Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1877-09-05
A.w. oAsTos vEg2us DIV. sTgw-
From the oiiumwa Democrat.


OTTUMwA, lows, Aug. rs, 1877.
To THE EDITOR OF THE DEMOCRAT =
In your last issue I discovered an ar
ticle wherein you say "That certain
sneaks have made charges against DR..
Stewart, Democratic candidate for
sheriff; that he was connected with
whisky frauds on the government.
Why don't the sneaks make their
charges public and not 60 round whis-
pering lies in the ears of unsuspect-
ing honest voters. DR.. Stewart defies
them to come out in public and make
their charges"
Now as no part Of the above applies
either directly or indirectly to myself
personally. for the reason that have
never made any such charge as that
against DIR. Stewart in any manner or
form, nor have / whispered or
breathed what I believed to be lie
to honest or lunsuspecting voters, 1
do not write this for the purpose of
vindicating myself against these char
ges.
But, inasmuch as you further say
chat he" (meaning DR.. Stewart, /
suppose) invites investigation of all
his acts, by which I understand that
DR.. Stewart has authorized you to ex-
tend an invitation to any one who
may know or thinks he may aught
derogatory to the character of DR..
Stewart, or any good reasons why
the honest unsuspecting voters of Wa
pello county should not support him
for the office to which he aspires,
therefore avail myself of the invita-
ton, and will present few matters
for investigation in order to give the
Doctor an opportunity of presenting
himself to the honest and unsuspect-
ing voters of Wapello county in the
most unspotted robe he may have in
the wardrobe of his moral character.
The first little matter which I, as
one Of the voters of Wapello county
would like the Doctor to explain, is,
how can man who has heretofore
been openly and wilfully violating
the laws of the State of Iowa, by sell
ing intoxicating liquors in violation
of law, be a good moral citizen, or a
suitable person to fill an Office, the
duties Of which especially requires
him to hunt out, and bring to Justice
parties engaged in the same traffic he
had been engaged in himself.
The second matter / would like to
have investigated is whether it was
strictly honest to write the letters
written by him to merchants in st.
Louis and other places as quasi rec
ofO w. Lyman II Co.,
Composed of o. w. Lyman and Ade-
line Lynam,) while they were in the
liquor business in Ottumwa in March
and April, 1873, and by which they
were induced to sell Lyman & Co.,
goods on credit, and for which they
never got one dellar, written, when
d. w. Stewart could have ascertained
and ought to have known that both
Lyman and his wife were insolvent.
Third, | want to know, whether
the fact that d. w. Stewart and o.
w. Lyman having an understanding
that Stewart was to get part of the
liquors, purchased of Bevis, Mason &
Co., OF st. Louis, by 0. w. Lyman s.
Co., did not have considerable influ-
ence upon the mind of DR.. Stewart, to
induce him to write the letter of rec
of q. w. Lyman & CO.,
which he wrote to them, and whether
the cautious wording Of said letter,
was not a premeditated design on his
part to said o. w. Lyman to swindlc
his creditors.
Fourth, l would like to know
whether that little pretended trade of
old whisky for new between himself
and o. w. Lyman, by which he got
nearly one thousand dollars worth of
the whisky that o. w. Lyman s. Co.
s,cindled their. creditors out of, was in
his opinion a strictly legitimate and
honest transaction on his part, and
whether CATERS study Of three or four
years. he has been able to find out
when, where, or how, he paid for the
whisky he got out of the institution
of O. w. Lyman & Co., and after ex-
planning these little transactions to
the satisfaction of the voters, (if he
should happen to get through before
the election,) perhaps it would be as
well for him to step around to Joshua
Prugh's and see if he can explain, to
the satisfaction of Mr.. Prugh when.
where, and how, he paid that little
bill, he once owed there. There are
a few of the unsuspecting voters of
Wapello county, would very much
like to have these little matters fully
before voting for the Doc
tor for the Office Of Sheriff, because
there are some things connected with
these little transactions, which look
very much like spots of something
nasty on the moral character Of the
honorable gentleman.
Yours truly, A. w. CASTOR.