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Show aider hoi- a comparatively harmless harm-less but extremely erratic crank. She is tolerated mainly out of sheer pity. Any serious prosecution of her because of her maundering.1) against yourself or any of the hundreds whom she seeks to slander would bo regarded with unmeasured ridicule by every sensible sen-sible human being in Washington. Her weakest point is a craze for notoriety and a pitiful illusion as to her own importance, im-portance, Any proceedings against her would merely intensify this craving and still further injure her weakened intellect. intel-lect. Complete disregard of her silly fabrications is the ouly sensible and charitable course for you to pursiicj You can rely implicitly on the accuracy of my statement. It is derived from Hie best informed members of congress, representatives of the press, private citizens and the police of Washington. Should she continue to annoy you, I will, if vou so instruct me, take steps to havo her committed to a lunatic asylum asy-lum for her own good. My advice, however, is to let her severely alone." "Mrs. Mackay is the daughter of Col. I). K. Hungcrford of New York, who was a surgeon in the United .States regular army, and served with credit to himself throughout the Mexican campaign. cam-paign. Mrs. Muckay's iirst husband was Dr. Hrvant of Brooklyn, whoso mother and "brothers still live in that city, highly respected people. After the death of Dr. liryant, which occurred in the west, the widow met Mr. Mackay through mutual friends, and married him after an acquaintance of a little more than a year. Mrs. Mackay is thus the daughter of a gentleman, and was reared a gentlewoman. Her iirst husband was a thorough gentleman, and nobody questions the respectability of J. W. Maukay. People in the west, who have known the Mackays for years, pronounce as malicious fabrications fabrica-tions the articles lately published in certain scurrilous newspapers, articles liko this one, for, example. There is no doubt that the authors of these several sev-eral scandals will bo hunted down." mm MHS. MACKAY. How Charlotte Smith in Turn Eeoeived a Dressing Tor a Scurrilous Editorial Attack. , A SCATHING EEPOET MADE. Something Concerning the Antecedents of the Wife of the Several Times Millionaire. Washington, D. C, July 10,-Char-lotto Smith, formerly of St. Louis, has stirred up a row on both sides of tho Atlantic. She is editor and proprietor of a weekly newspaper called the Working Woman, which is published here. In tho issue of June 28 she published pub-lished an article to which Mrs. John W. Mackay, wife of the famous Pacilic coast millionaire, took serious exceptions. excep-tions. It appeared on tho editorial page of the paper and was headed "Family Crests." The article opened with a brief account of a brilliant dinner din-ner lately given by Mrs. Mackay at her mausion in London, and slated that the guests were supplied witli a menu bearing their respective initials, orest, and family motto in diamonds and rubies. With the brilliancy of this dinner the writer contrasted con-trasted alleged scenes in "Mrs. Mackay's hash houso on Poverty Flats, out west," and with the bejeweled menus she contrasted an alleged "tin plate used by a former boader of Mrs. John W. Mackay," and sho uiliruicd that this particular tin plate was the property of the Working Woman, and stated that sho should be pleased to send tho tin plate through Secretary Blaine to the Princess Colonna. The article was brought to the atten-i atten-i tioaofMra. Mackay aud her friends, copies of the paper being mailed to I many people in Europe, an well as to many in New York and San Francisco. ; The story was promptly denied, aud Mrs. Mackay, who is in London, brought suit to prevent its republication republica-tion and circulation there. Sho threatened threat-ened to sue tho author for slander, and Mr. Nathan Bijur of New York, an attorney, at-torney, was sent to Washington to look up the matter. Ho made a report of his investigations to Mrs. Mackay in a cablegram sent to London. A cable dispatch from London in today's to-day's New York Times says the following follow-ing was received from Attorney Bijur by Mrs. Mackays "Charlotte Smith, in whose paper a slanderous story concerning you was recently published, is a crack-brained woman possessed of a venomous tongue and pen. In an interview Bho has admitted ad-mitted to me that she does not know you personally, and is utterly Ignorant of your antecedents or the events of your life. She claims to have originated all the falso stories about you which have been in circulation for some time past and to have mailed you and your friends abroad copies of her scurrilous sheet, alleging as her sole motive her opposition to great private wealth. She admits that the Woman's National Industrial league, as whose representative she poses, consists substantially of herself alone, aud confesses that sho invents facts and news, of which she gave mo illustrations to be published in her paper to subserve her own purposes. She claims to bo engaged in the etTort to elevate the working woman, and has not failed to aid some poor employees here and there, but docs ton times more harm than good. She seems to be the victim of some sort of emotional insanity, insan-ity, and cannot discuss any subject ' sensibly or even coherently. By a very few she is regarded as a professional . blackmailer, but almost all who i know or havo heard of her con- |
