Democratic Sentinel, Volume 8, Number 30, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 August 1884 — Page 3

VILE SLANDERS REFUTED.

-Searching Investigations of the Buffalo Scandals Prove Them False. "The Mouthings of Obscene Slanderers Met by a Plain Statement of Facts. [Buffalo special.] The Independent Bepublicans of this city have made an official report to the National CommitJfcee, after an investigation of the charges against ■Gov. Cleveland. The report, which is as follows, has been adopted by the National Independent Committee: To the Independent Republicans of the Nation: As Republicans and Independents residing in Buffalo, and having peculiar means of *knowl--edge, we have been called upon by private letters and otherwise for information in regard to 4he scandals which have been put in circulation arespeeting Gov. Cleveland’s private life. We have .felt it to be a duty, imposed on us by circumstances, to examine these stories in detail and to make a formal statement of the rersults. No such examination would have been .necessary to satisfy ourselves, but It was due to those who have read the charges against Gov. Cleveland without knowing personally his general character and reputation in this community, and without knowing either the position or the means of information of those who Jhave made the charges, that we should not put :forth a mere general statement without previous investigation. We have, therefore, through a ■committee appointed from our number for that purpose, carefully and deliberately made such .an investigation, and we have taken every available means to ascertain the precise facts in each -case. The general charges of drunkenness and .■Cross immorality which are made against Gov. ■Cleveland are absolutely false. His reputation .for morality has always been good. There is no foundation for any statement to the contrary. He was sought out and nominated for the Mayoralty against his will, and was supported for «that position by the larger portion of the intelligent and moral citizens of Bnffalo, without re - ■gard to politics, on purely personal grounds. After he had gone through this contest, he was Again pnt forward by one of the most distinguished citizens of Buffalo as a candidate for the Governorship, and again received the support of the same class of his fellow-citizens in this community, where he had lived for twenty-nine greats, and where his life was known and his character understood. This support would not have been given to Aim had he been either a drunkard or a libertine. "We are able to speak from personal knowledge as his acquaintances of long standing, and to tsay that his general privave life has been that of a quiet, orderly, self-respecting, and always highly respected citizen. Since he assumed his present office his visits -to Buffalo have been few and of short duration. It is susceptible of absolute proof and has been proven to us that upon no one of these visits has ■there been any ground to justify the statements ■that have been made by his detractors. The •charge that he has recently, taken part in a -drunken and licentious debauch in Buffalo on the occasion of suoh a visit is entirely false. We have been particularly careful and thorough in our investigations of the alleged betrayal, abduction, and inhuman treatment of a woman of this city as detailed in a local newspaper. The circumstances out of which this story -was fabricated occurred eight years ago. The woman in question was at that time a widow be--tween 30 and 40 years of age, with two children, the younger of whom was 10 years old. The ifacts of the case show that she was not wronged, .and that the allegations respecting her abduction and ill-treatment are wholly false. We •deem these the only features of the charge in •connection with this matter which constitute a public question requiring any declaration on our part. Our examination of the other charges which .Jiave been made against Gov. Cleveland’s private -character shows that they are wholly untrue. In •every instance in which the reports and insinuations have been tangible enough to furnish a •clew to guide us in our investigations thev have been positive"y proved to be false.

