The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1877-04-10
PUBLISHING PHA1R's STATEMENT.

PUBLISHING PHAIR's STATEMENT.
We do not suppose that the patrons of
THE GLOBE, regular or occasional, care
how, when or by what means we procured
the statement of John =. Phair, which was
published in these columns, Saturday morn
ing. 1t is enough for them to know, and
we presume that is all they care about it,
that we performed what we promised and
that they obtained the statement in full
and we may here remark that it is the only
correct statement yet published, all others
being false and incorrect in an important
particular, namely as to the person who, as
it is alleged, built the house of Mrs. Freeze.
We should not allude to the matter of OBJ
tanning and publishing the statemenl-for,
as we have said, our patrons have obtained
all that we promised them-but for the
| fact that a Jealous and untruthful cotempo-
rary In commenting on the fact that the
| statement was published in the Boston
Globe Friday, and in THE RUTLAND GLOBE
Saturday, says ''Subsequent events seem
Z" to prove that the boasts of a certain paper
I" in this place that the statement would ap-
" pear exclusively in THE GLOBE must
" have referred to the Boston Globe.
1t might be sufficient to say that it was
never announced that "the statement would
" appear exclusively in THE GLOBE" The
| only illusions to the publication in these
| columns at all were contained in a pub
| lished letter of Phair which We append
hereto, and in an item which appeared Fri
day morning Of last week, saying that
Phair's statement, written for publication,
" will be published in THE DAILY GLOBE Of
" Saturday, as per his request"
This i, all that has been promised and
this has been fulfilled to the very letter.
But we respectfully submit that, in view
of the letters published he%rewith-the OIL
ginals of which may be seen by any one
who desires-we should have been fully
justified iniannouncing that ''the statement
d" would appear exclusively in THE GLOBE"
We may premise that prior to the TWEEN
ty-eighth day of November, 1876, the edi-
tor of TIE GLOBE had never seen John p.
Phair, lie having been prevented, for rea-
sons which we need not state, from attend
ing his trial. How he happened to call
Upon him in his cell 10 the Vermont state
prison, at Windsor, on that day, may be
gathered from the following letter:
WINDSOR, Nov. Gath, 1876.
Editor Rutland Globe, Dear Sri in
tend to prepare a statement concerning
the proceedings of the state against me ere
long. In this document l desire to expose
the injustice under which l am compelled
to suffer and to leave the truth with the
people, who may feel interested enough in
my sad misfortune to watch the future con-
duct of certain characters who were the
most prominent in causing my foul con-
viction for crime that l had never even
dreamed of perpetratiDg.
My motive, Gas any one will readily see
in giving such a statement to the press can
not be regarded by the uncharitable who
might pronounce 1t as a ruse just TO save
my neck, for 1 do not intend that ii shall
6aUe the prison. until after my death which
| look forward to as my most reliable re-
dress for a most grievous wrong. Very
much has been said and published in de-
tamation OF my character and past con-
duct which was wholly untrue. But this
is not an uncommon thing at the present
time for it appears to me that the best and
most pure men in our land are more or less
blackened and foully represented by the
so-called public press.
Dear sir, you have in times past publish
ed much concerning me that was by no
means pleasant reading TO me, and which
you never could have proved if called on.
Still it is not my purpose to arraign you
for the past, and will only say that many
have knowingly wronged me, and | hope
you are not one of the number.
/ hope you will not conclude by the tone
of this letter that l harbor any unchristian
feeling toward you or any man, for | do
not. Truth compels me to speak plain,
and / mean to do it to the end Of my life.
The statement l propose TO haUe behind
me scH probably be read miM interest By all
OhO haze personally known me, and as yOur
paper has q good circulation in all parts Of
the state 1ohere 1 am kn0on, 1 hare thought
6sSt to consult your feeling in regard 10 tie
pr0priety Of such an insertion. DyOu can
promise me thai y0u aoiU do tile right thing
By ii please let ms kno0 By return mail, and
10 riH be secure for your paper. Respect
fully, J. p. PHAIR.
Our response to this letter was a trip to
Windsor and a visit to John p. Phsir in
his cell, Tuesday, November 2S, 1876. We
were some three or four hours with him,
and he detailed to US the statement he in,
tended to make, entrusting to us, in con
fidence, the names of certain persons whom
he intended to mention, those whom he haC
met at the murdered woman's house, who
introduced him to her, etc., etc. We ad
vised him to omit these names from hi
statement, and, as will be seen, he did. A
the close of our conversation, we told him
in substance, that we should respect the re
quest of a dying man, and would publisl
his statement 10 full just as we received it
lie thanked us, saying that he had noticed
that the editor of TIE GLOBE, while neve
} hesitating to express his own honest con
victions, also treated those who differed
with him fairly and that the statemen
would be furnished only to THE GLOBE
| We never at any time requested the ex
! elusive or ether publication of it, but sim
ply assented to his request for It's publica
) ton and assured him that it should be pub
lished ungarbled. Sometime in Januar,
we received from him the following letter
i. WINDSOR, January 10Th, 1877.
' Wauncy X. Williams, Esq.,, Editor 0
I the Rutland Globe, Dear Sir Since l say
/ you here my mind has been 30 changed tina
am now obliged to withdraw my py0mis
TO y0u in regard TO tie publication Of m,
, statement. l have 1t written, and as 1t con
T tains some broad personal hints at some o
/ the citizens of your town, l have though
you might not like to give it in full an,
Just as | feel justified in having it pre-
sented. Not wishing to run any risk OF it
being published in full, or giving any citi
zen Of that place q chance to arTaign yo'