Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1880-11-25
Hewitt Pays Bis Respects to Judge
Davis.

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In his opinion in the case of Kenward
lhi'p, charged with having forged the
tiarreld-M orey letter and thus crimi-
ns.iy libeling General Garfield, Judge
laws characterized the conduct Of Mr..
Hewitt in severe and unjudicial and
partisan terms. Mr.. Hewitt makes the
following reply: bse
The Judge who sits upon the bench is sup
posed to know the evidence which has been
gi'yen by a witness. Certainly he should ex-
anime it before he undertakes to make state
ments as to its nature and to draw conclusions
from it. That Judge Dax Is has not performed
this duty the following comparison Of his
statement with my testimony viii serve to
prove:
The passage is quoted from the opin-
ion in which it is made to appear that
the Morey letter was not published un-
til after Mr.. Hart had it examined by
Hewitt. Mr.. Hewitt makes this re-
joinder: -qesg - ~ .t
Now. the simple and uuanswerable reply to
all this statement, the extraordinary COM
mcnts in which Judge Davis has seen ut to
indulge, is that the letter had already been
published in Truth before had ever seen Mr..
Hart or the original letter, or any copy Of it.
This fact Judge Davis must have known when
he penned the above lines, because had
swo-n, in his presence, and after the cross
examination by MIR. Stoughton, In which Mr..
Bliss intcrvenei to verify the dates, that the
intervieV with MT, Hart and the examination
of the letter took place on tho 10th of Octo-
Der, after its publication in Truth, and not be
fore. do not know whether Mr.. Hart made
a mistake in his testimony as to date, but III
he did there is no possible Justification for
Judge Davis to base statement on this mis-
take in order to attack from the Bench the
character of citizen after the date had
been fixed beyond the possibility Of all con-
troversy.
While writing this statement I sent a mes
senger to Mr. Hart to ascertain whether he
had ever made any declaration Mt Variance
with the facts as I have stated them Mr..
Hart replies he never said, testified, or thought
that Mr.. Hewitt, or any one connected with
the National Committee, saw the letter in adj
vance of the publication of the text of the let
ter I'm Truth on the Goth of October. never
pronounced the body and signature of the let
ter to be in the handwriting of General Gar
field. On the contrary, In the presence Of
Mr.. Hart, and all the gentlemen present, /
declared the body of the letter not to be in
the handwriting of General Garfield. but that
believed the signature TO be his autograph.
As to the second interview In the evening, 1t
took place after my speech at Chickering Hall,
when was exhausted, and took no other part
in the discussion but to reafiirm my belief in
the genuineness of the signature. I did not
tell Mr.. Hart that would have made It q
forgery If 1 could, nor has he or any one else
testified ever used the expression.
To Judge Davis assertion that Hewitt
event on with his associates scattering
the forgery broadcast throughout the
country" Hewitt replies:
So far as am concerned, il would, perhaps,
be sufficient answer to say that never circu-
lated any autographs or fac-similes Of either
kind, but in order to show with what reckless
eagerness the charge is made. state that am
assured by the person who did send out the
fac-simiies that only the first or accurate ones
were circulated. and that the second
amended fac-similes were only published I'm
Truth, over which it is not pretended the COM
mittee bad any control. forbear to
make any commentary whatever upon
ion produced by Judge Davis. II is
the foundation upon which he has built up an
attack upon my character Is false I'm fact, and
with this demonstration the consequences can
only be damaging to himself I was prepared
for this attack by the evidently prearranged
preliminary statement of Mr.. Stoughfo on I'm the
Times of yesterday, and am now forced to
belevethat there Is aconcerted scheme TO at
tempt to break me down i'm this community
where have lived for fifty years, and to which
] can more safely trust for Just Judgment than
to Judge of the Supreme Court who forgets
that when he becomes Judge he should cease
to be q partisan.