The attack on Gov. Cleveland’s character is " thoroughly discredited, when we consider the -sources from which it comes. It was first publicly made in Buffalo by a newspaper of no ■standing whatever. We have twice called upon the editor of this papier and asked him to pro--duce his proofs, the names, the dates, and other particulars which he stated he was at liberty to •show. He declines to do so or to facilitate investigation into the truth of either his own charges or those contained in the anonymous which he published. He admitted that he had no evidence to support any accusation Against Gov. Cleveland, except in the one instance to which we have particularly referred. He rested his case on that story, and as to that story he is contradicted by the witness having personal knowledge. The two clegymen whose profession has been invoked to give weight to these charges have no [personal knowledge of the facts, and under the •circumstances could not possibly have such knowledge. They have ventured to state as ifacts known to themselves, stories which rest ■upon the merest hearsay, and which when traced to the alleged sources are in every case denied •by the persons to whom they are ascribed. We bave designed to make a candid and judicial statement of the results of our investigation of this matter without partisan coloring. We have not thought it necessary or proper to repeat the charges against Gov. Cleveland in detail, nor to present in lull the evidence by which they have been disproved. -John H. Cowing, Anklet Wilcox, William F. Kip, Thomas Carey, George P. Sawyer, Ralph Stone, ■John E. Ransom, Henry W. Sprague, •Josiah G. Munroe, Lawrence D. Rumsey, G. Barrett Rich, Chas. P. Norton, John B. Olmsted, J. Tallman Davis, Henry Altman, J. N. Larned. -Gov. Cleveland’s Own Version of tlie Scandal. [Brooklyn special.] Gen. Horatio King, whose report of what he learned in Buffalo led Mr. Beecher to return to ■Governor Cleveland’s support, said to a reporter to-day: ‘‘After leaving Buffalo I went to Albany • and saw Governor Cleveland. He frankly told me that my version of the stories was substantially correct, adding: T acted throughout as any honorable man should.’ ” The version thus indorsed is, in King’s words, as follows: “Many years ago, when the Governor was ‘sowing his wild oats,’ he meft this woman and became intimate with her. She was a widow, and not a ■good woman by any means. Mr. Cleveland, learning this, made Inquiries, and found that two of his friends had also been Intimate with her. When a child was bom, Cleveland, to • shield his two friends, who were married men, assumed the responsibility of it and took care of the child and mother until the woman became a -confirmed victim to drink, and her conduct made it impossible to have anything to do with her. He never separated mother and child, nor -did aught to injure her. He was a victim of circumstances, accepted responsibilities that not •one in a thousand bas shouldered and acted .honorably. The other stories against him could not be substantiated, and no one willing to father them could be found.” -Gov. Cleveland’s Conduct Singularly Honorable. The Independent newspaper, of New York, the great organ of the Congregationalists, prints a lengthy report of a personal Investigation of the scandal, made by the Rev. Dr. Kingsley Twining at Buffalo. Mr. Twining says in part: It is not the purpose here to repeat the particulars of the reported scandal in its grosser or its corrected version. If necessary lam ready --with the full facts, but it is not necessary here. ‘The kernel of truth in the various charges •Against Cleveland is this: That when he was younger than he is now he was guilty of an lillc.t connection, but the charge as brought Against him lacks the elements of truth In these ■■substantial points: There was no Sednction. no adultery, no breach of promise, no obligation of marriage; but there was at that time A culpable irregularity of life, living as he was as a bachelor, for which it was [proper and is proper that he should suffer. .After the primary offense, which is not ■to be palliated in the circle for which I write, his conduct was singularly honorable, showing no Attempt to evade responsibility and doing all he could to meet the duties involved, of which marriage certainly was not one. Everything here was eminently to his credit under circumstances whioh would have seemed to many men •of the world to justify him in other conduct than thht which he accepted as his duty. There was no abduction, only proper legal action un--der circumstances which demanded it. There remain the worse and damning charges •of gsHaral libertinism and drunkenness. I sav, •distinctly, after abundant inquiry, that they are false. They are, I believe, the product of the imagination of the slums. Every attempt to >trace them led back into the merest gossip of -saloons and brothels. On the other hand, my inquiry of the noblest Christian men in the •city—especially in the legal profession—men above all reproach, men who will vote for him. And men who will vote and speak against him for political reasons, men who know Cleveland -most intimately, who have been his partners in

business or his nearest neighbors, men who know him by day and by night, "brings the unanimous reply that it is utterly impossible that such reports can be true. He is a man of a true and kind heart, frank and open, so intensely devoted to his business duties that it is impossible that he should be a debauchee. He has the heartiest respect of the best families in the city, who only regret that he keeps himself so much out of the society to which he would be welcome. There are some severe prejudices against Mr. Cleveland in Bnffalo. They have their chief seat in the saloon element, against whose tyranny his election to the mayorality was the protest of good citizens of both parties. They have not forgiven him for their defeat. From the best sources of information I received testimony of the strongest character that Cleveland is a bom ruler of men, of the greatest independence and honesty of character; a man who believes in reform to the bottom of his soul, and has the independence to carry it out. and a man on whom the responsibilities of office have rested with a serious and solemn weight. This investigation I made absolutely thorough. I depended on no reports of the newspapers, nor of local clergymen or others, but only on my own personal investigation of the case. I am satisfied that I know the case from fuller information than do any of those who have given it private or public currency. William Purcell Retracts. [Rochester (N. Y.) dispatch.] William Purcell, who has temporarily withdrawn from the editorship of the Union and Advertiser, publishes in that paper the following letter, under the head of “A Changed State of Facts": ‘Two days after the appearance of the Buffalo Evening Telegraph of the article headed ‘A Terrible Tale,’ in conversation with a representative of the New York Sun, I remarked that, upon the then existing state of facts. Gov. Cleveland must be considered a ‘moral leper.’ The conclusion without the premise was printed, and has since been extensively copied. I now desire to say that information has come to me, from a source in which I place explicit confidence, materially changing the state of facts upon which the remark was made. Hence, in justice to Gov. Cleveland, myself, and to all others whom it may concern, I withdraw the characterization, and request that hereafter it be not attributed to me.” Henry Ward Beecher’s Indignation. [Peekskill (N. Y.) telegram. Gen. Horatio C. King, a member of Plymouth Church, spent the entire morning with Rev. Henry Ward Beecher. Mr. King has just returned from Buffalo, where he had gone at Mr. Beecher’s request to investigate the libelous stories circulated about Gov. Cleveland. The result of the investigation was altogether honorable to the Governor, and Mr. Beecher, after expressing his pleasure at what he heard, declared his intention of continuing to give his fullest support to Cleveland. In conversation subsequently Mr. Beecher said he had been in doubt, but now the cloud has broken away and he was beginning to understand that these stories about Gov. Cleveland are untrne and a vile slander. “You can say,” he said warmly, “that I expect to brand the men who have promulgated these stories as blackmailers and liars, for I now see that the Governor acted the part of a man in the whole affair. I shall take the stump for him and tell the people of the country that they must eleot him President. I shall enter this campaign with an enthusiam second only to that with which I entered the war.” History of Another of Cleveland’s Defamers. [Washington dispatch.] Among those whom the Chicago Tribune is parading as authority for the truth of the statements made by the scandal-mongers against the private character of Gov. Cleveland is a “Mr. Moore, a business man, of Buffalo.” This Moore is special agent of the Pension Office and has been stationed at Buffalo. He was one of Keifer’s witnesses in the late Congressional investigation, with the notorious Elder and Work, hnt was not examined because it became known that the defense had a transcript of his indictment for conspiracy to defame a reputable citizen, and also evidence to show that he had engaged in another conspiracy to fix a false charge of murder upon another citizen of excellent standing and to kidnap and imprison him on this charge in Texas, In order to prevent him from being used as a witness against some of Moore’s employers. This Moore has been twice presented by Grand Juries in this District for criminal offenses. His employment by Commissioner Dudley is a mystery, unless it be to use him for political dirty work.

