The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1893-07-11

WAS 1T FATR7

SToNEvILLE, N. C.
Mr.. EDIToR:-The truth can be had
only by a fair and impartial discussion
Of all public matters. The withholding
of any facts which are patent, lays US
liable to the charge Of unfairness. You
exhibit in all your editorials the bitter
est animosity towards Mr.. Cleveland
and his administration. You seize any
incident, trifing, perhaps, In itself and
at once, by inference put the worst
construction possible. Your readers
get this and are not permitted to see
the ether side and hence conclude that
your inference is truth. One case in
point. In reference TO Mr.. Cleveland's
anticipating the interest on u. s and
Pacific Railroad bords, you say:
Thus Secretary Carlisle steals the
interest for seven or eight days from
the government and gives it to the
holder of United States and Pacific
Railroad bonds. The amount of inter
est (payable semj-annualIy) for one
week is nearly $3.50, 600. Secretary
Carlisle makes a free gift of that
amount to the bankers holding the
bonds. And this is the sort of reform
the present administration is giving
usr'
Now I ask you as a man who wishes
his readers to get the truth through
your paper, is this comment justified
by the facts in the case2 Is it fair?
Your readers are men who rarely read
a paper other than yours and hence
must, from your comments, conclude
that Mr.. Cleveland, through Carlisle.
is guilty Of a misdemeanor.
Now would it not have been fair
(though, of course, it would not have
furthered your aim) to have said that
this was done by Mr.. Carlisle to put
that much money (Which was lying in
the vaults of the government and not
accumulating) in circulation in order
to relieve to that extent the financial
distress Of the country
You know very we'll that this inter
est was not paid to favor the parties to
whom it was paid, but for the sole pur-
pose that | have announced above.
Fairness is the only proper course
tell the truth if the heavens fall. Any
other course will in the end prove q
boomerang. Yours truly,
SUBSCRIBER.
[Our friend writes to the point and
states the case exactly, but he has
failed to show where we treat Mr..
Cleveland or Mr.. Carlisle unfairly. We
stated upon the authority of the New
York Herald that Mr.. Carlisle had di-
rected the payment of the interest,
without rebate, on June 22d, when the
interest was not due until July 1st.
That is true and has been verified over
and over in the public press. Now if
'tSubscI iber" will again refer TO the ex-
tract from the HerGd he will find the
following: This action of Secretary
Carlisle Is taken to relieve the tightness
in the money centres" Now Gid we
withhold the object sought from our
readers? Could anybody have told ii
more explicitly 1t is hardly probable
that Mr.. Carlisle took such a step, in
vOlving millions. without the advice Of
the President, hence both are respond
bic. We r glad u friend has writ
ten. We want both sides to have a
hearing, and If we make a mistake,
call our attention to it. Subscriber
gets off the track himself at one place.
He SAYS: You know very well that
the interest was not paid to favor the
parties to whom it was PAID No, we
don't. Only God knows the prime OBJ
ject. Subscribers" don't know; we
don't know. The facts are that be-
tween $500, 600 and $500, 600 was given
to g6mebody without an equivalent. Tt
vas not paid to people who are weak
financially, but to rich bondholders to
buy more bonds or stocks or loan at
exorbitant rates during the panic
EDITOR