Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1861-08-21
Reply to County Printing.

County Printing, and as Mr.. Y Dung has thot
it proper to bring the subject before the people
of the county for discussion, l deem it my du-
ty to take part in the debate, and let each side
be fairly represented, so the people can judge
for themselves who is right and who is wrong.
Now, Mr., Young, you know that l went in
to the convention last fall on as honorable
terms, If ct more So than my opponent. and
received the nomination for the Office now
hold by a fair majority OF the votes cast by
that convention. You know that my oppo-
nent came from that convention with bitter
determination to defeat me, as we'll as nearly
every other candidate on the ticket. by going
over to the Democratic party. who We're anx-
iously waiting to pick up the disaffected candi-
dates, and thereby secure their strength and
the strength Of their friends which was ac-
complished to their perfect satisfaction, and
that too without any just cause.
/ now ask you what had been my course
towards you as public officer of this county
for the two past years up to my nomination
last fall i? You presented yonr bill of five
dollars for printing tickets for the election of
1858; it was promptly paid. | gave you
nearly every dollar that came under my con-
troll of the public printing. paying you the
money as soon as your labor was performed,
and in several instances advancing the money
out of my own pocket, and waited for the same
short, did 1 ever give you any reason to be-
lieve that wished to do by you otherwise
than man of honor should do :? And what
did [ or any of the nominees OF the Republi-
can ticket receive from you or the influence of
your press ?-answer, private caucusslng tor
nearly two weeks with j. H. Southwick, y.
Gibbs, G.. W. Cairns and the leaders of the
Democratic party, plotting some way to get
up ticket of the two parties. to see II you
could not by hook or crook defeat the Repub-
lican party and after the space of nearly two
weeks Mr.. Southwick found that be could not
get the Dem ocrats to nominate him, or leave
place vacant, so that he could run with out any
nomination. which placed him and yourself in
a very awkward position.
Then. did you come to me to sec what my
disposition was as regarded the public PRINT
ing of the county, as stated in your article of
the tenth No. You, closeted in A. ID.
Young's office, DR.. Maxson, DR.. Young, Mr.
Felt and yourself then dispatched Mr.. S. X;
Gum to inform me that you had understood
or been informed that had promised all the
public printing to L. A. Taylor. You knew
better at the time but found yourself in an
awkward position, and wished to get back
where some one would own you in the party
you pretend to belong to. Ii you had been
impressed with such thoughts, or had been in
formed by any one you could rely upon that
such were the facts, why did you not come to
me and see for yourself, as man of honor who
claims to be an editor should do, when we
were daily passing each other for nearly two
weeks / ask you again, what reason mac
you to believe that had promised to give the
printing to Mr.. Taylor, when he and his
friends strongly opposed my nomination be-
fore and in the convention ? Do you or any
other man of reason suppose for a moment
tina. would pledge my self to give the public
printing to man who was trying to help
nominate man over me, who l considered
my bitterest emmy in the world am ready
to make an affidavit that / never promised to
give the printing to Mr.. Taylor otherwise than
a fair division between the two presses, either
before the convention or election. And when
Mr. Gum called on me and informed me the
conclusion you had come to, | plainly told
him that you did not believe any such report,
and yon could do as you liked or thought pro-
per-hoist the ticket or not, and it was only
from his persuasion I concluded to go over to
Mr.. Youngs Office where l repeated to you
the same I had to Mr.. Gum. But you said
you believed you had been misled. and if |
would AGREE to divide the printing between the
two presses you would go in for the whole
ticket. Tn the conversation we had plainly
told YOU that would do the fair thing in ma
king a division of the printing between the
two presses. and left your presence with pure
intention of so doing. But other circumstan-
ces that have since TRANSFERRED which will
shortly relste. led me to believe that you was
no working for me or the good OF the party,
but for the Ave hundred dollars worth of print.
ing you expected to get. The first that pre-
scented itself was the monkey ticket. which
was disgraceful performance. mattering not
who was the author, and / am credibly in
formed that you were knowing TO the whole
I,,fT ro,, 70
swer, with the understanding that your Office
gives birth to similar productions.
The second thing that comes to my notice
was the course you took when Mr.. Sou wick
took the advantage to hold the possession my
nv office without any legal right or authori-
tyy-knowing as you did the dishonorab1e
course he had pursued against me and my in
terest ever since the convention last fall-not
even lifting your pen to denounce in the mild
est form the course Mr.. Southwtck pursued
against the interest of the whole party.
The third is the course you took when the
Couoty Board was called together last Jan. to
turn a man out of office for incompetency be-
fore they had tried his competency on the
ground of non-qualiication. when he had
thirty days left to qualify in after he had quail
flied according to law and filed his official
bond. l now ask you If there was ever a
more disgraceful course pursued against man
in civilized community than this was And
did you ever lift your pen as public Journal
ist against this transaction You did not do
it, but every small article You put in ysur pa
per you was very careful to word it in man
ner that gave Mr.. Southwick a color of right
to the office. which lawfully belonged to me.
The fourth is the course you took towards
our Senator and Representative, MFR. Cox and
Mr.. Palmer, because they acted like gentle
men, and accomplished in an honorable man
ner what they were elected to do. And what
was your objection to them2 Not anything,
except through their influence the Legislature
passed an act postponing the sale of lands
from April until the first of September. /
ask YOU what was your objection to having
the act passed You say that you expected
to receive one-half of the public printing, but
you know very well if the act had not been
passed, Mr. Southwick would had the control
Of the printing for this year, and could have
awarded it TO whichever paper he saw Fit,
which he would had to have done before the
decision of the court which ousted him from
the Office and gave the possession to me- Now
you know that you would rather had the sale
put off until fall and received one-half of the
printing than to had it come off last spring,
and had the Democrat received it all. which
you have told me personally yourself, that you
was satisfied Mr. Southwick hae sold himself
to the Democrats, hat, coat and all else per-
tanning to him.
Now, Sir, there is one of two thiags-you
lacked the manly courage to speak openly and
advocate what was right and denounce what
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