The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1876-10-19
[l'rom the Meies County Hefald.l
A DEFENSE.
HARTFORD CRY, Oct. 5th, 1916.

quite lengthy editorial in which
/. there is 4 persistent and wordy effort
made to convince its readers that
have not acted honestly and consist
emily in my statements concerning
| the s40Q difficulty, that is giving
that side so much trouble Just now.
\ / want 10 notice some Of his state
mentst In this editorial / am made
to say first that ! thought paid the
money to Hayes. most unequiyo,
eably affirm here that ] never made
that statement but have always spo;
ken Of il in tile most positive and
lunequiyooating way from the fact
That Ieould not doubta transaction
itlia apds out before my mind as
distiacl n and is as indclibly impress.
I'd upOn my memory as any event in
my whole life. rlie statements Of
Mr.. Miller and Mr.. Mooney, whether
intentional or not are both fIlse,-'
iMr, Miller's diary shows, so he says,
THAT the execution occurred Jnne5th,
lItwas August 9Th This eyefy enc
fthat Knows anything uBont il knows
to be false. Mr.Mooney says, she
talked with me sometime after, it
may have been 4 week or month and
that | still had the money. This is
false, The money was handed to
Hayes the same evening. Test: Col
Wm. Il. Brown. Yet these two men
arc brought forward to testify to
things that did not occur, for Mr.,
Miller's memory as also his diary are
both very wrong and all ask for
this is the unbiased judgment of the
people.
Agoin | am eliminated by the edi-
tor for my carelessncss in not taking
a receipt from Hayes. 1t was not
customary in the army to take re-
ccipts unless You were doing bust
ness directly with the Government,
This was m extraordinary case and
no. in the regular routine Of bust
ness and if had demanded Il receipt
| perhaps would have dono it at the
risk Of being semitic The guard house.
But again if | ann culpablc, for it is
Just rs certain as that he ever com
mandcd a Union soldier that the
money went from my hands into
his, and fit went out ofmy hands into
Captain ellis as he claims it did, if
it ever got into his, then why not
cry out against him for not demand
ing 4 receipt. Again my savings
are garblcd, warped and misrCprc-
scnted, all for the purpose Of making
astatement to General Grosvener that
! was not certain that Colonel Comfy
was in the tent with Hayes when |
turned over the money. here de-
nounce this statement as unqua.iti-
eddy false. ] have always said that
Comfy was present, and | am finally
of the opinion, after much reflection
and say with good deal of hcsi.a
ton, that if the parties were not all
in the same boat and sailing under
the same colors, there would DO no
trouble whatever, upon this point
For it does seem that party ties, par.
ty affiliations, and the desire for po-
litical asceudanry, are so ovcrwhelm'
ing in many eases, that religion,
honor. truth and moral honesty, are
all made to succumb and bow to
their mandates. | am not complain
ing of General Hayes and Col. Com
Ily. They have treated me rs gentle
manly as could expect under the
circumstances, but am complaining
of their whclps who are doing their
dirty work. Not of Mr. Chapman,
so much as of Dum.bull, editor of the
Meigs County Republican, to which !
may call attention in the future
| But the editor tries to make Il point
against me because | did not write
| to Hayes when corruption was char
gcd upon NE. | was compelled to
give an explanation to the church.
want to say to this charge, that
| the people to whom | made the cX-
Iplanation and with whom | have
1 been living for 20 years made no de-
maud of that kind, my word was
sufficient. 1t put the thing to rest
at once and shut the mouth Of the
slandercr.
Blu. finally, let me ask in the way
Of conclusion, does this editor or any
other sane man suppose, that if | had
not given that money to Hayes, that
| would have said so right then and
there to officers and privatcs in the
regiments that composed the brigade
commanded BY Gen. Hayes, or that |
would have written to my wife too
afterwards making the same state
mcnt? No sir, if Is sslfevidcnt, It
carries conviction ON the very front
to every unbiased and disintcrested
mind The truth is, it is a persist
cnt and relentless determination on
the part Of these parties TO get one
man out of Il difficulty by struggling
to saddle the blame on another. But
! gentlemen, the more you struggle TO
convinccSthc people Of the rectitudo
of your cause, the more you don't do
it, and the more the Poupedon editor
of the Republican struggles to traduce
my personal and religious character,
all the more contomptible he becomes
in the minds Of all honest, thinking