Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1872-09-12
CARD FROM MR. TOMLINSON.
CHARLESTON, S. G., September 8.

10 the EdltoTS OF the Nea0s:
GENTLEMEN On returning to the city to-
day, my attention is called to your editorials
of Friday and of yesterday, in which you
refer to charges made by F. L. Cardozo and
S. w. Melton against me with reference to my
alleged connection with the passage of the
phosphate bill ; and, looking upon at least
one of these gentlemen as having some char
acter for veracity left, you may properly de:
mand that I shall meet the charges. had
already been informed, in private letter from
Mr. Corbin, of the statements made by MIR.
Cardozo and Mr.. Melton, at Yorkville and
was awaiting an opportunity to notice them
publicly. By your kindly interference, |
have that opportunity. I have not yet read
Mr.. Meton's speech delivered in Charleston,
but understand from others that the statement
made in that speech is substantially the same
as that made at Yorkville.
Mr.. Cardozo is represented as saying at
Yorkville, "Mr. Tomlinson is no better than
Moses, so far as corruption goes; for if Moses
did issue fraudulent pay certificates, Mr.. Tom
linson told me himself that he helped to buy
up the Senate to pass the phosphate bill over
the Governors veto. He told me this at the
time, and I have no doubt he told me the
truth"
1 can only say that this statement is a bold,
unblushing and unqualified falsehood. Will
you tell me how am to prove that Mr.. Car
dozo tells an untruth when he makes this
statement? He might wi ' much propri-
ETY., say that I had tried to brlbe him to muir.
der somebody; one assertion would be just as
reasonable and as true as the other. But if
he repeats these assertions until the crack OF
doom, do not see how I am to prove their
untruth. I can only place my assertions and
character against his, and let the public de-
eide for themselves. 1 may say, however,
that in his speech at Yorkville, previous to
making the above statement, Mr.. Cardozo
said of me that ri had been his friend for
some years, and was an honest and upright
man." Mr.: G. may think that uprightness OF
character is consistent with a weakness for
bribing Senators. do not.
Mr.. Melton isrepresented as saying at York
Vile that he had been told, (and would give
his authority if Mr.. Tomlinson asked for it,
that he (Tomlinson) had borrowed the money,
or endorsed note at the bank, to get the
money which was used for the purpose of
passing the phosphate bill through. This is
substantially the same statementas that made
by him in his Charleston speech. In reply, l
have to say that there is absolutely not the
shadow oftruth in the statement. Lam bound
to believe, even against some reasons tor lack
of faith in his perfect veracity, that in this in
stance Mr.. Melton thinks he has foundation
for his charge, and I will be only too glad to
have his authority for the assertion he has seen
fit to make. Ofcourse you do not ask me
now to prove that somebody did not tell Mr..
Melton that had done the thing charged, al.
though the language of your editorial of Fri
day would seem to imply that it was my duty
so to do.
Respectfully submit that there is no parallel
between the charges made against myself and
those made against Mr.. Moses. tbs judicially
proven that there have been fraudulent issues
of pay certifcates-see the affidavit OF Treas
urer Parker in answer to Judge Willard's or
der, in which it is shown that S441 900 ofpay
certificates, for 1872, had been redeemed at
the Treasury, and that for $999,OO the Treas.
urer's notes had been given, to say nothing OF
the large amount not yet taken care OF by the
Treasurer yet you seem to place the
charge of Smith, Jones or Brown that l have
stolen horse or robbed bank, in the same
category with these charges which are ofjudi-
cial record. In your desire to hold the scales
even between the two Radical factions, l fear
you lean a little to the other side.
In conclusion, allow me to say, that my
connection with the phosphate bill was just
this: 1 voted for it, because 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
personal to myself, and have as yet seen no
reason to regret my action. For my stock in
the company, which is not $4,000, nor any
thing near that amount, I have paid precisely
what every stockholder in the company has
paid, including in the list some of the most
honorable 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 1 am connect
ed and others associated with us are acting
Without betraying business matters which do
not concern the public, permit me to say, that
up to this time, the only parties that have
reaped any benefit from that grant are the
State of South Carolina and the hundreds Of
mechanics and laboring men employed by
these companies. am, very respectfully,
your obedient servant,
REUBEN ToMLINsoN.