Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1890-08-19
GORDON EXPLAINS
The Georgia Governor Defends His Form
er Telegram.

The Georgia Governor Defends His Form
er Telegram.
New YORK. August l9.-The Herald
published the following to-day;
ATLANTA. GA, August 1G 1890.
Eifor Ne,e York Hergid:
Ny telegram in reference to the "boy-
colt" labout which have had no inter-
views, as YOU charge,) has evoked a
degree of feeling and proved an amount
of adverse criticism which l think un-
mcrited and unreasonable. l have
waited for Il more tranquil audience be-
fore making my reply
The spirit i'm which l wrote has been
wholly misunderstood; but if public at
tention has been arrested, public inter
est increased and public demonstrations
many degree developed in reference to
the Lodge Bill then my telegram and
the much needed agitation have served
their purpose, and the result abundant
lv compenSates for the Quadruple wrong
done me by the Herald and other lead
ing journals.
submit absolute proof of the oOyl-
Gus injustice done me in three partlc-
ulars. Is 10 not probable, therefore,
that a like injustice has been done also
in the fourth and far more serious
matter?
Here are the proofs
First. by leaving off the first sentence
of my telegram you have placed me in
the attitude of voluntarily intruding
NV opinions on the country; whereas
that Introductory sentence showed that
/ wrote no the HcrdidS request. Your
representative here stated that the
Herald asked for my opinion of the pro-
posed boycott. l could not well refuse
compliance: and il / answered at all, /
felt. and still feel, thai the gravity OF
the situation and justice to our North
ern cOuutrvmen demanded that /
should frankly tell them that the ten
dency of such needless, One-Sided ana
hostile legislation would be TO disturb
the growing and essential cordiality be-
tween the sections and 20 raise unnatu-
raj barriers to friendly and needful com
mercial intercourse. If l should de-
nounce the Force bill and yet deny that
its massage would tend to disturb COM
mercial relations and impel the South in
the direction of commercial indcpend-
ence. 1 should have denied proposition
which every thoughtful and candid man
I'm this Union must admit to be true; and
my reply would have tended $50 far as
il could have any influence To dwarf
the dangers and discourage popular
demonstrations against the Lodge Bill
But that your usually just paper and
other journals have wholly misintcrpre-
ted the spirit i'm which l wrote my tele-
gram To- the Herald is evidenced by the
concluding paragraphs Of my dispatch
i'm which 1 expressed the faith, which l
still hold. i'm the patriotism of the Sen
ate and i'm the demonstrations OF diSap-
proyal of the Lodge bill which | expect
ed from the cOnScry atiye masses at the
North.
Besides the unbrokcn current of my
political thought and action during my
whole public life is i'm precisely the OPP
poSi,e direction from the one i'm which
YOU seem 20 think I am drifting. The
guns at AppomattoX had scarcely ceased
their roar when upon the very field
where our dead had fallen. sitting on
my horse. with the distressed remnants
of my command around me, l sought to
sustain them by two suggestions. First
that impartial history and their own
posterily would take care OF their hon
or. and their own heroiSm would secure
for them a place I'm the front ranks OF
the worlds soldiery. Secondly, that
the brave men of the Union army who
had Just triumphed over them were our
own couutrymen and would recognize
the fact that this great American re-
public and its liberties were established
by Southern. as well as Northern
prOweSS and craftsmanship. and that
these brave soldiers of the North would
see To it that this common government
of ours should be administered i'm the
spirit of it's founders. No man can
point 20 word or act of mine from that
dav 10 this inconsistent with that effort
then made on the bloody field of Apo
mattOX.
1t was I'm this spirit that wrote the
telegram 10 the Herald, which was
peuned under the greatest possible
pressure: and certainly with no thought
or purpose 10 say ulVlt ludu hoN p''H
said i'm thousand forms and by a hun
bred commercial exchanges all over the
country, viz: that such unnecessary
and hostile legislation would lead to
confusion. arrangements and Interrupt
tionS of that ncedful commercial inter-
course so potential i'm drawing the see
tions closer and closer together ia the
last fvypufV-fVe wears
close, as began, with the remark
that ~ my dispatch the spirit of which
has been SO much misunderstood, has
In any degree aroused public attention
10 the disastrous results TO follow the
enactment of the Force bin, then il has
served its purpose and abundantly com
pcnSateS for the serious injustice done
me personally. / shall continue in the
future. as i'm the past, to speak the
same sentiments, whether addressing
Southern or Northern audiences. con-
fedcratc or federal soldiers. Whether
I'm public or private life l shall still
labor with whatever ability possess
for unified republic with purified
administration. freed from the domi-
nation of party fanaticiSm and sectional
f,ssior j. b. GORpON.