Year: 1874




We publish elsewhere IN account fthe
expulsion of the representative Of the
Mercury from the Hall of the House, at
Austin. What the dee'l has gotten into
the newspaper people Here is the rep
resentative of the leading" paper
eurrepti.iously colluding with
needy clerk for information he
could not have received honorably, even
had he found it sealed aad in the pub.
lie streets. We regret that these things
have occurred, because we had, in our in
nocence, supposed that newspapers were
above such practices, and the more so
when q rich one came in competition with
poorer brother. The Statesman is easily
satisfied with the ''thin" explanation;
not 80 the people. The care for the pub
lie interests which caused the News to
resort to this poor trick is miserable af-
fectation of virtue that no one else in
the whole State accords to it. No one
blames the Galveston News for trying
to secure the public printing, and had it
have had the best bid before the board, un.
stained by dlshonorable connec tion with
a needy clerk, we unhesitatingly say, it
should have received it, and from our
knowledge of the gentlemen composing
the board, VIC affirm, it would have re-
ceived l..


The News reflections upon the course
| pursued by the board will be received
with unutterable contempt by the people
of the State, the gentlemen composing
which are the Governor, the Attorney
General and the Secretary of State, all
Of whom, singularly and collectively, are
as fur above suspicion al the sun is aboye
the earth. Would that the light of the
'rape" of an envelope showed their &C.
cuser in tho same light. We care not
for the pitiful tool, Montgomery. We
care not for TIL, other tool, the represen-
tative of the leading paper" We go
behind all this, and arraign the man
agement of that paper, for STOPPING to do
an act which but few honorable papers
could do, and still maintain footing OF
any respectability in the land.


If the Statesman has suffered by this
thing, it owes the injury, not to Elliott,
not to us, not to the Board of Public
Printing, but to the paper who has all
along been its determined foe, and the
one who robbed it OF all the better part of
the last years work wrought by the
Statesman, and after all this, it admits
the News defence to its own columns.
Verify, thisis licking the hand that smites
you.


We have competed honorably for the
public printing; we would scorn our
self had we have succeeded by a practice
50 base as that charged SO clearly against
the agent of the News.


While having thoughtful cart for the
interests of the State, yet, we lay no claim
to the martyr-virtue of wishing the con-
tract exclusively for the empty glory of
serving the State in the capacity of Pub
lie Printer, at our own expense, as the
News intimates wes its purpose. We
would not do the work were there no
lprem connected with it; yet, those who
know us best, know that reasonable rate
of profit would satisfy us. We sympathize
with our friend, the Statesman, and re-
gret that its bid was withdrawn In conses
quence of the act Of ruthless aud venal
ambition, to secure the printing, on the
part OF q paper, which should, by reason
OF its prominence, scorn practices such as
sIese. Again we reiterate that the
Statesman owes its defeat not to the
board, not to any other printer in the
State, but alone to the act of tho agen,
of the News.


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