Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1894-03-03
Mew A1.'s Chronic Ct imp ain..

Irresponsble mendatiy his b,eome
chr mic with the New Age. It does not
support its statements by any proof, snd it
can rot do 50. rs fal.ehoods of enc year
ago are not forgotten. Its 60 ans reeked
with them. We advice the reader TO turn
ba * to those pages and compare notes.
The Age remarks Il week, cary good
cit;ze GIN verify our figures" Let any
good citizt try it if he wants to undertake
an impossible task. The statements
C mt be VERIFIED for they are gross
IL untrue. For this reason the
Ag. doesn't try to verify thu m but contents
itself in thinking its reader, tools and con-
tinuing to prattle abroad what Tleases its
fancy. When the auditor attempted to
show tina. Feb. LIST, there was an unex-
pende balance of s2G, 1915. the New Age
lifted its voice and heralded the incorrect
Statement. abroad With great apparent zeal.
That was the uneIpended bala ice Feb. 1st,
s,id the auditor. The JOURNAL demolished
conc.usively this delightful fiction. But
the New Age can't get away from those
figures, they lure it on ike will-o-the-
wisp. In the last issue the editor forgot that
those were The figures for Feb. LIST, month
Def re the municipal year was ended, and
says that the unexpended balance for the
yeqr, III It is to March lst, is SIG, 1857
.Ja$tthe same as ii ,rds Feb. ISL The
editor should consult his previous weeks
issue before getting oft another.
Again the New Age remarks it is no credit
to a newspaper to be an accomplished liar.
We grant it ought to know but We must infer
that it thinks the b'unlering liar is cred
it. Otherwise its own mis- lion woul be &c
cidedly questionable. For instance it says
that all bills against the city up to March
lst, 1891, have been paid. OF course it
didn't expect anyone at all acquainted with
those matters to believe that assertion and
for such the New Age says Immediately
underneath the above statements ''to
meet whatever claims may be unpaid
March lst, 1894, there are sl4 100000 IN
collected taxes which will be collected be-
sides ether sources of revenue. We are
toll that all the bills to March lst have
been paid and then in the following breath
are told that they may be paid With uncol-
lected taxes which tie New Age says will
be collected. How does it know whether
they will be collected or not? And why at
tempt to blind US with such dazzling alb
sence of any statistics to prove its bald and
manifestly false assertions:
1t is as useless to argue with our elusive
contemporary as it is for the flea catcher to
think that " hen he has put down his finger
the flea is there. When its assertions in
previous issue have been disproved it does
not refer to them but deserts its former
position and assumes new one. TO
illustrate its shifty method the JOURNAL
makes the following statement: "Pay the
debt of 1893 and the rate in 1894 must be
81 mills" This is the way the Age quotes
it THE rate in 1894 must be 81 mills
and on this CARRIED extract proceeds to ar
que. No wonder it breads allusion to those
words: s'Pay the debt Of 1888"
The Journal prints this morning state
ment from one whose reputation is such
that no one will entertain the thought that
the figures have been 'juggled." 1t is a
plain, comprehensive statement..which proves
beyond question that the city expenses
under the present city government have
been largely in excess of those of the
previous administration on which the New
Age one year ago bestowed all the epithets
at its command. 1t is with slight
degree of amusement that we await
the New Ages reply to Mr.. Lane.
If it alludes to it at all, it will do SO in
beautiful generalities, with several ire
sponsible statements in full face type and
when it thinks it has beclouded the matter
will leave it as burnt child DOES the fire.