The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1897-11-17

papers that habltually hold up Congress
as a corrupt body, do so with a reckless
regard for the truth,
THESE papers," says our contempor-
airy, appear to ignore the fact that in
malIgning Congress they assail the pea
pie Of the United States. No people ut
for self government; no people stepped in
lRtquity; no people inspired by love Of
country, proud Of the nations past, or
ambitious for It's future, could possibly
elect and keep on electing, time after
time, such thoroughly dlsreputable Con-
crosses as our pessimistic contemporar-
les invariably find every Congress to be.
If the people were half as ignorant and
degraded as the habitual defamation OF
the Congresses implies, they wluld be
best fitted, as to their government neces-
stiles, with the political system Of Rus
isa."
This is strong language, but not one
bit too strong for the case. What the
Post says Is every word true. These per-
slstent attacks on the integrity of Con-
gress by the Mugwump press, and some
other papers whose criticisms are biased
by partisan prejudice, are responsible
for much of the unjust sentiment toward
Congress that exists among the masses
who have no opportunities of Judging of
the falseness or truth of the assaults.
The Washington papers and the cltl-
zens OF the national capital have better
facilities and opportunities for judging
of the injustice of these assaults than the
papers and people of distant portions Of
the country, whence most OF the attacks
originate. This fact the Post brings out
in a reply to a vicious article IN the Gal
weston News, of the character above re-
ferred to, and what our Washington con-
temporary says is so directly to the point
that 1t IL worth repeating. The News
took the Post to task for Its depreciation
of slanderous illusions to Congress, and
intlmated that the Post could not know
what 1t was talking about because II IS
published at the capital, The Galveston
paper declared: washington knows
nothing about the conditions eXiSta
among the masses of producers and con-
sumers, and cares nothing so long as
Congress heeds its eternal cry for APP
preparations"
In reply to this obviously ignorant
statement the Post points out that the
citizens of Washington are competent to
Judge of the conditions existing among
the masses, and says:
Intelligent people from every state and
territory reside in this city. Our citizens
In visiting their former homes or the
homes of their ancestors, come In close
contact with the people OF all sectlons'
Not a day in the year passes that does
not witness the arrival of visitors from
all sections. The newspapers of every
county In the Union have readers here,
Every political organization In the our
try gets financial, moral, and intellectual
aid from Washington. And the fact that
this city is dependent for Its local gov
eminent on the votes of the people In
every congressional district gives our
citizens a direct and important interest
in all its rulers-all the people of all the
etates-Gor each of them has a voice In
controlling the government of the ma
tons capital.
We quote this paragraph from the Post
for the purpose Of showing the weight
that should be attached to the defense
that the reputable newspapers publish
ed at the national capital make from the
ill-advised attacks that are made upon
our national legislature by the pessimis-
tic press, which has no inspiration but
Its own dyspeptic imagination. There
are bad men in Congress, doubtless, but
there are also good men, and the good
and honest men are In a very large ma
jorlty. 1t is indeed a reflection on the
integrity, the intelligence and the patrl-
otism of the American people to say
otherwise.