The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1892-09-08
COMPLETE REPUTATION
OF the Charge That whiteiaw
Reid Abused Horace Greeley.
FAMOUS CRUMBS OF COMFORT"
Editorial Which Dissatisfied tho
Great Editor..-Its Retraction Was
Not Suppressed by Mr.. Reid, as
Alleged, and He Did Not Scheme
to suppiant Mr.. Greeley.

aac composing rooms during th'
period Of Horace Greely's presidential
candidacy, has written an open letter
wherein he places the responsibility
for the non-appearance OF Mr., Greeley'i
editorial disclaiming sympathy with {
Tribune editorial, entitled Crumbs o.
Comfort" which had appeared shortly
after the presidential election of 1872
Atvarious times and places Whitelav
Reid has been chargedwith having sup.
pressed the Greeley disclaimer. Mr.
Rockers letter clears Mr.. Reid Of any
connection with the episode.
The Crumbs of Comfort editorial,
which appeared in the Tribune after the
election was in a vein that dissatisfied
Mr. Greeley, and he thought offended
many OF his readers, He penned re.
traction, which never reached tho pub
lie, and the story has been repeatedly
told that Whitelaw Reid. as managing
editor OF the Tribune, had suppressed 1t.
Here is Mr.. Rockers letter:
SRI have Just seen in the Hdlles
Record of Ashland, Ore, and in the Chi
Cago Mail, a statement signed by James
j. Clark, describing an alleged inter
view between the late Horace Greeley
and myself, wherein l am represented
as saying: "Mr. Greeley, it is the most
painful task Of my life to say that am
instructed by Mr.. Reid, who has lately
been elected editor-in-chief OF the 1ri-
6tme, to take no more copy from your
hands"
Ihaye many times before contrsdicted,
both orally and in print, this gross fab
rication in one or another of the numer-
Gus forms in which it has been pro-
duced. AS there is obviously a con-
certed effort to make the exploded
calumny do duty again in the present
presidential canvass, | desire again to
declare in the most emphatic manner
that tho story in substance and in de.
tail is absolutely without particle OF
foundation, and is so rIdicuously con-
trary 10 the facts tha5 its malice ia only
equaled by its absurdity.
I was foreman OF the Tribune Office at
the time referred to, and had been from
near the first issue Of the paper. had
besides been honored by the personal
friendship OF Mr.. Greeley. was men,
Der OF the board Of trustees and the sec
rotary OF the Tribune association. had,
therefore, every opportunity OF know
ing ali the facts as to Mr.. Reid's rela-
lions to Mr.. Greeley throughout the
campaign Of 1879, and after its close.
desire now to put on record again in the
most precise and EN- phatic manner the
facts concerning every variation have
seen OF these malignant stories on this
subject.
First-Mr. Greeley never came to me
either in the office or out OF it to COM
plain lhat Mr.. Reid excluded an article.
Second--I never told him | had
orders from Mr.. Reid or from anybody
TO exclude his articles, or any OF them
and do not believe he was ever told so
by any human being.
Three-Mr. Reid never made the
slightest objection to Mr.. Greeley's i'm
mediately resuming control OF the
Tribune after the election Of 1872. On
the contrary, he welcomed his own sub
ordinate position, and did his best to
second and carry out Mr.. Greeley's
wishes.
Fonrth-The article entitled Crumbs
of Comfort" which appeared in the
Tribune OF November I, iS72, and caused
Mr.. Greeley some dissatisfaction, was
not written by Mr.. Reid, and could
never have been seen by him before
publication unless he CHANGED to see it
in proof. 1t was written by the late
John r. G. Hassard, who had long been
chief of the staff, and was managing
editor during the campaign; was sent
by him directly to mo in his manu-.
script, wac Immediately put in type, and
printed the next morning without
change OF any sort.
Mr.. Greeley feared that this article
might DO so interpreted us to cause
some OF his late supporters to think he
was ungratetul, and wrote short dis.
claimer intended to remove such an
impression. Mr., Reid, on seeing this,
went to Mr.. Greeley, assured him that
the article was not producing such i'm
preston, showed him tho comments
on it which had already appeared in
that afternoons Newark Advertiser and
in other papers, and begged him to
wait twenty.four hours to see Ii his
(Mr. Reid's) Interpretation Of the view
the public would take of it was not cor
rect To this Mr.. Greeley assented, and
the next day was sufficiently satisfied
never to refer to the subject again.
The manuscript, however, was stolen
by discharged proofreader, who, see
ing that the article did not appear, in
vented the story Of the suppression.
The only article OF Mr.. Greeley's ever
suppressed during the short interval
after his resumption OF the editorship
and before his fatal illness was an ar
ticle on the Boston fire. 1t began
nationally, but ended in utter incoher-
ence. 1t was first seen, after being put
in type, by Mr.. Gseeley's brotheF.in-
law, Mr.. John F. Cleveland, who knew
Mr.. Greeley's mental condition, and,
having some apprehensions, came TO
the composing rooms TO see what he
had written. Mr. Cleveland consulted
with me there and at once suppressed
tho article. Anybody in the office
would have been warranted in doing
the same thing. Within day or two
it became necessary to remove Mr..
Greeley to the retreat where he died.
There may be other versions OF these
stories about Mr.. Reid srelations to Mr..
Greeley which / have not seen, but ]
have meant to make this denial cover
every form OF them implying anything
but absolute loyalty and devotion on
Mr.. Reid's part to Mr.. Greedy through
out their whole connection, and espe-
cially during his canvass and subse.
quently, MS well as to his family after
his death--the whole OF which was
within my personal knowledge as we'll
as that Of Mr.. Greeiev's other immedi-
atn hnainnsa and narannnl naancinina