Year: 1868

From the Richie Press, May 2d.


Fighting Men VS.. Peace Politicians.
EDITOR OF THE Press:


The undersigned, as the Union Exec
tive Committee of Richie county, o.
ticed with pain the unkind, uncalled for
and ungenteel attack made by the In.
telligeacer, in its issue of the 23d ult.,
upon the reputation of our esteemed
and worthy fellow citizen, General T..
NJ. Harris. The attack upon the Gen
eral is of such character as to preclude
his personal reply, to-wit: incompeten-
cy for q seat in Congress. And we feel
that it is duty we owe to the General,
the county and the State. to express in
public manner, our disapprobation
aud condemnation of the ungenerous
course pursued by the Inteiiigencer. The
Editor of the Intelligenctr, in the afore-
said issue of the 23d ult., makes very
elaborate effort to accomplish two things
to-wit: to injure the reputation and
prospects of General Harris, and if pes
sible, to make the people of this Con-
gressional district believe that Wheel
ing is to this district what Hanover is
to England.


The Inteltigencer appears to be con-
Quoted in the interests of clique, who
conceitedly imagine that beyond the
smoke enviroued boundaries of Wheel
ing, nothing can be found worthy Of
honor, and who have even appeared
jealous of the men, who in the army
developed a capability for public ser
vice. In accordance with this feeling,
it never showed any disposition to make
honorable mention of the services of
those men, except when compelled to
do so by the distinction which they
won on the field. And even then their
appreciation was dealt cut with very
sparing hand. 1t is true, the Intelligen-
Ger did shed some tears over the fall of the
lamented Col. Thoburn, and it may be
for all we know TO the contrary, THAT
These TEARS WERE WET. But the gal
liant Thoburn was dead, and sounding
his praise could not affect the future.


Since the war it has endeavored, as
much as possible, to ignore their mer-
its, and has evidently desired that they
should be forgotten. On no other
principle can we account for its pres
ent II eatment of General Harris. Whilst
his services were fresh in the minds Of
the people it did not (for policy's sake)
venture openly to show its true spirit
and purposes, but cOntented itself with
the assumption that the proper time
had not come to honor him, and by pro-
Tossing that when the "proper time"
should come, it was ready to honor him
ITO ANY REASONABLE EXTENT~ How
very kind in this oracle to Intimate
that 1T was ready to tell the peoplc
not only "the proper time" to honor
him, bat also the proper measure of
that honor. Well, that is q very mod
est assumption indeed! People of the
first Congressional District, behold your
Mentor


But now the Hntelligencer appears to
be willing to risk the avowal Of its real
feelings, and boldly decries his merits.
1t insinuates that he has not the re-
quisite ability to represent the people
in Congress, and endeavors to cause the
people to think that his only merit lies
in his military services, and even these
are not very distinguished. In all this
it shows its willingness to chime in
with the rebel press in detraction of his
merits. Now there are many people in
this State as well as out of it, who are
fully as capable of judging of a mans
merits and qualifications, as the IntelH-
gencer, who estimate the Generals
character and ability very differently.
Among these we might refer to such
men as General Grant and Judge Bing-
ham. We beg pardon; we did not mean
to draw comparison between these
men and the magnates who control the
Inteliigencer.


A mans qualifications, we opihe, are
to be Judged by what he has accom-
plished. The General recruited a reg-
ment in the Fall Of '61 and Winter and
Spring Of 1862, by his own unaided eX-
ertions, when recruiting in West Vir-
ginia was the "hardest kind of work"
He had very little encouragement or
countenance in this work, and even the
Governor, who, though he gave hisias-
sent to it, evidently had no faith in
the success of the enterprise. The Gen
eral here gave evidence, not only of his
devotion to the cause, but of his in-
donitable energy and perseverance, by
giving eight months of his time and
several hundred dollars of his money,
for which he. has never received COM
pensation of one cent. He had the
ability to make his regiment that he
thus organized one of the very best we
had in the service, and led it success
fully through many critical and hard
fought engagements. He filled the
place both of Brigadier and Major
General for months, whilst he only held
the rank of Colonel: and finally re-
ceived promotion by a special order
from the Secretary of War, at the ur-
gent request of General Grant, when
another man had to be mustered out to
make room for him to come in. He
served on the court that tried the as
sassins of President Lincoln, with
marked ability, and won the good opin-
ion of all connected with that trial.
Since the war he has rendered valua-
bic service POLITICALLY to the Repub-
lican party and to the interests of West
Virginia. He canvassed q large portion
of the State in favor of the Amendment
to the State Constitution, the aim of
which was to disfranchise the enemies
of the State and Federal Government,
those who had participated in and
sympathized with the rebellion; aud on
the stump, as in the field, he appeared
to have been equally master of The sit
uation; had that measure failed our
present history would have been that
of Maryland and Kentucky, and Cen
eral Harris deserves as much of the
glory for the success of that measure
as any man in the State of West Vir-
ginia.


He also entered heartily into the cam
vass for our State ticket two years ago,
and the general opinion of the press
wherever he spoke was very tlattering
to his abilities, the opinion of the Intel
HgeMo5r to the contrary notwithstand-
ing. 1t is very truethat Richie county
has another citizen mot THOUSAND
MILES FROM HARRIsvILLE," of whom
she is justly proud; he is a young man
of marked ability, and earnestly en-
gagged in his profession, and docs not,
we apprehend, wish at present to turn
his attention to politics. But we will
now give the Intelligenoer notice, that
aat the proper time" we will give it an


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