DEFENDING THE IRISH.

An Incident of the Fenian Raid—Grover Cleveland Appears as Counsel for the Patriotic Prisoners and Defends Them Without Pay. Among the delegates to the National Democratic Convention a few weeks ago, was Capt. O’Donahue, of New York, a member of the Legislature of that State. He was an old acquainttance of Congressman Flnerty, and sought to revive old-time memories by hunting up the Representative of the Second Illinois District. He found him one evening at the rooms of the Irish-American Club In company with William Fogarty, T. P. O’Connor, Michael Keeley, John Devoy, and a Mr. Kennedy, a mutual friend, formerly a resident of New York, hnt now living in Chicago. "Do you recollect the last time we were together?” asked Capt. O’Donahue of Flnerty. The latter gentleman nodded an affirmative. Then Capt. O’Donahue related to the party 4Jie story of the Fenians’ raid of 1866 into Canada by a few zealous young Fenians, whose imaginations had been fired with the belief that they would strike terror to the heart of the mother country by this Invasion of Canada, and how the United States Government had quietly hitched a naval vessel to the transport on which they were crossing the Niagara River into the English dominions and towed them into port as prisoners. “Do you remember the morning,” continued Captain O’Donahue, "when you and I, with the others, stood before the bar of a Criminal Court at Bnffalo, without a friend or counsel to defend us? We were a sorry lot, a rash band of young men resting under a grave charge. While in this friendless and helpless condition, do you remember the young man, an obscure lawyer at the time, who stepped up and volunteered his services in onr defense? He defended us persistently and consistently and successfully. When we afterward raised a purse and presented it to him, he refused to accept it, saying that he was glad to serve us, unfortunately situated as we were, without reward. That man was Grover Cleveland, the man just nominated by the convention for President of the United States.”

FIGHTING THE COMMON ENEMY.

Platform of the Bolting: German Republicans of Illinois. [From the Chicago Daily News.] Sixty-five leading Germans of Illinois were In consultation at the Palmer House, Saturday, to organize in the interest of the Democratic national and State tickets. Gen. Lieb called the meeting to order, and ex-Gov. Koemer, of Belleville, was chosen to preside. His speech was delivered in the English language. He arraigned the Republican party for its prohibition tendencies. This, he declared, was a particular reason why the Germans should take a stand against that party. Upon the snggestion of Francis A. Hoffman, Jr., the remainder of the proceedings were conducted in German. The first business was the reception of reports from the Congressional districts. • All but two or three were represented, those having large German populations sending several delegates. All of them reported large Democratic gains from Republican Germans, and, judging from the statements made, it would appear that the Teutons are all heading toward Democracy. After these reports had been made, a long series of resolutions was adopted. It gave a history of German opposition to the Knownothing movement, which had brought unity of action among them, and had resulted in their going in a body against slavery. This led them into the Republican party, but, now that prohibition and rehglous fanaticism had sprung up, they would join in fighting a common enemy. The resolutions further declared that, as ninetenths of the Prohibitionists vote the Republican ticket, it becomes a question of vital importance for German-American citizens to defeat that ticket and vote with the Democrats, in whose principles they have the best guaranty for personal liberty and individual rights. Call Off Your Dogs. An “Impatient Democrat" writes from Washington to the New York Herald: Messrs. Blaine and Logan have, very imprudently, suffered their managers to open a campaign of dirt against Gov. Cleveland, which, unless they “call off their dogs,” will presently bear very unpleasant results for the Republican candidate, and for not a few other prominent Blaine men. Democrats here have become impatient of the impudent Blaine dirt-flinging, and are taking measures to prepare some biographical sketches of Blaine and of Blaine men which will enlighten the publio concerning not only the early but the later lives of a number of men who are now

