Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1872-07-17
A Card from Col. Baxter.

EDITORS CHRONICLE 1t is, perhaps,
not always best to speak plainly, but it is
my habit and / will not depart from il in
this instance. There are more ways than
one of lying. 1t may be done as well by in
direction as by the direct and positive as
sertion of falsehood. The capacity to do
this is possessed in a very high degree by
Mr.. Fleming, editor of the Press and Her
aid. He lis in this respect peculiarly gifted
and adroit
In May, 1870, minister of the Gospel
was mobbed in Blount county. 1t was q
most dastardly and unprovoked out
rage. The Press and Herald pub
lished what / have reason TO believe, the
editors then thought to be true statement
of the facts. Their published statement
represented Mr.. William Goddard as a
leader or one of the leaders of the mob.
To this extent subsequent developments
showed their statement unjust and errone-
Gus. Mr.. Goddard and his friends sought,
through the CHRONICLE, to have the
Press and Herald correct its statement.
Had its proprietors been actuated by love
of truth and justice they would have read
lily complied with Mr.. Goddard's reasona-
BILE demand. But they made no correction.
The SANDER as it stood against a leading
Republican, subserved party ends, and was
permitted by them to remain uncOrrected
and unexplained In this, if not in the
original publication, the Press and Herald
proprietOrs were guilty of gross and in
excusable wrong. Failing to induce them
voluntarily to accord to him the justice
which he had right to demand, Mr.. Cod
dard appealed to the law and applied to At
torney General Thornburgh to Indict them
for libel. Accordingly an indictment was
sent and found by the grand jury. 1 was not
consulted in relation to itby the prosecutor
or by the Attorney General-knew moth
ing of the proceeding till after the finding
of the bill. Mr.. Goddard had full conf
dence in Attorney. General. Thornburgh
capacity to prosecute the case successfully,
and was willing to leave its management
entirely to him. But the Legislature, for
reasons well understood in this commune
ty, legislated Col. Thornburgh out of his
office, and in futherance of the object of
this legislation, Mr.. Fleming one of the
defendants, was appointed to his place.
This necessitated the appointment
of special Attorney General to
prosecute the case. Mr.. Taylor
was by the Court assigned to this
public duty. After investigating he dis
covered, as he thought, defect in the in
dictment, and with the view of dividing
the responsibility, he requested Mr.. God
dard to employ me to assist him. 1t was
in consequence of this suggestion that /
was but recently retained. When consult
ed and my attention was called to the va
rance between the libel alleged and the Ii
Del puDllSneu, eApreSseu UIe opinion tlaI
the defect was fatal, and at the next inter-
view so told my client, the prosecutor. And
when the point was carried by defen
dant's counsel on the trial | frankly
stated to the court that the objection taken
was fatal and consented to an acquittal.
and accordingly verdict of mot guilty !"
was rendered.
Yet Fleming, with knowledge of most
if not all the foregoing facts, published in
his next issue an editorial in which he
artfully and disingeniously sought to make
the impression on his readers that the suit
had been originally instigdted by my mat
ice, and that he and his co-defendants
acre acquitted on the merits. Both of
these impressions, which he endeavored
to make, he knew to be false. His
| object was two-fold, first, to bolster up
himself and his confederates; and second
ly, to misrepresent me. Any man capable
of so prostituting a newspaper under his
control for the qualification of his personal
malice, would, in my judgment, s,Oedr q
| lie, or beg contributions for the poor and
| keep them for himself.
"He who falters,
| Twists and alters,
Little atoms when he speaks,