A Slanderous Campaign Against John H. McGraw
A rival paper spreads a rumor that the Republican gubernatorial candidate was born abroad and thus ineligible for office, prompting a sharp defense from the Post-Intelligencer.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The evening paper, true to its lying instincts, published a statement purporting to be based on certain mysterious remarks heard by its eavesdropping reporter, that the Republican candidate for governor was born in New Brunswick and that Mr. McGraw is not yet a citizen of this state nor eligible to hold office. They say this will cause a decided sensation through the state and, if true, will lead to the withdrawal of Mr. McGraw's name from the ticket. The report can cause no sensation in this state, nor anywhere else where its author is known. The truth is that Mr. McGraw is a native of this country, having been born in the state of Maine. Its assault upon the honored name that heads the Republican state ticket excites neither surprise nor dismay. Its mission has been that of a dyspeptic, sour and contemptible spirit, whose only content has been found in a feeble effort to injure, to tear down and to humiliate.
“Its mission has been that of a dyspeptic, sour and contemptible spirit, whose only content has been found in a feeble effort to injure, to tear down and to humiliate.”
Political character assassination and 'birtherism' style rumors have a long, bitter history in American campaigning. This 1892 attack on John McGraw echoes the modern tendency to use xenophobic-coded questioning of birthright or citizenship to derail opponents.
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