engaged in the infamous and in them extremely hypocritical work of flinging dirt at Gov. Cleveland. “It is a dirty business,” said a Kentucky Democrat to me “and Mr. Blaine ought to call off his dogs. He ought to call off his dogs, because he has a family whom he ought to consider; he ought to call off his dogs because among his zealous supporters are men who have families who onght to be considered. The Blaine leaders and managers—not to speak of Blaine himself—have, in too many cases, records which they oertainly do net desire to have published. They onght to call off their dogs; and. in my judgment, they ought to be quick about it. The grand old party has had Vice Presidents, it has had foreigu Ministers, it has had Senators and Representatives, Speakers and Cabinet officers whose lives, if they were exposed, would make a very disgusting record. They onght to call off their .dogs, for if the private lives of public men are to be scrutinized, the leaders of the party which has ruled in Washington sinoe 1861, and many of whose leaders, past and present, have had hot blood, will be nnsparingly shown up.” Mr. Blaine had better call off his infamous dogs.

BLAINE IN THE DUMPS.

The New York Sun’s Washington Correspondent Says the Plumed Knight Is Sown in the Month. Deserted by His Old-Time Vigor, and Disheartening His Friends by His Gloom Over the Prospects of the Uanvass, [New York telegram.] A special from Washington to the Sun taints a gloomy picture of Mr. Blaine’s mental condition and its effect upon the campaign. It says: Blaine is causing those who are managing his canvass no little anxiety. He is no longer the dashing and audacious plumed knight of 1876. He is a changed man. Though always the most cautious and secretive of men, he used to conceal these traits by an assumption of dash and pluck that was a most artistic as well as longsustained piece of acting. Now, however, his friends find that this brilliant aggressiveness is gone. He seems to be not only timid but almost indifferent If he has any great interest in the approaching canvass he does not reveal it. He simply urges his friends to go on with the canvass in their own way and let him be at peace so far as possible. That was not at all what the energetic Elkins and the diplomatic Phelps expected when they procured his nomination. They looked for an abundance of brilliant suggestions and the proposition of some audacious and overwhelming line of policy for carrying on the canvass from the candidate, but Blaine has, so far, seriously disappointed them. The plumed knight has already received a great deal of information concerning the political situation, and he thinks it Justifies hfs despondency. He claims at all events that his political forecasts last winter were correct, and that the country has entered upon a canvass that will be unique, and will show some unexpected results, which the wisest man cannot now predict. While Blaine has no snch organized force of clerks, letter-openers, and assistants as were at Mentor in 1880, yet he has a bright and energetic son and a diligent secretary, and through them a great deal of correspondence is conducted. The news that has already come to Augusta agrees in the main with that received by the National Committee. It is far from cheering, though it is not thought by Blaine’s friends to justify his own gloom, and, while they do not share it, they are very anxious about some of the States that have been counted surely Republican. Unless there be a change of sentiment in these States before November the party is in very serious danger of losing some of them, and it is certain to lose others. The committees have not failed to take notice that the Western Germans, Prohibitionists, Labor, and IrishAmerlcan voters, Independent Republicans, and Gen. Butler are to eleot the next President, unless, in fact, the House of Representatives does, a contingency which some regard as far from impossible. There is no such fiery and overwhelming desire that Blaine shall go to the White House as there was in 1876. This Is precisely what Blaine saw to be the case last winter. He knew his heyday was in 1876, and that since then his popularity has waned, like that of all politicians who have passed their day. All the flattery of the men who sought him last winter could not dissuade him from that belief. Blaine last winter said the rank and file of the two parties would not decide the battle, but, deserters would, and he knew his candidacy would result in a large number of desertions. Blaine himself regards the choice of Cleveland as an unwise one for the Democratic party, yet he thinks thatm spite of the bad nomination the desertions are going to be! great enough in some States now regarded as surely Republican to cost the party those States. The Republican managers both of the National Congressional Committee and the National Committee are in despair. Reports confirm the suspicion of some shrewd politicians who were at the Chicago convention that the Blaine enthusiasm was not genuine, but was manufactured to a great degree, if not to some extent bought. It has been an open secret among Blaine’s close friends that he has never recovered from the shock Guiteau’s piatol caused him. He was arm-in-arm with Garfield when the assassin fired. He saw the President totter and fall, and believed that the next shot would be received by himself. The effect of that shot was to give him what is known in his own State as “the hypo.” For a few days before the convention met he seemed to be like his old self, and after he was nominated he displayed to those nearest him some of the energy that was characteristic of him in the days of his prime, but that did not last long. After the Democratic convention the old conviction that he cannot be elected returned, and with it his depression of spirits. He is now said to be despondent, and those who are nearest him believe that unless this hypochondria can be shaken off, all the work of the canvass must be done without much help from him.<

