The morning journal-courier., 1908-08-15
IRRELEvANCE RUN MAD.

In spite Of the fact that less than two months ago MT. Lilley, the early bird . candidate of the republican machine Tor governor, boasted that he held tho | nomination. in the hollow of his hand, | he has caused to be distributed among | the voters of the town of winchester | pamphlet setting forth the virtues he | was thought to possess before he de- prived himself Of them. It might have ! been a convincing document once upon a time. Today 1t only emphasizes the 1 temperamental unfitness of the man for high office.
 The pamphlet leads off with an ex- tract from the editorial columns of The Journal Courier, the authenticity of which we have already acknowledged. pamphlet MT. Lilley had included the editorial printed few days ago. which gave the reasons why we had found it necessary to withdraw the endorsement given him and substitute for 1t an en- tirely different view of his political character. What we wrote in May up- on the assumption that he had been an abused man, we were forced to re- tract later. No other course was open to us and that we were not mistaken In the second course has been abun- dantly testified to by those better ac- quainted with the gentleman than we usare. Among the other newspaper ex- tracts printed is one in which the in- situation Is made that the attitude of this newspaper Is inspired by other motives than the popular repudiation of MT. Lilley though not line has appeared in these columns to justify such thought nor a responsible fact on the outside This charge Is made just as the Washington charges were made upon hotel lobby gossip and men dacious tittle-tattling. The fact that 1t Is made completely annihilates the de- cent repute of the maker among thoughtful men, and suggests of itself what would happen If the power of the chief executive fell into his hands strong words we admit but justified by the recklessness of the charge made.
 On the back of this remarkable pamphlet we find the still more remark able warning to the good people of Win chester: All who read the extracts from The Journal Courier ought to know that the editor is democrat, whose name is N. G. Osborn and whose address is 239 Bradley street, New Haven" Aside from the fact that We doubt if the democratic organization or Connecticut would accept the gentle man referred to as democrat in good and regular standing, In spite of his still profound confidence In the kind of democracy Grover Cleveland taught and personfied, we are troubled to see what an individuals private views have to do with the fitness or unfitness of George L. Lilley for governor of the state of Connecticut. What the gentle man referred to writes must stand or fall by the conventional tests to which political writing is subjected, and the only fault he has to find in this con. nection, and the only criticism he would make, if forced to make any is that in the judgment of Mir. Lilley's supporters personal abuse and vulgar suspicion are more effective than the are either sound or they are no sound, but thus far the only attemp to consider them has been compre hended in the strange assertion tha the people of Connecticut have already made up tnelr minus aDOut the IllleJ investigation and have decided him tt be much abused man. What warran Is there for any such assertion? If tht record is ever to be written 1t can not be written until November, and no then unless he still holds the republi can nomination in the hollow of hl hand.
 What MT. Lilley is unable to grasp f that circumstances make any machine candidate for governor in his party matter of popular rather than partisa, concern For twelve years republican nomination to state office in Connecti cut has been the equivalent of an cleo ton, and since Mir. Lilley is the on man upon whom the professional poll ticians have combined to push into of flee, consideration of his fitness tran scends every other question. If the DO