Year: 1875

washington correspondent ana IL Is lJlSC
as easy for the liable editor" in New
York, Cincinnati, st. Louis or Chicago,
to write an abusive editorial on the
President or some cabinet officer or
prominent Senator. No man yet has been
in the public service, whose character, in
tegrity and patriotism was sufficient to
save him from villifieation and abuse.
Washington received as much of it in
his day as Grant receives now.


Governor Allen, in a speech, the other
day, landed the honesty, patriotism and
wisdom of General Jackson to the very
skies. The Governors reference to old
Hickory closed by saying: ''Yet this
pure and honest patriot was abuse d,
without stint, and denounced by the
Wings of that day." Governor Allen
condemned those attacks upon Jackson,
and know you will join me in doing
the same thing. In fact, old Hickory
was a strong believer in at least two car
dinal points of the Republican doctrine,
viz: a sound currency, and no secession
or notification. What a pity that AL
en- is not like biml


Our own worthy Lincoln,-do you re-
member how he was abusedl Can
you find a Democrat who now will
say that he believes Lincoln was dis
honest. | doubt it very much, and yet
Lincoln was abused more than Grant
has ever been. | have no hesitation in
saying that when this generation has
passed away, and the historian of the fu-
ture comes to these pages OF our history
which will record the public services of
Lincoln and Grant, and of their admin
istration, that their traducers will be
brushed aside as so much rubbish, while
an appreciative future will place on the
same pedestal of fame and glory the i'm
mortal Washington, the martyred Lin
coin and the hero of AppOmatOx.


/ repeat that it is easy to malign pub
lie men, and have ever made it point
not to make assertions concerning them
that could not be supported by evidence
of such a nature that n reputable attor
ney would have no hesitation in pre-
senting it to n jury.


And now, fellow citizens, since this
question of integrity has been made an
issue-and / think it is a very proper
one to make an issue upon, let us ex-
anime little into the public men of our
OhI OAtltCs CAllO AACANA a. DhOhd BO-
sition heretofore on this questionlof in
tegrity among her officials with the State
and Nation. For nearly the half century
preceding 1878 no man could point out
a blot OH the escutcheOn of Ohio, with
the single exception of the Breslin defal-
cation. But is that the condition nOw2
If it is. If the honor of the State has
been kept untarnished by Governor
Allen and by the Democratic officials
since their recent advent to power in the
State, then | do not see anything so
very prepOsterous in their asking to have
their field of usefulness enlarged so as to
EN- brace their taking care of the Nation
al Government. But, if on the other
hand, they have been unfaithful in the
positions yOn have called them to, then
manifestly they should be retired. What
are the facts? What the evidenced Let
us not take the statements of menda-
cious and partisan correspondents. Let
us offer nothing as evidence that would
not be testimony in a court of law.


In this county you are all familiar
with what is known as the "WOOd
County Bribery" case. An Act was re-
quired by certain people living in Per
rysburg, which is located on one side of
Wood county, enabling them to re-
move the county seat from Bowling
Green, which is located in the center OF
the said county. The bill was one with
out merit, and was twice defeated in the
House. Its god fathers would not give
it up so, however; and a third time tried
to carry it, commencing in the Senate.
or course lobby that pass cd the POtter's
bill would not hesitate 10 pass the Wood
county act. 1t passed the Senate, hav-
ing received the aid of Mr. Potter, and
was carried over to the House and put
Oh final passage 1t carried. Immedi-
ately on its passage Mr. Gordon, of
Hamilton, arose and moved that Com
mittee of five be appointed to investi-
gate the bribery, by means Of which the
bill was carried. The COMMITTEES was
appointed. As soon as it got to work, it
was found necessary to increase the
Committee to seven, for the reason, as
the mover of the motion to increase said,
that the "other side" should be repre-
sented. He is n bold legislator who
would thus get up and take care of the
interest of the other side in a bribery
case when no person had as yet been
accused. The Committee as first ap-
pointed stood three for pushing the in
vestigatiOn, and two against. The new
appointments did not quite save the
''Other side, Tor on a test vote four was
for and three against, and again the
''Other side was taken care Of by the
addition of two more to the Commit
tee. The Committee now consisted of
nine. tJCO IF lChich 1t l1ds charged mere
implicated iH the bribery.


understand that Mr.. MsKinley, your
late representative at Columbus, and
who is now a candidate for reelection,
stated at the Democratic Convention,
held in this city some time ago, that
there was nothing in the Wood County
investigation-that it was got up-by n
drunken scoundreI' named Gordon.
and that it only amounted TO an exhibi-
ton of his spite work. Now, Mr.. Nc
KinIey ought to know He was there
from the beginning to the end / want
Won to Judge when you have heard the
testimony whether Mckinley was right
in voting for he bill at ALL In voting
as he di6 to increase the membership on
the Committee twice, and voting as he
did to exeulpate the parties accused from
all blame, and finally coming home to


his constituency and telling a COnven-
tion of his party friends that there was


nothing in the investigation, that it was


only the work of drunken seoun-


drel.n III his statement to the COnSen-


tion eontainsa a semblance of truth, then


return him again; but if it Is grossly
untrue then 1 will ask the Democrats,


for the honor of their party name, for
the credit of your prosperous county,
for the good of our State to see to it that


he is not returned again to the Assem-
bly of Ohio. do not want to be under
stood as saying that Mr.. Mckinley wa:
bribed. The testimony does not show


it. Nor do | say that it is evidence o.
corruption, that after twice voting