is a model of the best political oratory and a masterly presentation of the case. There will be nothing so good said upon either side during the campaign.
I see that Blaine has begun a suit for libel, and I am very glad, for if a story so universally told and believed be untrue, the untruth ought to be known. The suit is a very important event in the canvass—for if the story should be substantiated Blaine is ruined—and if disproved, the reaction will cover the public offenses. Cleveland will be seriously hurt by his scandal.
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TO PAUL BECHTNER
| Indian Harbor Hotel, | |
| Greenwich, Conn., Aug. 20, 1884. |
Your letter of the 16th inst., presenting to me in the name of the “signers” an open reply to my Brooklyn speech, has been forwarded to me here. I am certainly far from underestimating the merit of that “reply” as a literary effort; but you must pardon me for saying that, with the best possible intention, I cannot find anything in it that in the remotest sense could stand as an answer to, or a refutation of, the arguments submitted by me to my hearers at Brooklyn. On the contrary, it seems to me to betray a dangerous want of apprehension as to the facts in the case, as well as the importance of them with regard to the public welfare. However, I shall not enlarge upon this subject in this letter which is to be a mere acknowledgment of yours, for it has long been my intention to visit Milwaukee during this campaign, and I shall avail myself of that opportunity to make a few remarks on your “open reply” in public speech. I shall urgently invite the signers of the document addressed to me, to give me the honor of their personal presence on that occasion.