The belief that he cannot be elected has been strengthened in Mr. Blaine's mind by the complications that have entered into the canvass by the nomination of a Prohibition and an Anti-Monopoly candidate, who will help to make Kansas, Wisconsin, California, Michigan, Illinois, and possibly Ohio doubtful. It may be asked, therefore, why did Blaine consent to the use of his name for the nomination? The solution will probably be found in the reply made by Blaine to a newspaper man of this city the day befo.e he left Washington for Augusta: “What do you think will be the result at Chicago?” asked the journalist. “I neither know nor care,” answered Blaine, with emphasis, that left no doubt as to his sincerity. “But,” persisted the interviewer, “if you cannot succeed yourself you must at all events have some second choice.” “If I have Ido not care to indicate it. I have only one wish in the matter, and that is to beat this nfan Arthur. In order to accomplish this neither my friends nor myself will shirk any responsibility or spare any expense." “To boat this man Arthur," as they expressed it, was the controlling motive at Chicago. Had President Arthur not been a candidate for renomination it may be questioned if Blaine would have permitted the use of his name. People who are studying the situation carefully say that St. John, tho Prohibition candidate, will receive not less than 30,000 votes In Kansas alone, and that nine-tenths of these will come from the old Republican organization. In Kansas, too, is found the curious political inconsistency, which is very noticeable in some other States, and that is that the Germans, of whom there are probably 26,000, are now hostile to the Republican ticket. The conviction has seized these people that Blaine is a prohibitionist and that the Republican party is responsible for the sumptuary laws that have been enacted in many States. Now the Prohibitionists are opposing the Republican party because thev assert that it is not for the suppression of the liquor traffic. Between these two the Republicans In Kansas run some risks of falling into a minority. In Wisconsin the German vote is reported to be almost solidly anti-Republican, and the Prohibitionists claim 20,000 votes. The German press of the State Is hostile to Blaine, and the reports received at the Democratic headquarters here are that the Republican ticket will be In a minority of 10,000 votes unless the situation changes between this and November. In Michigan and California, where the AntiMonopoly feeling is very strong, Gen. Butler will poll a heavy vote. “ Ohio, always a sate State In a Presidential year, is not at all certain In October next. It is believed there that the situation will not be unlike what it is in Wisconsin, and that the Democrats will profit by the defection of both the Germans and the Prohibitionists. Altogether It will be the most unique and curiously complicated campaign that has been seen in this country. Joining the Cleveland^olumn. “Three-fourths of the German Republicans in Illinois will vote for Cleveland and Harrison,” said Mr. Herman Raster, editor of the Chicago Staats-Zeitung. “They will vote for the Democratic candidates rather than for Blaine and Oglesby on account of the prohibition law. It was no special Prohibition party that enacted that law, but the Republicans as a party, and hence they want to punish the Republicans as a

party, and to punish them in the spot where it will do the most harm. They will, therefore, vote against Blaine and in favor of Cleveland. This opinion is based upon information collected by trustworthy traveling agents. Capt. Bauhns, a former resident of this city and a stanch Republican, tells me that he stands nearly alone in Kansas. He says that from 90 to 95 per cent, of the Germans In that State who formerly voted the Republican tioket will vote for Cleveland." —Chicago IS'etcs.

A SCATHING INDICTMENT.

Address of thw Massachusetts Independents. The address of the Independent Committee of One Hundred to the voters of Massachusetts is a very pointed and vigorous production. The question, it says, is not what the Republican party has done, but what it will do—not what it was, but what it is—not whether Lincoln and Seward and Sumner and Stanton and Fessenden were great men and great leaders, but whether Blaine and Robeson and Keifer and Elkins and Clayton and Kellogg are men to whom we can safely confide th 3 future of our country. The sins of Colfax, Delano, Belknap, Robeson, and Williams, and the Sanborn contracts, the whisky ring, and the starroute frauds are recalled, and referencs is made to the frauds in the Signal Service, the Treasury Department, and in other branches of the public support. The support of Mahone by the Federal Government is also pointed out in the scathing indictment. Then, in reference to Blaine, the address continues: ‘'The candidate of the Republican rarty for President is a man charged with the basest of public crimes, the abuse of official power for his own pecuniary advantage, who for e’ght years has never dared to demand that full investigation of the charges which his political associates would gladly have accorded, and by which alone those charges can be met upon the evidence already produced. We believe him guilty, and we know that many of his prominent supporters share our belief." The address points to the alliance of the Republicans and Greenbackers in West Virginia, and the political assessments which are being levied under a thin disguise, and, after declaring that the party is tending downward, concludes as follows: “By the nomination of James G. Blaine the Republican party has thrown down the gauntlet of corrupt and partisan government. The Democratic party answers the challenge. Its candidate is the acknowledged champion of reform and political honesty. The issue is thus joined. The leaders are representative men, the foremost of their kind, and we can not for an Instant hesitate in our choioe, or doubt what the true interests of our country demand. We do not ally ourselves with the Democratic party, still less sanction or approve its past, but its present candidate has proved his fidelity to the principles we avow, and in the coming election he commands, and will receive, our support."

