Show < = = 12 Communicated I THE TRIBUNE AND THE NOMINATION NOMINA-TION OF MR PHELPS The irritating ungenerous and mean spirited sneer of the Tribune over the appointment of E J Phelps as Minister to England did not provoke uncomplimentary uncompli-mentary retaliation fromthe DCMOCRAT Possibly the dignified silence of the Democratic Dem-ocratic press under such unprovoked taunts will most electuaily give the lip to unworthy aspersions ofthe blatant Blain ite whose bitterness it would be an injustice injus-tice to ascribe to the spirit actuating the great mass of Republicans To criticise the article in detail would be a waste of time It is false in fact as it is abomna ble in point of taste lIe would have his readers regard that when they elected President Cleveland they contracted to have such a man as Mr Lamar in his Cabinet as a victim of a too solid South when in simple truth the Republican party stole the Presidency they contracted con-tracted to have just such a man as Mr Key a Rebel brigadier in the Cabinet of Mr Hayes It would be gratifying to know how the Tribune would reconcile the illegitimate results of that contract It was not childish to bewail the legitimate effects ef-fects of the change when Mr Grant appointed ap-pointed such men as Guerrilla Mosbey and Longstreet as Ministers over the heads of true patriots as Ward Black and Rosecrans It would be an easy task to recall the appointment of scores of utterly ut-terly disreputable and dishonest men to positions in Washington without a word of protest from the Tribune still it has been the duty of that partisan organ or-gan to approve of all that its party did and to reprove all that the other party does uIt may look a little strange to a few extreme Northern Radicals to see the author of the Biglow papers ousted from his office It is not surprising that a few extreme northern bigots may look a little strange to see a Republican ousted from a high office since they have accustomed accus-tomed themselves to regard the government govern-ment as a sacred ifriesthood committed to them as the tribe of Levi They have seemed to reason that it was they alone who saved the Union and to whom it belongs be-longs to have and to hold and to govern them their heirs and assigns forever Sad indeed but worse when filled by a man who thought Abraham Lincoln had not a single qualification of statesmanship statesman-ship How often has the Tribune said the same concerning Cleveland Bayard and Morrison Mr Phelps in giving utterance to the above assertion merely reiterated what had often been asserted by leading Republicans It is well known however that at one period of the War Presidents life Mr Chases friends spoke contemptuously of his abilities while Sewards lieutenants regarded him as an i uncouth and vulgar man with no repu I I tation save that of being opponent of Stephen A Douglas for the Illinois Sena atorship And it was in that memorable campaign that John A Logan alluded to Mr Lincolns qualifications as a statesman in terms not respectable nevertheless prior to the late election the Tribunrs idea of Logan was that he was above human weaknesses that he dwelt on a sort of intellectual Olympus Olym-pus But since that event the editor has permitted him to descend from the heights and sojourn in Egypt The Tribune Tri-bune should be the last journal to accuse our new Minister of ingratitude toward Mr Lincoln for simply underestimating his great ability after the shameful attacks at-tacks of that organ not only as to President Presi-dent Clevelands intellect but as to his moral character in publishing the filthy and lying stories manufactured by theRe the-Re Dr Ball Has the Tribune ever offered an apology whose labors were active in the proBlaine campaign in hat respect It can not be denied that the uold sneer of our new Ambassador to the Courtof St James the Gettysburg speech of that man who was imposed upon the people peo-ple was wrong and unjust Doubtless Mr Lincoln is liable as those tides ebb and flow to live long in the thoughts of men After all there is a comfort in the thought that notwithstanding the recent re-cent sneer of our Salt Lake journalist the New Jersey speech of that man who was posing before the people as a reformer is i liable as those tides ebb and flow to live longer in the thoughts of men than that other editorial of the above journalist wherein he wanted to gamble that President Pres-ident Cleveland could not locate Puget Sound IA few years hence some zealous patriotic journalist may think that our new Ambassador and the Tribune editor photographed their respective giants in a wrong light If so I trust that he will judge the latter with some little Christian magnanimity The press of thecountry is highly pleased with the appointment of Mr Phelps as Minister la England lIe has never been in public life He is not a politician But if the President had searched the i country he could scarcely have discovered discov-ered a gentleman more eminently fitted by character learning and personal accomplishments ac-complishments for the first diplomatic mission m Europe The general feeling among Republicans may be summed up in the following remark by a prominent Vermont Republican Mr Phelps appointment ap-pointment is the best one that could have been made He is a thoroughly cultured cul-tured courteous genial gentleman one whom Vermont without regard to party may well be proud of Much must be forgiven the Tribune editor on account of the state of his feelings feel-ings He is a thoroughly disappointed man The ambition of a score of years has been frustrated by the recent verdict of the people He stands today where he stood directly after the war being un ware of the great changes in the social and political condition of the Southern States He hates the South quite as much as he ever did and is unwilling to do her justice from any point of view But making every allowance for his milled temper the readers of Ms intemperate intem-perate editorial will find reason to be thankful that he is not the President of he United States |