St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-03-31
WATTERSON'S OPINION.
The Courier-JOurnal Sharply Crit
icises the Senate'S Action.


LOUISVILLE. KY, March S0.-Of
Mr.. Halstead's rejection. Mr. Wat
terson, in to-morrow's Courier
The rejection of Mr.. Halstead carries
with it, primarily, warning from the
senate of the United States to the press
of the country, to look to its utterances
when dealing with that body, or any of
its members. Mr.. HalStead'S offense to
the Republicans who voted against his
confirmation. OF who did not vote at all,
lay in his criticism of certain Repub-
lican senators, who had refused to
enter upon an investigation, asked by
the Republican legislature of Ohio, into
the election of Senator. Payne. The
election of Senator Payne was notori-
ously open to question. With the
lights now before US, no intelligent
Democrat doubts that it was, from
first to last, most corrupt affair. That
party spirit and sympathy with an old
man, whose personal knowledge of and
completely with the means to which he
owed his seat in the senate was believed
by no one at all familiar with his
character, should lead Democratic SEN
atOrs to stand between him
and an impending scandal, was
natural, but why the investigation de-
manded by the Republicans of Ohio
should be denied by any Republican
senator cannot be explained even at
this late hour. In Ohio the contro-
versy was one of equal Importance
and scrutiny, and Mr.. Halstead threw
Sentially combative character into the
the fight, and espec ally against the OBJ
durate Republican senators. From his
party standpoint, he was entirely in the
right. He did what any other brave and
honest Journalist would have done and
should have done under the circum-
stances. That he may have been
too rough in his methods of at
tack is beside the question. He had
the truth of it ill his premises, was sin
eere and upright in his purposes, and
little excess of temper more or less does
not materially alter the case. He is
punished therefore by those of his own
party whom he dared to call to
account for doing his duty as
partisan journalist. The Democrats
of the senate have assisted
these Republicans of the senate to pun
,ish him, and thus dual notice is served
by both parties in the senate, upon the
Journalists of America to the effect that
whenever senator is publicly criti-
cised. he will bide his time to get his
revenge by Stabbing his critic in the
back and in the dark. Without doubt the
Democrats of the senate, and par
tIcularly the Democratic senators from
the Southern states, think that they
are getting even with Mr.. HalStead for
his abuse of the South. But. even if
this were so, their position would be at
With the fight over the con-
firmation of Lamar, and the ready
confirmation of many Confeder-
ates to foreign posts of honor in our
mind, it lies not in our mouths to talk
about sectional revenge. Such talk
cannot fail to do more execution at the
breech than at the muZZle, and, in the
long run, must recOil upon ourselves.
1t puts stop to our protests against
prescription, and places a powerful
weapon in the hands of our enemies.
We do not question any Southern Sen
ators sincerity or right to vote against
Mr.. HalStead: nor do we set up any
claim of Mr.. Halstead upon our for,
bearance. We are not aware that he,
or any of his friends. have made the
slightest appeal to US in this regard.
But we thought, and we think, that it
would have been far better pub
lie policy, and at the same time far
nobler revenge, if Mr.. HalStead had
owed his rescue in the house of his
friends to those to whom he has so in
eessantly, and so unjustly, but so
openly assailed as the incarnation of
all that is intolerant and irrecon-
cilable. Every forgiving action
done, and every kind and gen.
erous word spoken. on occasions of
trouble and trial by sectional and politi-
cal antagonists. one to another, tends
to heal up breaches between the people
and to bind up the wounds of war, and
to make the Union once more Union
of countrymen and brothers. When
Horace Greeley went to Richmond
to sign the bail bond of Jeffer-
son Davis; when Lamar laid wreath
of flowers upon the coffin of Charles
Simmer; when the South accepted
Greeley for its Moses; when Johnston
and Lee and Buckner followed the bier
of Grant to the tomb, steps were taken
out of the morass of mistrust and
strife and toward the high and solid
ground of national unification and
that, in the case of Mr.. Halstead, which
afforded striking opportunity for the
display of large and liberal party
spirit, there would have been found in
the senate enough senators from the
South, big enough in brain and heart
to see this, and brave enough to
act upon it, and we can only
regret that in this hope we have been
disappointed. We are the more so, be-
cause Mr.. Halstead is singularly fitted
for the position to which he was named.
and is. personally, as honorable and
clean man, as he is, politically,
a stubborn and implacable fighter;
making his rejection turn, as
far as we are concerned, upon
partisan objections, which should have
had no weight. We have it from very
high authority that, if the name of
Coy. Foraker is not sent to the SEN
ate before its adjournment. the gov
ernor will be dispatched as minister
to Germany very soon thereafter. If
this be so, the Democrats of
the senate will have helped the ma
Hgnant Republicans of that body to
wreak their private revenge on Mr.. Hal
stead only to saddle man like Gov. For.
aker twho in hatred of the South double
discounts any other Republican in the
country on our diplomatic service. On
that issue, we have an impress
sion that gentlemen will find it is as little
easy to satisfy their own consciences as
to explain themselves to public opinion
which. In the end, is tolerably just In
these matters and will not give its ap-
proyal to the conversion of the senate
into den Of assasSinS.