The Sweetwater enterprise. (Sweetwater, Tenn.) 1869-187?, 1871-03-02
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An Outrage.

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An Outrage.
Some time during last year n fierce
and bitter war of words-which led to n
war of bull{ -sprung up at Knoxville,
between Gen. Jos. A. Alabry and Col.
John Baxter. After Col. Baxter was
wounded int steeet fight, an agreement
was made by their personal friends that
no further PERSONAL hostilities should be
INDUCED in, but that they would take
their differences into Court, and there
have them settled. With this view suit
was commenced in the Chancery Court
at Knoxville, and Gen. Mabry under
took to manage his own case. In doing
so, he pmports to have made a speech
OF great personal bitterness against Col.
Baxter. The speech, it was said, was
delivered in open Court, and Gen. Ma
bry had it put in type and slips struck
off, and enclosed them to Il number of
editors, with directions to insert it Us a
PAID FOR ADVERTISEMENT Several papers
did publish it-as is often done with
INSTRUMENTATION reading it at
all.
Col. Baxter instituted suit for DANA
ges against all papers which published
the speech, laying his damages in each
case, at $4,000 (; and what strikes us as
being very remarkable, and altogether
out Of proportion to thoreal done
to his character, he has recently recover
ed II verdict against the publishers of the
Knoxville Wing and Register, for the
sum of $4,000, Us its share of the money
damage done to his character
No malice was proven to exist in the
breasts of the conductors of the paper
against Col, Baxter-as both the conduc-
tors Of the Wing and Register were COM
parativo strangers in Knoxville !; and it
is unaccountablo, under the circum-
stances, that a jury should have render
cd such a verdict.
If Col. Baxter's object was to vindi-
cate his fair fame, and not to MAKE MONEY
out of this affair, he ought at once to
satisfy the Judgment, upon the payment
of the costs by the defendants. But it
seems the vindication of his character
Is not his aim, for now hat he is fully
vindicated, as far Mt least as u verdict for
exemplary damages can do it, he still
continues similar suits against other
publishes, who knew little or nothing of
the merits Of the personal controversy,
and cared nothing about it-and pub
lished the offensive speech without know
ing what it contained, and have, on all
occasions manifested every disposition
toright the WRONGS they had unintention-
ally done him. We repeat, if his aim
was the vindication of his character, and
not to PUT IN HIS PURSE, he will ut
once Withdraw his suits now pending,
upon the agreement OF the defendant8t to
pay the costs which have accrued.
A mans character must needs be very
shNky, which must DO sustained by an
appeal to the law. We have never yet
known a man to make any character
worth having, by such IN appeal and
in the name of that freedom of the
press" which has heretofore been the
proud boast Of the American press gang,
we protest against this wholesale attempt
to oStort money from as meritorious a
class of men As live upon the earth.
We find the above ~ the Knoxville
Wing and Register, of Tuesday morning
copied from the Jackson, Tenn. Wing
and Tribune, "one of the most induen-
tial newspapers published in the South,
and edited by the veteran Col. w. w.
Gates, the oldest editor in tho State.
Nobody will dare outrage truth by charg-
ing that this old and influential journal
has been thought up" or in writing the
article, was influenced by anything but
principle and a desire to vindicate the
right"