The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1860-09-13

Your obi. servt..
John REACH
For the Courier.

Mr.. EDITOR My attention has been
drawn to communication in the Union of
the both, signed Douglas" in which ques-
ton of veracity is raised between him and
me. .r
Who am, it matters little; and who
douglas" is, it matters just as much Who
ever he may be, he has of late been in the
habit of denying truths of an unpalatable
kind, that he has recently received from a
public antagonist the well earned title of
Doug the denier.'
This ''denier' tells the public that | have
"falsified the record" by stating that Fowler
refused to meet Mr. Dixon in public dis
cussion-and as a proof of my falsification,"
he offers the fact, that discussion between
them ''has actually taken place." After Civ
ing me this awful knock down, Doug" gloats
over his pretended belief that shall be sub
ject to the burnings of guilty conscience
Now as Doug" has the word ''logic''
stereotyped and always dropped from his
lips, will he not be good enough just to tell
the public by what rule of his peculiar "logic
he proves that man has neusr refused to do
certain act, merely because he has at some
subsequent time, performed such act? Man
kind generally, and myself among the rest,
have been foolish enough to believe that a
person may decline to do an act to day, and
tomorrow see cause to perform it, Poor
little Doug has brought his logical pigs, as
usual, to pretty market. To prove me a
"falsifier' of facts, he offers to the public a
species of evidence which, would raise shout
of derision from the inmates of the lowest
groggery in our land.
My original statement was, and is true
and scores of affidavits of better men than
Doug knows how to be, can be had to
sustain me.
say that's after Offering to prove Mr.. Dixon's
speech erroneous in its most important f.a-
lures, Fowler declined to do so-he declined
to do it there and then, after having asked
permission to do so--he declined to do so on
future day, named by Mr.. Dixon and he
also declined to name day himself
The subsequent course of events show un-
mistakably that Fowler saw he had made a
fool of himself ssand as an unpleasant alterna-
tive, concluded to accept a sound hoggine
from an enemy, rather than the taunts and
jeers and contempt ofhis co-adjutors-he has
been accommodated, and it is to be hoped the
physic will do him gooc
Doug ascribes to me, the high crime and
misdemeanor of writing under various ficti
cious names, which names he is pleased to
enumerate--to this Ireply. Doug" is in ut,
ter ignorance on the whole matter--but what
of him? OF course he will deny having
written, first over the signature of Madison,
and then, rejecting that the noble mind OF
Madison could hold no sentiment in common
with him, dropped the good patriots name
and adopted that of Douglas !" of which
the slippery elm" is the fitting emblem.
recoilcct seeing the writings of some Of
the men whose names he ascribes to mc--fol
instance, "Historicus' nailed him to the wal
as wilful falsiier of History, and calun
niator of the better portion of his country
men--and he still remains thus nailed
! The Fence man dressed him 50 thorough
| ly, that he no longer feels it his duty to de
fend slavery on Bible grounds, in public
discussion and no amount of invitation Ina.
yet succeeded in dragging him out "Wap
ello'' too, in the "Jefsrsonian Blade," ha.
50 riddled him, that he has beat hasty re
treat under the plea that his opponent i; "a
vile sinner" Good when was Doug
sanctified !? WIDE awake.
I
LIZ IL n 4