WORKINGMEN AND CLEVELAND.

The Hatters’ Thanks Engrossed on Vellum and Sent to the Governor. [New York World.] At a recent meeting of the Executive Committee of the United Hat Finishers’ Association of America, a series of resolutions were unanimously adopted expressing the regard of the association for Gov. Cleveland's actions on behalf of its interests. The Brooklyn Hat Finishers' Association, at a later meeting, fully indorsed the sentiments expressed in the Executive Committee's resolution. To-day the preamble and resolutions handsomely engrossed on vellum, were forwarded to Gov. Cleveland at Albany. They read as follows: Whereas, The hatters of the United States, in conjunction with other bodies of mechanics, did for several years direct all their efforts and devote all their energies to the total abolition of the Iniquitous system of contract convict labor, which efforts were at last crowned with suocess, thus relieving the hatting and other industries ot the Empire State from the fatal burden of prison competition; therefore, be it Resolved, That the Executive Committee, representing the entire industry of hat-making in this country, do hereby tender to his Excellency Grover Cleveland, Governor of the State of New York, onr most heartfelt gratitude for the firm stand taken by him In favor of honest labor by affixing his signature to the hatters’ bill and the bill forbidding new contracts in the prisons of this State, and by refusing to sign the bill continuing a commission especially designed to render null and void the verdict of the people expressed through the ballot-box. Resolved, That by these and other acts of his administration his Excellency Grover Cleveland has proved himself the sincere and steadfast friend of honest labor everywhere, and is, therefore, justly entitled to the highest confidence and the most grateful esteem of all classes of workingmen. John Murphy, Chairman. R H. Taylor, Secretary. D. J. Haggerty, E. M. Ellendorf, Committee on Resolutions.

PURITY IN POLITICS FAVORED.

The Cause of Harper’s Opposition to Blaine’s Candidacy. Joseph W. Harper, of Harper & Brothers, has written a letter to the Washington Republican touching the publicity that has been given to an erroneous construction placed on a private letter written by him to William Walter Phelps, in which Mr. Harper expressed his admiration for certain qualities in Blaine's character. Personally Mr. Harper says he is not concerned, as, if necessary, he is ready to renew such expressions, but he says: “These views, which may be creditable enough in themselves, become impertinent when they are discreditably and unfairly made public in connection with a private business matter.” Mr. Harper then proceeds to state that for more than five years Harper's Weekly has been openly opposed to Blaine as a Presidential candidate, and adds: As a journal of civilization it is the duty of onr weekly to protest against tfie indifference to political Integrity which is disintegrating the Republican party; to continue its fight for the people against theyvorst class of politicians; and to advocate the great patriotic measures which the people are determined upon and the politicians hate. Blaine’s indecent use of official position to secure personal pecuniary advantages was disclosed In his own printed letters to Mr. Fisher, and is, therefore, authoritatively and conclusively established. This indecency is shamefully upheld by certain politicians who boast of its business smartness, and in the familiar slang of the Tweed ring ask ‘‘What are you going to do about it?”

Blaine a Know-Nothing.

Blaine was a Know-nothing in 1865, and the editor of the Kennebec Journal. On the 10th of January, 1855, he said: ‘ “The Governor alludes to the many and serious evils entailed upon our community by the hasty admission of foreign immigrants to the right of suffrage, and suggests that the Legislature, in the discharge of its appropriate duties, investigate ‘whether new legislative provisions are necessary to preserve the sacredness of the elective franchise, and guard the purity of our institutions.’ This is a question upon which there is such unanimity of belief among the American people that it can hardly be doubted it will be acted upon by the next Congress, and the abuses under which we have suffered either wholly abated or seriously diminished." On the Bth of the same month and year he said: “We need stringent laws to regulate the immigration from Europe, and faithful officers to administer them. If the present abuses are not corrected, and corrected speedily, we shall become worse than Botany Bay.” "The political reform (Know-nothmg party) which sprung up the past year has only had Its beginning; the end Is not yet. The issue of the next Presidential election is to be determined by the political movements of the year. If they be wisely and honestly made, the friends of freedom and American rights will certainly triumph, and the great result will be checking of the growth of the slave power and a judicious settlement of the basis of citizenship by reform In our laws of naturalization.” The new-born fondness of the Republicans for their Irish fellow-citizens, whom they have always sneered at heretofore, recalls Gen. Scott’s futile attempt to ingratiate himself with the same class of his countrymen when he was running for the Presidency. His admiration, openly expressed in a public speech, for “that rich brogue” became one of the by-words of the campaign with his “hasty plate of soup;” but it brought him no votes any more than the “blarney” of Blaine’s blowers will to the guano statesman. Forty temperance Republicans of Rockford, Illinois, with whom interviews have been held by a reporter of that city, express their intention to vote for St. John for President. A canvass in two wards of Wheeling, W. Va., showed 150 German Republicans who will vote for Cleveland and Hendricks.

