Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1889-10-17
TIE LSSEES STAND.

The retraction by Mr.. Halstead, of the
Cincinnati Commercial Gazette, of the
charge made by him against James E.
Campbell, of personal pecuniary inter
est in the ballot-box bill, has thrown the
Democratic journals into state of won
der and amaZement, and has caused
them to proclaim this to be the death
knell of Governor Foraker and the Re-
publican party in Ohio.
Because a man was deceived in a
piece of paper which he supposed to
contain indisputable evidence of anoth-
er's guilt, but being convinced that the
document was forgery, makes an ac-
acknowledgement of his error, the Demo-
cratic party is unable to imagine what
manner of man he is, and view him as
man possessed of attributes foreign
even to their conceptions of angelic be-
ings. They attempt to make capital
out of what honor and truth indicated
as the only manly and digniied way
to remedy the mistake into which he
had fallen. Mr.. Halstead was doubtless
amiss in his judgement of the value of
the document, but it is his mistake
alone, and not Governor Foraker's or
anybody's else.
The fact yet rmains that James E.
Campbell did introduce into Congress a
bill which authorized the purchase of
1900 ballot-boxes of a specified de-
sign, to be sold at two and one-half
times their cost. Had the bill been
passed, gigantic ballot-bOx trust would
have been created from which some one
would have reaped profit of more than
million dollars. And is it any wonder
that Mr.. Halstead was entrapped when
we consider the circumstances surround
ing. James E. Campbell, is to-day
surrounded by such lieutenants as AL
len o. Myers, Tom Cogan and Mike
Mullen-all apostles of fraud and cor
ruption-and can Campbell be supposed
to be better than the company he keeps?
1t was the most natural thing in the
world for Mr.. Halstead to infer upon a
logical basis, that the charge was true,
and to publish it for the benefit of his
party. But the alleged contract does not
enter into the campaign as an essential
factor, and was made use Of only BY the
Commercial Gazette, anG. was aeyer re-
ferred to by Gov. Forakey. IN his. speech
es. The issues of tie, campaign stand
now just rs they did, previous to the
publication Of 'tCentract 1000" Ger
tainly there is, nothing in so honorable
a course of retraction which would cause
q Republican to refuse to vote his own
ticket, but rather the opposite would be
true.
What surprises the Democrats most,
and causes the hubbub is that the course
followed is diametrically opposed to the
plan pursued by them in the Morey let
teri case, and in the tally-sheet forgery
trials. Until this day they have never
had the honor, and manliness to ac-
knowledge the former a forgery, and
they sanction the latter by maintaining
IN high advisory Positions in their party
the instruments of fraud and political
ehieanery Tlentioned, and these same
mugs ao,d ex-conviets are engineering
the D' mocratic campaign in Ohio. 1t
is infinitely better to admit mistake
P.lan to persist in it in true Democratic
style, after it is proven to be mistake.
This course will certainly commend it
self to every honorable man, and should
he institute a comparison between the
methods of the two parties, the result
cannot be doubtful.