Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1876-04-22
POLITICS AT THE-sAULT.
A Letter From Edward Ashman, ESQ.,
The Other Side Of the Political Ques-
ffOu.

A Letter From Edward Ashman, ESQ.,
The other Side of the Political Ques-
ton. e..;s.,..
To the Editor of the NORTHERN TEIBENE.
.d97.l las SAULT ST. MARIE, MICH.,}
.5 April 10th, 1876.
In your issue of the Sth of April, 1876,
is an article signed Liberty" which
purports to be "a Republican account of a
Democratic meeting" at the Sault. AL
low me, as a Republican,, to correct one
or two statements i'm that report. This
L should not do if all your readers knew
as we'll as we do here the character of
the writer of that communication. He
says Mr.. Brown 'sdid not refer to his own
reported dishonesty while superintend-
'cnt of of the St. Mary's Falls Ship Canal
which made him so stink i'm the nOstrils
of the Republican party they had to
drop HIM" This is wilfully false mis-
representation, for this ''repor.ed dishor-
esty"was one of the things which Mr..
Brown did refer to tdIly, ::and answered
these charges by referring all present to
joint documents of !37l; vol. l, page
., of Attorney Generals report; also to
I'll article in the Detroit Post or Tri-
bune of the same year, headed A Foul
Charge Refuted > in which the afore-
said reported dishonesty" was referred
to, and the action Of the Board of State
Auditors on the same fully acquitting
Mr.. Brown. When did the Republican
party drop him, and for what? Since
those charges i'm 1866 Mr.. Brown was
once Or twice elected City Attorney of
Albion, Mich, 10y the Republican party !;
was a candidate for Circuit Judge on the
Republican ticket seven years ago. at
which time he recei~ed large majority
of the votes cast in the counties of Che
bOygan, Mackinaw and Chippewa, car
rying the latter county nearly unani-
mously. The Republican party elected
him to the offices of Prosecuting Attor-
ney and Circuit Court Commissioner
three terms Republican U. S. District
Attorney appointed MIR. Brown his de-
putty six years ago; three years ago he
was appointed U. S. Circuit Court
Commissioner, through the il fiuence OF
a Republican. Mr.. Brown has held sew
eral other offices, town and village and
has usually been elected by large ma-
jorities, but never by so large majoli-
ty as he was this spring after your article
appeared in the Northern Light. Could
a better answer be made? Should bet
ter answer be asked for by you or yOnr
readers to those lying charges of ere
ported dishonesty" and that the Re-
publican party dropped him.
Liberty" says: IL must add, in clos.
ing, that all the Republicans of Chippe-
Wa county will be pleased to learn thai
Ed. Ashman has at last plucked up
enough courage to jump off the fence
where he has perched so long, and de-
clared himself Democrat"
This is another falsehoOd. Ed. Ash.
MN was never Democrat nor Liberal
He was turned out of office for no othel
cause than that of refusing to join the
corrupt canal ring in their unjustiiiable
uncalled for, foolish and wicked persecu-
ton of Mr.. Brown. Through this fight
the Democratic and Liberal vote was
changed from forty or sixty to 232
against IS Republican. was put on
that ticket this spring, Democratic and
Liberal,) because they desired my elec-
ton over that of ID. o. B. Lyon, an old
Democrat. on the Republican ticket.
Now, Mr.. Editor, beg to assure you, and
all Republicans. that am not gOirg to
allow Liberty and his ''canal ring" to
kick me out of the Republican party at
all. vr-sf s.Il1t b.
/ have lived here all my llfe-fifty
years-and do not believe that clerk or
superintendent has any right to dictate
as to the Republican that may vote for
i'm a convention. The whole fight and
quarrel here originated out of this die
tatorial spirit on the part OF our canal
officials. The fight has cost our party
more than it will regain i'm many years
to :come. Is it right for ''outside' Re
publicans to aid, uphold and encourage
this spirit of persecution here, on the
part of temporary office-holders, who
have not one cent of property here, who
do not pay one cent of taxes, and that
will leave when their term of office eX-
pires? ~ Yours, respectfully, - -
81 taf 5a EDWARD ASHMAN. .