The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1861-09-03
A Card.
SMITHLAND, August 29th, Is

SMITHLAND, August 18th, 1861.
EDITOR JOURNAL was surprised to read
in your paper that the Post Masters at Smith
land and Paducah had for some time put
the mail in old bags tied with ropes, and i
send all the good mail bags to the Southern
Confederacy. l know nothing of the Padu-
cab Post Master, but this know, that as
far as am concerned, you have been mis-
informed, and done me a great injustice; /
always put the mails in regular mail bags
with lock and key as long as the agent On
the boat delivered the mail to me in bag
with lock and key, but when Mr.. Scott and
Glenn were removed, / received the mails
in bags tied with rope, and of course did
the same, but at the same time requested
Mr.. Dunn, mail agent here, to notify the
new agents on board the Bowen and Orr
that il was against the laws of the Post
Office Department to put the mail in bags
without lock and key, and that if they again
delivered to me the mail in that condition
| would notify the p. NJ. General. Mr.. Dunn
told me that he notified them, and ever
| since, with one exception, few days ago,
1 received the mail with lock and key
Furthermore, to show you how false is the
charge, when l was appointed Post Master,
signed receipt, (which was forwarded
to Washington" for ten mail bags, and not
one single old bag, and now I have in my
Office only four good bags with straps adapt
| ed to lock and key, and seven old bags
| with ropes; amt that proof sufficient to
convince n hat instead of giving the mail
| in old ba. > received it so, and you also
| said that seut all the good bags to the
| Southern Confederacy. Now, dear sir,
/ make no mail here for the Southern Con-
| federacy The Nashville mail has been dis
continued long ago, and the land mail only
| goes to Hopkinsville, KY, so you see even
if was willing, "as you represent me-" Of
sending all the good bags to the South, it
is not in my power to do so.
Now sir, you, as an editor, ought to be
sGgg IN oHP fPt dhPggfF agbaefRRsEe any body and
much less against an officer of the United
States. Besides, let me assure you that
such things do harm to the cause of the
Union, as it shows on your part desire to
misrepresent things, and create false i'm
preston. We Smithland people have been
of late greatly misrepresented; we are
quiet sort of folks, and mind our own bust
nese, still you on the other side seem de-
Uermined to make us appear as in open hos
| uLlty anu arms against tue government.
Name the solitary instance in which we
have acted with hostility against any
body; of course we are not responsible for
flying reports, such as almost scared Capt
Dexter of the Bowen out of his wits few
days ago; when the facts came out we
were more surprised at it than he was him.
self; that don't belong to the present af-
fair, however.
fiatter myself that you viii retract the
charge preferred against me in your paper
of the 2sth, and for once let truth prevail
Yours fraternally,
A. A. GRAYOT, P. NJ.
I, the undersigned mail agent in Smith
land, testify that what Mr.. Grayot has sale
in his letter about mail bags, is true.
JOHN DUNN, Mail Agent.