Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-10-24
MacvEAGH TO EGAN.
The Former Did Not Crificise the Latter ~
an Irishman.

k8ttSf n
an Irishman.
The following letter was handed To the Asso-
ciated Press in Philadelphia last evening:
To the Honorable Patrick Egan.
Dear Sir: I am glad to see tina. Won intend at
lsst--even after nine years-to reply to the A.
tacks upon your character, but / am sorry to
see that You persist in calling them my attacks,
and this falsehood leads me to fear that YOU
may repeat the other falsehood that my state
ment that your appointment was an insult to
Chile was intended as q reflection on you be-
cause you were born in ireland Now, If you
will abandon these two sheer and absolute false
hoods, give you the fullest liberty to abuse
me TO any extent or to say anything about me
you choose, for what you say Of me cannot pos
sibly do me the least HARM and would really
be. to my mind, kind Of eulogy of me.
As furnished in my speech at Cooper Union
the exact dates when Mr.. Reid and the Tribune
made their very serious and repeated attacks
upon your character, you will. trust see how
necessary 1t Is for you to treat them as his at
tacks, not mine, and to answer him and not me-
And If you answer him satisfactorily you need
not bother about me, as you must pardon me
for saying 1 never even heard of you till the
tribune gave me the information. and l have
neither desire nor reason to think Ill of you ex-
cept what is due to the Tribune's denunciation
OF YOU IL you can convict Mr.. Reid and the
tribune OF falsehood in making them l will
accept Your justification with pleasure, but
must continue to think you were rather tardy
IN so grave and serious q matter
And then. do abandon the false pretense that
my objection to you was because you are an
lrishman. You see that pretense Is childish as
well rs false, for l am a good deal of an Irish
man myself, as we'll as q counsellor-though 1
regret to say without pay-of the Hibernian
Society Of this city, while some Of the best
friep DIS of my life have been Irishmen. My objec-
ton to you was solely because Mr.. Reid and the
tribune said you we're not an honest man, and
don't like dishonest man no matter where be
Is born. II that accusation is not true then
have no objection whatever to you.
Whatever you may say now you must confess
you had justified people in forming very IN
favorable Judgment OF you. You remained 81
lent so Tar as ever heard, for nine long years
under Mr.. Reds statement in the Tribune that
you we're "a sham patriot" and that you could
give no satisfactory explanation of what you
had done with $1,000 which had been in
trusted to your care for the Irish cause. And
then, so far / know. you remained silent
twelve long months under the additional at
tacks upon you in the Tribune saving that you
we're sure to be recalled and that "A new Ameri-
can representative at the Chilean capital WAS
urgently needed, and far worse, that you had
once fled .'to avoid arrest and trial on o very
serious criminal charge"
Now all the Irishmen know and esteem. and
there are very many of them. il so attacked,
would have called Dir. Reid and the Tribune to
prompt and stern account, requiring them
either TO prove their charges to retract
them, but you. alas, did neither. On the con-
trary, you meekly endured all these charges,
and. TO my Amusement, you appeared on Mr..
Reds porch a week ago adv coating his election
TO the vice presidency. thus to my mind. prac-
tically confessing the truth of his accusation
against you. On the next evening therefore
felt at perfect liberty to call your appointment
insult to Chile.
So you see, Mr.. Egan. it does not at all mat
ter how poor an opinion you entertain Of me or
what you say about me. The only questions
which can interest the country are these: We're
the accusations of Mr.. Reid in the Tribune
against you true? If they we're not true why
did you wait SO long before refuting them? and
why do you divert your attack from the real
author of your troubles to me, whose only Of
Tense is that Of believing what MIR. Reid in the
Tribune told me about you?
But repeat. If abuse of me will relieve your
mind abuse me to your hearts content, but
don't suppose any dust can thus be thrown in
the eyes Of the public. II you can give salts
factory answers to these three questions l have
asked you Will be completely indicated, but
nothing else will be, believe me-. Of any real
service to you. WAYNE MAcVEAoH.
Philadelphia. Oct %, 1892