The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1893-12-23
The sentinel's Accuracy.

The Adrocote alleges that the Sentinel wa
in error in stating that Hoke Smith served III
cause of secession in the field, and says tn
Congressional Directory gives the date of hi
birth as September I'd, 1856, The iSenfiRe
based its assertion on sketch of the Score
tary of the Interior, published in a humble
of the leading papers of the country at tht
time of his appointment to place in th'
| Cabnet.
Oh, no. The ADVOCATE did not allegt
anything of the kind. 1t stated that the
general impression was that the Hon. Hokt
Smith did not serve ''the cause of secession
in the field" as he was but FIVE and hall
years old when the war began and less
then ten when it closed. 1t accepted as a
fact that he did ''serve the cause of Sc
cession in the field, because the accurate
Sentinel said so, and we called upon il tc
give the country some account of this in
fant's military record.
The Sentinel does not admit now that il
was in error and says it based its assertion
on a sketch Of the Secretary of the Interior
published in a number of leading papers of
the country at the time of his appointment.
Every sketch we observed stated his age
at thirty-seven years, and it was noted that
he was the youngest Cabinet Officer for
many years.
The Sentinel must have obtained the
information from some of the reliable pa
pers it gets its ideas of the tariff bill from.
And it must have been reading from one
Of the same reliable journals when it re-
marked last week in an editorial paragraph
that Senator Vests reply to Senator Hoar,
on the Hawaiian matter, was ''vague and
general" Nothing could have been more
direct and explicit, and the Associated
Press reports clearly showed it. In the
appointment of Mr. Blount Senator Hoar
said the President had acted with3ut con-
authority and was treading"upon
very slippery ice" Senator Vest presented
"a list of number of persons appointed as
agents to perform specific duties by various
Presidents, including Washington, Jack
son and Taylor, and by Secretaries of
State, without the advice and consent of
the Senate, and some, too, when Congress
was in session And altogether, said Mr..
Vest, there have been three hundred and
eighty-odd appointments made by Presi-
dents, without the advice and consent of
The Senate to negotiate treaties, to perform
The most important diplomatic functions"
The Sentinel can find the information
n Miscellaneous Document No. 100 of the
Senate, and on page 1873 of the Congress
,ional Record, sd Congress, I'd Session, it
will find part of minority report, signed
~ Senators Morgan, Salisbury, Brown
md Payne, in which it is asserted that for
period of fifty-three years, from 1927 to
1880, no President asked the advice and
consent of the Senate to such appointments
IS Mr.. Blount's, still it was left to Senator
doar to find out that what a dozen Presi-
Tents have done, from Washington down,
vas unconstitutional, and to the american
Sentinel to ascertain that Mr. Vests reply |
o Hoar, giving names of special agents and
appointed by Presidents,
nd date of appointments, and for what
purpose appointed, was "vague and gen.
raj"
Our neighbor seems to be writing to fill
p space and to cater to partisan constit-
ency. That sort of journalism is out of
ate. There can be no objection to parti
anship, but journals cannot ignore facts
nd long continue to be influential.