The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1876-10-12
AN OPEN LETTER FROM W, c. GAS
TON ESQ TO GOVERNOR G HA YES,
srEuBENvILLE, o., Oct, 4, 1876

Your ENCellSnSy L"S'
placed in my hands copy OF the one
STATE journal, dated Oct. ?, from which
i clip the following editorial, viz: "A
Democratic reformer, calling himself W.
{. Castor, has been making speeches in
Eastern Ohio, in which he says that Gov
ernor Hayes, supposing him to be Re-
publican, recently said to him in private
conversation; On the question OF
finance, the Resumption Act. and the
necessity of reform, we will be badly
beaten. We must wave the bloody shirt
and revive the bitter prejudices OF the
war. .t........ 4,
90 Ofcourse Governor Hayes never used
such language, publicly or privatly
FURTHERMORE, no one who knows him
will believe that he used it, and no one
who does not know him will believe so
wten the story is told by a man who, in
the very act of telling it, adyertises
himself as sneak. To retail in public
private conversation, known at the
time to be private, is about as small an
act as a twolegged creature in the shape
of a man can be guilty OF, but to invent
such conversation and then retail 1t is
qratutous selfdegradation.'
am the gentleman referred to above
as "A Democratic reformer, calling HIM
selfW. c, Castor"
The we'll known relation which that
paper sustains to you as your personal
organ, would Justify me in the belletthat,
the denial and brutal attack therein
made, were by your order or with your
knowledge and approval. But knowing
as do the infamous falsity of that denial
and the consequent gross injustice OF the
attack on me, prefer for the present, the
more charitable view, that both were
made without your order, knowledge or
approval; or if made with these, that
your memory has utterly failed and sad
iy needs reviving, To the latter work
let me first ask your attention.
When you visited Steubenville in your
stumping tour of 1875, accompanied by
DR.. ]. L. Updegraff of this county, | was
introduced to you by him as the silver
tongued" CASTOR of Steubenville. And
now that remind you of it, for pnr-
pose, you will remember that, on retiring
from your presence, took you by the
hand and remarked Governor, | regret
that we must defeat so good man as
YOU this fall, but it must be done, Fol
lowing this by published appointment OF
the Democratic State Executive Commit
tee. of Ohio, earnestly aided in the can
vas of the State against you. 1t would
be- strange indeed that, under these cir
cumstances you would not know who |
was and what l was doing during the
summer and fall of 1875. When the
canvas opened in Ohio this fall, the same
Committee announced mein the leading
Democratic Journals of the State, as one
of the gentlemen who had been especial
ly invited by it, to engage actively IN the
canvass against you-and subsequently
announced for me, a long list of appoint
ments in various counties of the State
Surely so observant a man as you, and
having so much at stake IN Ono, dld not
fail to "be informed and know who
were the men that were waglng the battle
against you here.
1t was under these circumstances, and
exercising the right to believe that you
would know both me and my mission,
that called at your Office to pay my
respects to you as the Governor OF ONO,
on the morning of September 10TH, last.
Not finding YOU in, | had reached the
west front ofthe Capitol building on my
return to the Neil House, when ! was
Joined by a gentleman whom did not
then know, nor do now, and with whom
/ entered into a friendly conversation.
From the fact that he told me he was
lust from the session of the Supreme
Court and held in his hand copy of the
Laws of last winter, suppose him to be
a lawyer-and from what subsequently |
occurred between you and hin. Jas to the
state of the canvass between Hurd and |
Cox in the 9th Congressional District
have reason to believe that he lives in
Toledo. While engagedin conversation
with him, you came from the South front
to the West entrance where we stood,
and recognizing, called him by name,
and shook hands with him. l then told
you that Ihad called to pay my respects,
when you gaveme look of familiar re
eognition-took me by the hand. and ex-
pressed your pleasure at meeting me
You then made some commonplace re-
marks as to our late excessive rains and
the ruinous financial effect they had had
upon the State Fair, but then closed.
You have not forgotten that shortly
after asked you this question, Cover
nor do not your friends annoy you quite
as much as your enemies p and that you
smilingly replied, "yes, indeed they do
my enemies annoy me but little-my
friends, a great deal" My question had
been suggested by the fact which, you
will remember, that you were vigorously
button holed by an elderly gentleman
and detained some minutes, Immediately
after you had turned the corner of the
building on the west front. You then
asked your friend ifthere was any doubt
as to the election ofCox, and discussed
with him the state of his canvass for
some minutes, after which you continued
with an expression of your views apon
the general canvass. stood by silent
listener. Your friend made a remark
about the wonderful uprising of the
people in IS4o, and you replied that,
THAT political upheaval was owing en-.
tirely to the desire of the people for
change" You then Immediately pro
ceeded to say that the desire existing at
present for change was due to our fnan-
cial disaster, depressed industries and
general hard times You Immediately
added, as you remember them. these
words: "0n the question of finance, the |
resumption act, and the necessity of re-
form, we will be badly beaten" This
was indeed an unexpected statement for
me to hear from you. What think you,
sir, was my astonishment, when without
a moment delay, you added these exact
words, viz. 1--WE MUST FLANK THE rs
SUES. We MUST WAVE THE BLOODY
SHIRT, AND REVIVE THE BITTER PREJU-
tDIcEs oFTHEwAR. They wereburned
into my soul and memory as with an iron
seething Ihot from the friest furnace.
Morlx do nOE CO.., thot |