The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1892-08-12
ISLANDERS AND LIES.
THE FAVORITE WEAPONS OF
MICHIGAN DEMOCRATS.
The Magnificent Record of the Republican
Party Willfully Misrepresented and
Traduced for Partisan Purposes---On
fragrant Instance Type of All.

than whole lie, for IL borrows the
livery of the Lord to serve the devil.
The Democratic party of Michigan has
of late been dealing in half truths by
the wholesale, in the expectation that
modicum of truth, or even the barest
semblance of truth will serve to
sweeten to the taste of the people
nauseating dose of falsehood. The re-
suit is what might have been expected
by the Democrats. The few doses that
went down first have produced re-
action, and the dirty mess of falsehood,
utilization and personal abuse is being
cast back at its author.
Recognizing the grand work done by
the Republican party in developing
and building up the state and recogniz-
ing the sterling integrity of the men
whom that party has invaria bly, put
into the state offices, the Democrats
could find no mode of attack upon the
Republican party and its officers better
suited to their nefarious purposes than
broadsides of personal abuse and spe-
cious falSehoodS For some time past
they have been publishing alleged re.
ports-generally garbled and always
misrepresentation the doings of Re-
publican state officials. Those transac-
tions have been placed in every con-
ceivable false light before the people
without one word of explanation or
reference to attendant circumstances
The people have been asked to believe
that men who have been honored by
them with the most sacred trusts have
grossly and deliberately violated those
trusts by swindling the state and rob-
bling its treasury, ana have then
shamelessly recorded the evidences of
their villalny in official reports. The
most arrant pettifogger would not
have the impotence to ask q justice
court jury TO convict man of petty
larceny upon such evidence, but Demo
cratic demagogues have brazenly in
suited the intelligence of the people
by asking them to convict their most
trusted officials in the past of petty
thievery. No mans personal or official
character has been safe from the COW
ert attacks of these political pirates
wherever the interests of the Democ-
racy could be subserved by resor: to
tactics so peculiarly its own. Men of
acknowledged integrity, whose honor
could not be openly attacked, have
been subjected to this Democratic
abuse.
Let us examine one instance of this
Democratic guerrilla warfare, which is
typical of their entire campaign.
Among the hordes of useless clerks,
with whom every department in the
state government has been crowded
in the vain attempt to appease the
Democratic appetite for office, are
many who have spent the time for
which the state pays a good round
price in the manufacture of Democratic
campaign ISLANDERS. They have worked
up this villalnous stuff for the Demo-
cratic state central committee to send
broadcast over the state, and they
have also correspondent for their home
papers, which have greedily snapped
at these choice bits of Democratic lit
erature. Even the honored name and
record of T.. o. Grosvenor, of Jones'
vile, ex-state treasurer of Michigan
have not been proof against the
attacks of one of these Democratic
ghouls-an appointee of the notorious
Dan Soper. This is what he wrote to
the Hillsdale Democrat:
On page % of the report of the board Of
auCttoIs for the year 1868 will be found the
following; Sc o. Grosvenor, for personal
expenses incurred in going to and returning
from Washington, and while there on BUSH
ness for the state, Sl50.30." There it is
and there is all there is of it. Not word to
indicate what those personal expenses were
or n single item given in the bill. Just one
big lump. Now there is not the slightest
doubt that Mr., Grosvenor may have been
entitled to the amount asked for; but ven
ture the assertion that IL a man in his en-
ploy should present a bill for $3.50 80 to him
and ask tor payment, Mr.. Grosvenor would
say: please make out an iteniZcd state
ment and let me see what all this is for and
what you have done to be entitled to this
sum OF money" That is Just what Mr.
f.pna rchn NIL haxr HN,n "a
board now requires of every person who
presents a bill to them for a service rem
dered the state. The people Of Michigan
would have been interested in knowing
whether Mr.. Grosvenor received ten cents n
mile for railroad fare as did his colleagues
in Office at that time, or whether he received
only actual and necessary expenses while
away from the seat Of government on duty
connected with his Office"
This deliberate attempt to deceive is
as cold-blooded stab in the back as
any assassin ever aimed in the dark.
The people of Hillsdale County-yes. of
the whole State of Michigan-would
have resented any open charge of dis
honesty made against Mr.. Grosvenor,
based on so fimsy pretext as that en-
try on the records; but the Democratic
assassin hoped to get in his deadly work
by means of insinuations. But the
slanderer is convicted out of his own
mouth. He cites in evidence the mere
entry in the report of the board of au-
ditors of that board action on the bill,
but does not cite the bill itself on which
the board acted Whether he failed to
notice the original bill which is now on
file in the archives of the state, and
which is the original voucher for the
payment, on account of ignorance or
for the sake of willful misrepresen-
tation, is immaterial at present, for
either supposition is disgraceful to that
party which expects to profit by such
ISLANDERS.
The Republican boards of state au-
ditors always required itemized state
ments in bills presented to them for
their examination, and if the present
Democratic board does the same, it is
but following the excellent example
set by its Republican predecessors.
Those itemized bills are always pre-
served, but, on the record or journal of
the boards transactions, only q mere
minute of the matter is entered. Should
the board enter and print at length in
its report an itemized statement of all
the thousands of bills allowed, the peo-