New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-05-05
4 EL1CKG CIRD rs OFFICE.

The pcoplc Of the United States read ycStcr-
day morning "A Geographic correspondence be
tween the Secretary of state Judge Gresham.
representing the President and person named
pcnnoyci. who by some in>cruiablc dispense
ton of Divine Providence holds the Office oi
Governor of Oregon We greatly mistake the
temper of this people if ii wa not read every
where with profound indignation and disgust.
Secretary Gresham, III the d>chaIg" oi MS
official duty notified t. the Governor OF Oregon
on May 3 that reports Indicated danger oil Nl"-
lcnce to the Chinese upon the taking effect oi
the Exclusion act, and added that the President
earnestly hoped that the Governor would en-
ploy all lawful means for then protection III
Oregon. II would be hard 10 find anything I'M
usual or improper in the communication to the
Governtr Of a State Of intelligence relating ~
threatened disturbances within his own Juris
diciion. or anything insulting in the expression
by the President Of the United states OF hope
that the disturbance would be avcrpd. When
il is considered that there are a large number
of Chinese in Oregon, and consequently great
danger of disturbances. 1t would seem to be the
most natural thing i'll the world for the state
Department to convey to the Governor informa
tlOn concerning inc Tfpoit> NHi'H h"' I'"'h'h
the Department on that subject When II is
remembered that under President Clcvcland'S
last Administration disturbances III Wyoming
Territory similar 10 those now threatened COM
pclcd the Government To send troops To restore
order and protect the Chinese, and that the
Government was muctod in a large sum TO pay
the cost of that outbreak. it seems plain enough
that the President was entirely in the line of
his duty, and very far from improper inter
ference in expressing the hope that all lawful
means would be taken TO avoid a repetition OF
that experience in Oregon.
But this person Pcnnoycr, Governor OF Orc
gon by an altogether inscrutabc Providence,
thought himself insultcd. Straightway he sent
flying back to Secretary Gresham this hot re-
ply: IL will attend to my business let the
President attend to his Not only sent it hot
from a hasty temper and an empty head, but
in the apparent belief that he had done some
thing worth while, and wholly unconscious that
he had ins,iltcd every selfrespccting citizen in
the land in sending an insulting message to the
President OF the United States, turned over the
correspondence TO the representatives of the
press to be published 10 the country. So yes
terday morning it was known all over the land
that Oh the day previous the Governor OF Ore
gon had answered civil and courteous official
communication from the head of the National
Government by telling him to mind his own
business. The result was that Governor Per
meyer succeeded in getting himself talked about
Not by any means in the way he expected and
would like, but at any rate talked about. And
what the citizens of this country To the num-
Der OF several hundred thousand said about him
was that he was a very cheap, feather-hcadcd
black guard-a blackguard-nc'. For, however
our people may differ with the person holding
their highest office upon political or any other
questions they pay him respectful Difference as
the First Citizen the embodiment to all Ameri-
cans and to all foreign nations of the dignity
the honor and the prestige of the Republic
Were Mr.. Cleveland the worst President we
ever had-which he is not by any means-and