SOUTHERN WAR MEMORIES.

How Little Children Were Served—Substitutes for Candles at a Party. As my home at the time was in Marietta, Ga., quite near Atlanta, and directly in line of march, I saw a great many strange and exciting things, and suppose that is the reason I remember mv life there so well, for, although a very small girl at the time, it is far more vividly real to me thaD the events of last year. I can picture to my.-elf distinctly the quaint figures of my little playmates, for invention, like charity, begins at home, and we little ones showed the first fruits of our mothers’ talents in that direction. We always wore “homespun,” and, as the cloth stood a good deal of wear, our dresses were made large enough to last two seasons. Some of us wore shoes, but they were such odd-looking things, made of coarse leather and only reaching our ankles. As the leather shoestrings wore out they had to be replaced by the covering from the wires of hoop-skirts, dyed black. Our stockings were knit of plain white yarn, also homespun. For “every day” we wore calico sun bonnets, but on “state” occasions hats braided at home from the palmetto straw. As one thing after another gave out the women were always equal to the emergency and quick in finding substitutes, just as our grandmothers did during the Revolution. American women are, I think, quite remarkable for that sort of thing. My mother must have been unually clever, for I remember so many bright things that she did. Trifles never seemed to daunt her. Our table was always delightfully served, although her inventive faculties were constantly called upon to supply some need in the kitchen. There is one very clever thing that I recollect about her. She had sent out invitations for a very large and “swell "party; for Marietta was quite gay at one time, as a number of refugees, besides a great many officers “on leave,” were in town, and my mother, who wj s delighted to be able to collect together so many charming people, determined to give something very grand. Her preparations were all completed, as sue supposed, on the morning of the appointed day, and she was actually arranging the flowers in her rooms when she received the very depressing tidings that not a candle could be found in Atlanta for love or money. Most women would have despaired at such ill-luck as this, and would have sent immediately to inform expected guests that they need not come, but my mother did nothing of the sort. She put on her “thinking cap” at once. She sent far and near to borrow all the wine glasses possible. These she filled with pure white lard, and every one who could be spared on the place was set to work cutting out little round pieces of. paper, about the size of a half-dollar. Each of these she twisted in the center to form a taper, and placed on the lard in the glasses, ready for use, for she meant to light her rooms with them. We always had used in the bedrooms and for sicknOTs, as they would last all night, and candles were far too precious to be wasted in that way. But the idea of making them ornamental was my mother’s, and you cannot realize how lovely the house looked that night. She had 7 placed them everywhere, and had built pyramids of lights, banked in with flowers, in every available nook and corner. The rooms and halls were brilliantly lighted by the tiny flames, which seemed to me to be flashing from floor to ceiling in every direction, and looked like some lovely fairy scene, far prettier than any b illroom I have since seen. —Southern Girl, m Boston Watchman.

Laughing Jim’s Little Joke.

Many years ago there lived in Putnam, Mich., one James Dismukes, called “Laughing Jim." He was fond of his dram, and under its influence was noisy. On one occasion, when the Superior Court was in session, he went into the court-room, created a great deal of disturbance, and as he could not be kept quiet, the Judge ordered the Sheriff to take him to jail and lock him up. When the Sheriff arrived at the jail with him he unlocked the door and ordered him to enter the cell, Dismukes pretended to be afraid to go first, and asked the Sheriff to lead the way. He did so. As soon as he entered the cell Dismukes suddenly closed the door, locked it, took the key with him, and returned in great glee to the courtroom, and getting on the top of a box, he addressed the court and said: “Your honor, here is the key to the jail, and when you want your Sheriff you will find him locked in jail.” This brought down the court and the bar, and Dismukes went scot free. —Detroit Free Press.,

A Suburban Tragedy.

He had for a long time promised to have a telephone wire run between the house and his office, so that his wife could call him up and talk to him during the day-time, but many delays occurred. When he went home one day she met him at the door. “I’ve solved the difficulty,” she said. “We need not be separated any longer.” “What do you mean?” “Why, they have been so long putting a telephone in that I became discouraged and purchased a megaphone.” “And what’s a megaphone?” he gasped. “A nice instrument that will enable me not only to talk to you, but to hear what you are doing all day, and ” She did not finish. A form flew out of the door. A pistol-shot rang out upon the air. He had died game.

A Study from Nature.

Mrs. Blank—What have you been doing with yourself, dear ? Mrs. Plank—l have been out on the hotel lawn playing croquet. Mrs. Blank—l noticed the game has been revived, but I don’t like it. It is trying on one’s good-nature. Now, tell me honestly, did you keep your temper during the whole game ? Mrs. Plank—Oh, yes; easily. My husband did not play .—Philadelphia Call, There is a man living in Laurens County, Georgia, 74 years old, who is the father of forty-seven children.

