Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-10-22
AN ANSWER TO ANDREWS
FROM THE CHAIRMAN OF The LINCOLN
INDEPENDENTS.

The Republican Managers Address to the
Voters Severely Criticised---How to
Prove the Statements Either True or
False---Macveagh May Talk.
SPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DISPATCH,
PHILADELPHIA, October 21.-Justus c.
Strawbridge, Chairman of the Lincoln In
dependent Republican Committee, on be-
half of the organization, has addressed an
open letter to William 81. Andrews, Chair
man of the Republican State Committee, in
which he says:
SIR--In your address to the citizens of Penn
sylvania, which appeared October II, you state
in relation to Mr.. Quay, Every charge against
him is false and no man living will rise and say.
that he has personal knowledge of their truth"
1t is possible that by the use of the word will
instead of can, the language is not that
mo man living can rise and say" but that mo
has persona, knowledge of their truth"
you simply meant to confine your
statement to an expression OF conf
dence that no one having personal knowledge
would volunteer q statement upon the subject.
In view of the manner in which these charges
were originally made public, and have since
been repeated by responsible newspapers
throughout the country, it is to be regretted
that one has felt authorized till this late day
to denounce them as false: but as 1t has never
been suggested that you were yourself present
upon any of the occasions described. it must be
obvious to, you that your unsupported word is
not enough.
What is needed is a contradiction from those
who were present and did have what you prop
erlv term personal knowledre. Beside Mr..
QUAY. it is said thet Senator Cameron, Wavne
MacV eagh, ex-Attorney General; Christopher
L. Magee, of Pittsbure, and two others were
together when Senator Cameron helped to
make good the alleged deficit.
Senator Cameron owed it to the State which
he represents, as well as to his colleague, to
rise in his place in the Senate chamber and to
dusy of Mr: Macveagh to speak out
Why they should keep silent if the charges
were true it is easy to understand. Mr.. Mac
Veagh was, according to the published report.
What he learned was under the only relation
of privilege which the law recognizes as IN
violable. Though not technically, according
to the report. the attorney of MIR. Qnay. the
and no one knowing his fastidious sense OF
propriety would expect Mr.. MacVeagh to
publish to the world what took place
or with his client in his presence.
You were doubtless quite safe. there.
fore, in saying that mo man living will
their TRUTH" unless circumstances so alter as
to compel disclosure or make it plain duty to
speak. This can be easily accomplished. for
we are advised that the privilege which pre-
vents an attorney from speaking is not the
privilege of the counsel but of the client; and
if the client gives his consent the attorney may
be compelled to speak out like any other man.
Let MIR. Quay write letter calling upon the
gentlemen who were present to state what they
know. Whether others will tell all that they
heard and saw we will not conjecture. but Mr..
MacVeagh occupies such a position in this
community and in the nation that if Mr.. Quay
unseals his lips he will undoubtedly speak.