the strikes of 1877. This fiction was
promptly refuted by Senator Voorhees,
and served to bring out the fact that
Gen. Harrison had acted with courage
and humanity in those trying days, and
after the crisis was over, had success
fully interceded for the release of the
strikers in custody.
Columny No 6. That Gen. Harrison
had once in a public speech declared
that one dollar a day was enough for
any workingman. This is lie out oI
whole cloth; and $1,000 has been depos-
tied in one of the indianapolis banks to
be paid to any one who will find this
sentiment, or anything like it, in any
speech of Harrison's. Yet this deliberate
invention is being circulated by postal
card over the country, and especially in
Indiana, with degree of system which
indicates that the work has the officiaI
sanction of the Democratic manag.
ers.
We may have overlooked some of the
Democratic calumnies already set afloat
but the half dozen which we have men.
toned do pretty well for fortnight's
work. From the ardor with which
they have begun, it looks as if the men.
dacity of the Democrats might be ex.
hausted before the campaign is over
Voters who were once Republicans, bu
now, from one caprice or another, art
voting with the Democrats, must be
proud of their new political associates
and the campaign methods which they
employ. This must be true especially
of those men who are understood t
have left the Republican barty because
il was mot good enough for them. -
[Boston Journal.