INDIANA STATE NEWS.

—A school-house in Hanover township, Jefferson County, was burned last week. The fire was incendiary. —Ross Jk Fosdick’s storo, at Liberty, was robbed of flour, tobacco, and other articles, amounting to about $l5O. —Thomas Tweedy, 65 years old, one of the wealthiest farmers of Warwick Couuty, was kicked to death by n mule. —At Crawfordsvillo Guy Stockton, while walking in his sleep, stepped out of a sec-ond-story window and broke his leg. —George Bennett, a farmer living five miles west of Lebanon, wns kicked by a horse, and died five minutes afterward. —ln attempting to perform a “circus act,” Henry A. Shaffer, a little boy, hanged himself in his father’s barn near Dolphi. —Near Sullivan, W. C. McKee, while returning home from a field where he had been at work all day, dioppeddead from his horse. —A man named Brannan, living nenf Dunkirk, was kicked by a horse at Muncie, losing several teeth and being badly disfigured. —Jeffersonville has a keno bank, patronized extensively by colored men and women, that is doing an exceekingly prosperous business. —The body of Whistler, one of the victims of the Greely expedition, will be buried at Delphi. The remains will be buried with impressive ceremonies. —While engnged in turning a hub in the factory of Williams Bros. A Hamilton, at Greenfield, Charles Coohran was seriously hurt in the face by the hub bursting. —Charles Morris, 20 years old, living near North Vernon, was thrown from a buggy against a fence, his skull being fractured. His recovery is doubtful. —The County Superinteneent of St. Joseph Couuty received his list of examination papers last week, but found the end of the envelope torn off, and one set missing. —Lucie Hughes, of Muncie, 10 years of age, made a nearly successful attempt to strangle herself with her garter because her mother punished her for neglecting tho baby. —A 5-year-old son of Marion Harter, living a few miles west of Winchester, was kicked by a vicious horse. His skull wns fractured, and it is feared the injury will prove fatal. —The 3-year-old son of Lafayette Jackson, living north of Centerville, wns scalded to death by falling into a tub of boiling water which his mother had arranged for washing purposes. —At Paris Crossing, John Vance, a young man from Lovett, wns thrown from a buggy by his hois3 falling down. Dangerous wounds were inflicted, tho result of which cannot yet be determined. —Leslie Bishop, a young farmer of Johnson Township, Knox County, died in great agony. He was stacking straw', and slid down on a pitchfork which lacerated him terribly. He leaves a wife aud two children.

—Burglars are raiding farm-houses in Bartholomew County. Near Wulesboro, Frank Sluder’s residence was burglarized, and ho lost $lO and a gold watch. Frank Pearcefield's pantaloons, containing $52, were also taken. —While practicing on the Shelbyville track, Miss Nellie Burke, tho rider, was thrown from her stallion, Hancock, but not seriously hurt, while, by rushing against a fence, the horse, which was valued at $2,000, was impaled, and died on the spot. —The Connersville City Council, on petition of about one hundred business men, has passed an ordinance prohibiting all use of fire-crackers, cannon skyrockets, nnd pyrotechnic devices of ull kinds within the city limits. The penalty is placed at $25. —Mnj. Blackburn, of Cincinnati, and T. E. Powell, of Delaware, Ohio, were in Indianapolis, last week, urging upon Gov. Porter a postponement of the execution of Charles W. Butler, sentenced to be hanged Oct. 10, by the Whitley County Court for the murder of his wife in 1883. The postponement is asked in order that opportunity may be afforded for the preparation of evidence which is to accompany an appeal for the commutation of the death sentence to life imprisonment. This evidence, it is claimed, can not be prepared in less than three months, and will cover 1,201) pages. The case is a celebrated one, both for the atrocity of the crime and the prominence of the attorneys employed. Gov. Porter took the matter under advisement. —A serious shooting affray took place at Centerton, Morgan County, in which Pink May, the keeper of a saloon at that place, anjl a colored man—Ben Evans —were dangerously if not fatally wounded. The quarrel began over a game of pool, May ' charging Evans with cheating. Evans denied the charge, and a general quarrel ensued. May and his wife both drew revolvers and began firing. Some seven or eight shots passed, one of which lodged in the thigh of Evans nnd one striking May in the abdomen. May and Evans were both placed under arrest by Sheriff Hallim, but were not able to be removed from their homes. They were both held under S3OO bonds. May has borne a bad reputation for some time. Evans was an employe in the State brickyard, and was known as a peaceable citizen. His home is in Indianapolis. —Joseph Grainger, aged 8 years, while playing on the platform at the junction of the Evansville and Terre Haute Bailroad and Louisville, Evansville and St. Louis Air Line, attempted to jump' on a car of a local freight train just coming in. Missing his hold he fell with both legs across the track, three cars passing over them, cutting the left leg off above the kneo and the right above the ankle. —The little wooden steamer on Lake, Marinkuckee has gone to pieces.