The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1872-09-10
Gard from Mr. Tom,in.on.
CHARLESTON, s. c., September g.


to-day, my attention is called to your
editorials Of Friday and of yesterday, in
which you refer to charges made by t.
L. Cardozo and s. w. Melton against
me with reference to my alleged connec
ton with the passage of the phosphate
bill; and, looking upon at least one Of
these gentlemen as having some charac-
ter for veracity left, you may properly
demand that shall meet the charges.
had already been Informed, in private
letter from Mr.. Corbin, of the state
mcnts made by Mr.. Cardozo and MIR.
Melton, ut Yorkville, and was awaiting
an opportunity to notice them publicly.
| BY your kindly interference, have that
opportunity. I have not yet read Mr..
Notions speech delivered in Charleston,
but understand from others that the
statement made in that speech in sub
stantiuIly the same as that made at York
vile.
Mr.. Cardozo is represented as saying
ut Yorkville, "Mr. Tomliuson is no bet
ter than Moses, 30 far rs corruption
goes, for if Moses did issue fraudulent
himself that he helped to buy up the
Governors veto. Ho told mo this at the
me the truth"
can only say that this statement i'll I,
bold. unblushing and unqualified false
hood. Will you tell me how am to
prove that Mr.. Car1ozo tells an untrnth
when he makes this statement? He
might, with ns much propriety, say that
| had tried to bribe him to murder some
| body; one assertion would be Just as
reasonable and as true as the other. But
if he repent5 these assertions until the
| crack OF doom, do not sec how / am to
prove their untruth. [ can only place
my assertions and character against his,
and let the public decide for themselves
L mny say, however, that in his speech
ut Yorkvilie, previous to making the
above statement, Mr.. Cardozo said of me
that II had been his friend for some
years. aud was an honest aud upright
man. Mr.. @. may think that upright
| ness of character is consistent with
| weakness for bribing Senators. do not
Mr.. Melton is represented as saying at
YorkvilIe that he had been told, land
would give his authority if Mr.. Tomlin-
son asked for it., that lie (Tomlinson)
had borrowed the money. or endorsed
note 1T the bank, to get the money which
was used for the purpose of passing the
phosphate bill through. This is sub
stantInlly the same statement rs that
made by him in his Charleston speech.
In reply, l have to say that there is alb
| solutely not the shadow of truth in the
statement. am bound to believe, even
| against some reasons for Lack of faith in
his perfect veracity, that in this instance
Mr.. Melton thinks he has foundation for
his charge, and will be only too glad
RI, houo hi, ;t1 fD~
he has seen fit to make.
prove that somebody did not tell Mr..
Melton that I had done the thing
charged, although the language OF your
editorial of Friday would seem to imply
that it vas my duty 80 to do.
respectfully submit that there is no
parallel between the charges made
against myself and those made against
MIR. Moses. It is judicially proven that
thare have been fraudulent issues Of pay
certifcstes-seo the affidavit of Treasurer
Parker in answer to Judge Wizards or
der, in which it is shown that SAL, 900
Of pay certificates, for 1872. had been
redeemed at the Treasury, and that for
1893, 900 the Treasuror's notes had been
given. to say nothing of the large
amount not yet taken care of by the
Treasurer-and yet you soem to place
the charge OF Smith, Jones or Brown
that I have stolen q horse or robbed a
bank, in the same category with these
charges which are OF judicial record. In
your desire to hold the scales even be-
tween the two Radical factions, I fear
yon lean little to the other side.
In conclusion, allow me to say, that
my connection with the phosphate bill
was jnst this: voted for it. because l
thought it for the interest of Charleston
and of the State to do so. I urged the
Governor not to veto it, for the same
reason, and for other reasons not per.
sonai to myself, and 1 have as yet seen
no reason to regret my action. For ny
stock in the company, which is not S4O.-
600, nor anything near that amount, I
have paid precisely what every stock
holder in the company has paid, includ-
ing in the list some Of the most honora-
BILE business men in Charleston. Some
of the widest and most absurd things
have been said with reference to the
grant under which the company with
which I am connected and others asso-