The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1889-04-12
BASE ISLANDER REBUKgD.

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Secretary ProCtor'S Home Paper Replies to
the Attack Upon Him.
burlington Utl Fre Prgt,
The New York World has apparently
sent a man to Vermont, charged to find
out all he could that was bad about Mr..
Proctor, and not to spare ialsehood II he
failed to find truth that would answer
its purpose OF defamation, The result
has been two articles OF five or six col.
umns OF malicious misiniormation, some
OF 1t absolutely false, and the rest for the
most part consisting OF facts so malicious
ly Colored and distorted as to have the
effect Of falsehood,
1t says that Ex-Governor Proctor is a
"millionaire," But he is not q million
aire. 1t charges him with amassing an
immense private fortune by extortion
and depression OF the poor. The charge
is false, ! tdeClares that mo community
OF negro slavesin the South lead such
joyless, arduous, hopeless lives as do the
white serfs Of RedAeld PrOCtorn This
Is said Of thriving, well to do Vermont
village, whose inhabitants need not stay
there q day longer than they choose
most ofthem live in comfortable Gotta
ges; the Americans in comfort equal to
the average OF American homes, and
those Of foreign birth In far greater com
fort than they did in the lands they came
from. The workmen in the marble
mills OF Proctor have their reading room
and library, the latter comprising a large
number OF well selected books, in well
appointed rooms, furnished by Cover.
nor Proctor, the books in large part his
gift, and the library making steady
growth under an agreement, made. oil
his own motion, that to every dollar put
into new books he will add another dol
lar for the same purpose, from his own
pocket,
The HoHd's hired maligner talks about
Secretary ProCtor's great gothic house
overlooking in q disdaintul way the
struggling, roCkbound, cherries village
OF Proctor" The fact, as many Of our
readers know, Is that Governor roctor's
house is q modest, quiet affair, almost
hidden by surrounding trees, no larger
and no more gothic than 100 houses
in Burlington, or than can be found in
any well to do New England village.
There ia no more ostentation about the
place than about Secretary Proctor him
self, which is to say that there is none
whatever.
The Worlds closing paragraph betrays
the partisan character offs assault. 1t
says;
was achieved under the wall OF the
tariff, while he is charged with import
ing labor, conducting the Vermont mar
bio quarries on trust methods practically
compelling his employees to purchase
their supplies Of him at high prices aud
ruling generally as mn autocrat the re-
gion In which the works are situated.
AS tho embodiment Of monopolistiC evils
under Republican political principles it
would be apparently difficult to excel
him."
All! II Is then as an organ OF free trade.
as well Us an apostle Of Democracy, that
tho World attacks Secretary Proctor. 1t
is not surprising that 1t is done with the
FREQ traders characteristics disregard Of
truth. Governor Proctor has made
money. That ia no crime, for he has nc.
quired his wealth by able management
Of u business which was bankrupt when
he took control Of it. It's success in his
hands has Of course been in part due to
the tarifE-without which we should
have no marble mills, and our Vermont
uuarries would lie undisturbed while
the quarries Of Italy, worked by pauper
labor, would control the American mar
ket. But the company Of which he is
president is by no means a monopoly.
1t has vigorous competition close by Its
side, and plenty are in other States.