The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1876-03-07
MR HAvERsr1CK'sFAILUREAsA
LEcrURER ON JoURNALIsAf.
His Mistatemez.Us on the volks- zeitung
and its Editor. 90

His Mistateme..rs on the volks- zeitung
and its Editor. 60
Rock ISLAND, ILL.,, March 8, 1876
M. HAyERsTIcK, ESQ.,, Sir:-You
have seen fit to publish in to-day.s 0mson
an open letter to me containing some
structures on myself and the course OF nay
paper, the Neue Volks- Zeitung. ltIs very
clear to me that you intended your pono-
erousn document to serve the eiectloneer
ing purposes of your party. You had SEEM
from my paper of the 10th OF February,
that would not support Mr.. Butler Tor
mayor, or the Republican city ticket, and
as a tremendous consequences OF this,
small slip of paper to the effect that you
had stopped your paper" was, longer
than a week ago. handed to me by Mr..
VIM, E. Johnston, at the Union office. But
you did not publish your ''open letter IN
the Union until the morning OF the election
10 order to prevent my reply to you from
becoming known, initime. to all of the read
ers OF the Union You ana that very
small proportion of my subscribers that
share your opinions can stop their paper, :"
but they cannot stop the course OF the
Neue VolEs-Z eituag. no matter on which
side the victory may now be.
When | commenced the publication of
nv paper there was no local issue before
the people of this city, and as far as nation
al politics are concerned the policy of my
paper was announced by me to be
tndependent. But / never promised you
or any other man to be always neutral
in any campaign, local or otherwise.
| said in my programme that L would
censure mismanagement and corruption III
either party, but thereby did not give
up my right as an editor to sustain that
side which in my opinion would best serve
the true interests of the people.
That side, just at this moment, is the
ticket at the head OF which Mr.. Bailey
Davenport is placed for mayor and Messrs.
Buford, Lundy. Huber, Warner. and Bladel
for council
In endorsing this ticket l said, in my
paper, that there is no party issue in this
local campaign, but the question of honest
and economical city government,
expressly said that [ endorsed it. not
because of its being Democratic merely, bat
simply because it would secure better
representation Of all the different interests
and classes of the people than the Repub
lican ticket. / showed the alarming in
crease of the city debt under the present
| water board management. l drew, from
undisputable facts and figures, the inevita-
| Bile conclusion that the water works of this
city had been mismanaged and that by
Mr.. Buffers election no change for the
better, but rather to the contrary, would
have to be expected.
These are the reasons why endorsed
Mr.. Davenport's and all the other Demo
cratic nominations. Your assertion that
my paper had been an echo" Of TIN
ARGUS is entirely unwarranted. | drew
my inspiration from the official reports, as
far as they could be obtained. 1t is true
that once spoke of Mr.. Parks as an as
sistant city attorney-as THE ARGUS
facetiously named him-when | ought to
have said the assistant or law partner 0
MIR. Gest, the city attorney. But as
used the term as reporting an unothcia
proceeding, viz: the Republican conven
ton, my readers. for whom you evince 81
much interest, will probably find no faul
with that seemingly inaccurate expression
describing tue professional status Of tn
gentleman referred to. 4>4
Now to the last point: You try to shoy
Mr.. Buffers position on the tempeEauc
or rather the Sunday law and license CUES
ton. You assert that [ misrepresentc
Mr.. Buffers views in my payer. | simpl
reply that you misrepresent the course G
my paper, as will appear from the follow
, ing concise statement of facts: In com
nenting on the Republican convention
t said, in the Tolks Zeitnaq of Februar
26th.-''In the above ward delegation
the temperance element is strongly repre-
scented, which indicates that their candidat
for mayor will be unaer their influence
The German-American element is hardl
; represented in it." Mr.. Walter johnson
d, editor Of the Union. then asked ne t
publish a communication in my paper. i
which he assured me that Mr.. Butte
, did not represent the temperance interest
y and would not interfere with tie salo)
!; This communication published in full
my paper OF the lst of March. adding ths
! had no desire to misrepreser
Mr.. Buffers views On the tempe
/. ancc question, yet on the very nez
!; day the Union charged my Taper wit
: misrepresenting Mr.. Butler on th;
. point, and argued that the temperance
{. license question was no issue in this col
/; test. passed oyer with silence the III
:, fair statement of the Union regarding m
: paper. But when on Sunday last I'll
!. Onion reverted to the matter, placing Nj
!; Davenport before the people as fayoriu
}. an Increase OF license, I expressed.
0 Mondays extra issue of the Tolks III
tung. my surprise that the Union regar,
|. led the license question an issue notwltl
!; standing its own assertion to the contrar,
!; then said: Bailey Davenport, during b
!; term as mayor, had shown himself II
!; friend of personal liberty and an opponel
!; of the temperance and prohibition law
). while there is nothing definitely known
;. to Mr.. Butler position on this auestio
l. MIR. Butler, or rather Mr.. johnson wi
assumed to speak 10 his name, had, on,
= before. very fairly been granted the u.
OF the columns of my paper to state
!; position, and he was not misrepresented
!. my paper, as You falsely, and with fl
y knowledge of the facts, state in your lette
7, | then considered it. as / do now, u
!, necessary aud uncalled-for to lose N
valuable time 10 running after Mr.. Butte
i. In conclusion, Mr.. Haverstick. will s:
= that have been for years citizen of IL
United States. and that have lived fc
l. several years Ia Missouri, only little mo
}. than half mile from the state line
Illinois, viz: at ST. Louis. You al
J. your friends are quite welcome to all I'll
arguments You may make again
D. me from these facts. But of O,
fact more | wish to assure you, and th
he is that uncaled for advice will NJ
ID change by one particle my course; al
ut that. whenever / should feel inclined
a. increase my knowledge % Journalism and i
S, morals. | would look to better and pur
st source of information than Won are.