The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-01-14
TOO EXCLUSIVE BY HALF
Correspondent SteaIeys Plain Remarks
About the Administration.

The President complains of mali
cious. mendacious, and sensational
newspaper reports. The President and
his official family have only them
selves to blame for the outcome OF
these reports They allow them to be
printed day after day until they fasten
the belief in the public mind of their
truth. They are not even dignified by
q denial at the time they are circulated,
but when the bad results of the circu-
lation of these stories are ascertained,
the President more than diginifies
them with o denial in the form of an
photographic letter, writes O. o. Steady
to the Courier-Journal.
For two weeks during the circula-
ton of the story that the administra-
ton was negotiating with the Morgan
syndicate for the private sale of bonds,
the few newspaper friends of the adj
ADMINISTRATION, men who never deal 1T a
blow below the belt, were eager and
anxious to obtain the true situation,
and send the facts to their papers.
They did not desire an interview from
President Cleveland or Secretary Car
Isle. They only wished to be placed in
possession of sufficient information so
as to enable them to print the facts.
Such was denied them. Close and Sc
cretive methods, wholly unwarranted
in the consideration of a matter III
which the public had such an extraor-
binary interest prevailed. The cores
pondents were virtually shut out oil
the White House. At the Treasury they
were met with the old stereotyped re-
ply, "The Secretary is very busy and
has nothing to say" In reply to writ
ten earnest requests by correspond
ents for denial or yeritication of the
story verbal answer was received, Il
do not care to talk"
In the meantime the great New York
bankers were here. Some of them were
at the White House, some were at the
Treasury comforting with Secretary
Lamont. This statement cannot be
truthfully controyerted. During all
this time the administration looked
over the heads of even their own news
paper friends on the row, who had
never betrayed them, and had defend
ed them right or wrong, time and
again, and refused to deny the story,
so industriously advertised, that a pri-
vate bond sale was being arranged.
The Inference was plain; the conclu-
sion unmistakable. There were not ten
thinking, intelligent men outside of
Cleveland, Carlisle, and Lamont, who
were not satisfied in their own minds
that the story was true. In business
circles it was everywhere accepted rs
fact.
Under these circumstances" it is amaz-
ing rnat the President, notwithstand-
ing his violent prejudice to newspaper
men, should blame the press for con
sequence of his owl mistake. A word
from him or the Secretary of the Trea-
sury to friend 10 quietly tip the
newspaper boys that there was moth
ing in these wild stories" and the be-
lief that private bond snap was on
would never have found Judgement in
the public mind.
The trouble with the administration
is that it wraps itself up in it's own and
only original and official exelusiyeness,
and takes it as an insult TO be asked a
question upon a public matter of inn
portance by a member of the press.