Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-02-22
is THIS ALWAYS SO
Asks the Son of an English Sire
as He Listens to
OUR SOCIETY TALK POLITICS
The Friends of General Alger's Much
Panied and Grieved at the N. Y. Suns
Atsack-Foreigners Disguised.

the other day. the gentleman who sat
at my left Was one Of those individuals
upon whom most Of us look with :
greater or less degree of envy, and cay
Of him az he passes by. "There is . man
upon whom fortune has smil, from
the hour Of his BIRTH" My friend wa
an Englishman, the son Of a noble SIRE
who left HIM enough and to spare. lie
was educated at an English university,
and then taking , course In Germany
was etadrift III the world with one thing
uppermost in bis mind, and that 70
discover some preventative of enuul.
He was not used TO Washington life,
and the ways and everlasting talk OF
politicians. Sa,d ne to me: "DOes thie
continue always Do people never get
together at the dinner table or in tile
drawing room without talking Lo!it!cs{
Is there not some circle Of society II
Washington where political talk and
gossip is eschewcdT answered no To
the two first questions, and TO the last {
replied that had heard OF one class OF
society wherein little heed was ever
given to matters of state; that the pso-
pie who constituted this class were the
ignorant negroes who lived in the al
leys and along the river. They neither
read nor write. are half brute, and it is
q cold night when in q row among
themselves Is poor brute Is not shot or
stabbed to death. These, l said, are
the only people in Washington who do
not everlastlngly
Talk of Political Affairs.
Upon an occasion took my neigh.
boris breath away, but told hIm the
truth nevertheless. Washington is the
greatest capitol of the greatest nation
TN earth, and more bright and wide.
awake people are congregated here, I
believe, than in any other capital city,
With the aid of the papers and the.
usual gossip. every intelligent man aud.
woman keeps pretty thoroughly posted.
regarding all that transpires; and know
ing of public affairs. the people all dis.
cuss them. much 10 the disgust at times.'
and surprise at all times, of the for
eigner who comes among us. WASH
lngton has of late been having q sue
cession of interesting events TO discuss
over the dinner tables, the latest and
most interesting being the Sun attack
upon
General Alser's Military Record.
The surprise of all. and the conster-
nation of many Of the generals friends
upon the appearance of the article IN
question can be hardly described. The
general has scoree OF warm, intimate
friends here, who at once denounced
the charges as malicious, and instga-
ted by some one who was interested in
Harrison's nomination. 1t was argued
that Bla,ne's letter having precipitated
the contest for the presidential nom.
iuation, things were taking on q hue
not pleasant for Harrison to contem-
plate, and it was determined by some
of his friends to extinguish Alger's am
bltion by single ''coup;" in other
words, he was to be ruined socially and
politically. In olden times the same
kind of men used to do it differently.
Then they quietly waited for a victim
in the deep shadow OF some building,
and as he passed by, all unconscious of
impending danger,
The Long, Keen Blade was Raised
On high. where for an instant it was
held. then plunged into his body, and
he was no longer stumbling block in
the path Of his slayer. The world has
progres sed, however, since those days,
and now we are more refined. We
wait until the victim has gained the
confidence of the public, until bis name
is synonym for that which we most
admire in mau-tnen we proceed to AS
sassinate his character. There is no
bleeding body left upon the ground.
with only the canopy of the heavens as
a cover, but there are bleeding hearts,
which never heal from the cruel blow.
The attack upon Alger has unquestlon-
ably given him and those near and dear
to him much pain, but the consolation
is theirs that today 10 right-mlnded
man or woman believes q word of the
tale published. 1t has been proven
false, and
The Motive For the Publication
is too apparent to give that phase Of it
any consideration. 1t is generally be-
lleved here that, now il Alger will an
noHnca that he is candidate he will
give Harrison close race. The BOOM
erang has come back and the Harrison
people are hard hit. | am told by q
man who knows. that Harrison is anx.
iously awaiting an opportunity to give
an expression OF condemnation OF the
attack, but 80 long as neither Alger nor
any of his responsible friends will talk
he cannot with propriety do go. The
net result OF this affair is that, now
every body knows what many never
knew before, and that is, that Alger
was fighter from "way back" There
was nothing in his whole career but
what is honorable. and today next TO
Blame he has more friends than any
man in this country.
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THE rnAr