Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1870-02-10
COMMUVC4TIONS
FLUsHING o. Fsh. 18th IS

FLUSHING o., Feb. 9TH, 1870.
EDITOR CHRoNICLE-Dedr Sir: Ir
the ST. ClairsvilIe Gazette of Jan 9th
in an article over the signatur,.. aCiti
zen" appears the following, massage
"After serious consideration, Subscriber
accepting the advice of ,is sem;.iptelli.
gent semi-nigger assist ant, &c. " also in
the issue of said pape: Of Feb. srd in an
article over the sspI signature, the fol-
lowing passage or ours: "a few days since
an element "o o assumes to be the keeper
OF the sciences of his brethren and
to their light and guide, and who
claims t2 be well posted as to their views
and ins entions, in a conversation when
it w8is intimated that there was possi-
bllity of the courts failing to sustain all
the Ubiquitous acts used to secure the
ratification of the amendment, and that
I thereby it might yet be defeated; made
this threat, If the courts in any way set
aside or declare void the amendment.
you manning the whites) will find a
greater and more deadly war on your
hands than the late rebellion >" Now.
Mr. editor, l had paid no attention to
the former senseless and malicious effu-
sion, proceeding from an equally sense
less and malicious brain; neither should
have dignified the latter with passing
notice, by a departure from well es-
tablisbed rule of silence in regard to
such billingsgate, had it not been that
a nbmber of my friends thought that it
referred to me, and in that light the fact
forced itself upon my mind that great
injustice was being done TO other parties,
in connections with these false and
slanderous statements. In regard to
my supposed connection with Subscriber
as an assistant, will state, that 1 was
not present az the writing of any of
these articles; never saw any one of
them until they appeared in print, and
that l never wrote, nor assisted in wri-
ting a line, sentence, or syllable, of any
of any one of them. | believe, in COM
mon with nine-tenths of the citizens of
our village and its vicinity, that Sub
scriber aGone deserves the credit for
having achieved, unaided and alone,
the proudest and most signal victory I;
for having fought, gIappled with and
vanquished the most despicable of foes;
for having come out covered ell over
with glory, and unscathed from the con-
fiict.
In regard to the latter charge, I pro-
nounce it false alike in fact and form,
and it germinated, pi esume, out of the
following conversation, which took place
recently in one of our stores between
Mr.. David A. Hollingsworth and my
self. Speaking of the final passage of the
Fifteenth Amendment, he remarked
that he had his doubts whether the
courts would sustain the amendment.
r ;oI = - nt fhirl- thnv xunnld
interfere to set it aside, that if they did,
it would be worse than the rebellion;
meaning that ifthe courts did undertake
to supercede the will of the people eX-
pressed through their Representatives in
the State Legislatures, then the conse-
quenees of leaving the country disorgan-
ized and in reckless anarchy would be
worse than the rebellion. This was what
was said and meant, no more no less.
In regard to the conduct of my Breth-
rem, 1.-THE eolored people of this town and
vicinity whom he is pleased to denom-
| mate an element" / have only to say,
that they do not now need any vindica-
ton of their conduct at my hands. need
only to say that 1 am proud to believe,
that the friendly regard for their white
fellow citizens around them; the good
offices of neighborly kindness existing
between the while ana coloreu people
here; the sober and industrial habits
of majority of this portion of our popu-
lation; and above all, their earnest efforts
in behalf of their moral religious and in
fteilectual culture, will for all presenr
purposes, be sufficient shield against
the foul aspersions of this sneaking polIt-
ical poltroon who seeks to keep them in
the dark. In conclusion am constrained
to say, that 1 have too friendly regard
for, and too high an appreciation of the
character and the good will of "a majority
/ of my Democratic friends, with whom l
have lived on terms of peace and good
will for twenty years, to suppose that
these foul and infamous ISLANDERS are
belched forth as the surface indications
of Democratic party feeling, either to-
ward me, or the race with which L am
Unidentified. Regarding them then as
only the effusions of an enemy or enc
mics in disguise. say sail under your
own flag, and L will assure you over my
own signature, provided shall regard
you as "a foemen worthy of my steel.
J. L.