The daily gazette., 1880-12-03

0hu tDy Crcuits WouuoE ~ Coulu
stand up at all. do not wonder that
the agents became weak when they saw
these repeated attacks. Simply that its
reputation was not good, Its credit was
not good. Why? Because that sheet
had done all 1t could for three years tn
rob it of its reputation and scatter its
venom broadcast throught this land of
ours. Mr.. Geo. Richardson tells you It
is not fraud. He Is their witness and
he tells you deliberately and emPhati-
cally it Is not fraud. John r. McFee
licensed it and said 1t was not fraud.
Where does all this trash 90 when We
get at the kernel of the case? Scattered
Why, gentlemen, it is like the miasma
rising from our marshes when the sum
light of truth comes in, 1t disperses and
sinks back again to its native mud.
say they have not sustained the plea of
justification. That is manly; it is not
the craven now who says, 81 decline to
answer" No, gentlemen, 1t Is the man
who came in and said 81 did 1t; 1t is true;"
it is the man that does that. 1t is the
sneak that says 81 decline to answer"
1t Is manly to say 81 did 1t, and 1t Is
true" George Richardson, the head
and chief and front and the honorable
man OF the three-he is head and shoul-
ders above bis companions as an honor
able mani mean no unkindness tow
ard them in this at all. He says "It is
not so;" he says 1t is not fraud, he
says tive didn't report it as a fraud; we
only reported that the credit of the colA-
pany was not good"
Let me illustrate these. Suppose that
company were to attack any other man,
a man who was doing business, and who
necessarily depended upon public conf
dence; were to attack any indi ividual do
ing business and req uiring public patron
age, az they attacked that institution,
wouldn't it have ruined almost any man?
Wouldn't IL necessarily make his repu-
t ton bad2 Why, that paper was read
all over Wilmington; the people were
talking about 1t Continually, and defy
you TO find single particle of evidence
| that traces any OF these reports to any
other scource than the Euery Euening.-
They promised Us papers; they were go
| ing to show us papers all over this land
that talked about this company. They
are not here, aud they could not bring
them. They did not succeed in getting
the Insurance Journal, which passes
among half a dozen insurance offices in
the city of Wilmington, and which will
| show you how these insurance journals
get their authority. They did find one,
and that was long after the attacks of
the Euery EUsling.
Not proving 1t, they aggravate their Of
fense. They plead not guilty; we prove
they were guilty, they plead they were
guilty, and that they were justified in
doing it. They do not prove they were
justified but think we proved they were
not justified.
WHAT'S the next phase of this case?
| Faf nart
or no, 1t matters not This company
have not come here to make money
they have come here to stop the libels
that have been hurled at them, and al
the hands of an honest jury to ask, az
they have asked of your sworn officers
of this State, as they have asked of 9
committee of responsible citizens o.
Wilmington, and who pronounced then
not fraud and have licensed them to de
business-they come to ask at your
hands like vlndication of their honoi
and of their financial integrity. sa,
if this man in this paper has robbed
them of m uch of what would have beer
their legitimate gains, we are entitled t.
damages whether we ever get a cent
We are entitled to the protection whicl
the law throws around US to protect ou
fair name. These men are entitled tina
( you shall take their reputation out of tn
s | mouth of the slanderer, and put them il
a the verdict OF twelve honest men; to ga
, that VIM. Bright Is not a swindler; tha
: DR.. Tantum IL not a swindler, and tina
e these other men are not swindlers so ia
as they are connected with that lnstitu
9 tion, for that is all we are trying to-da
as relates to them. They come for q vin
: dication of the truth which they hav
Y ever been willing to open to the scrutin.
of the public eye. They never shranl
from public scrutiny; they have invite
| Araf md ol lru1nu haw lrA
people to come in and look, and the
I extend to you to-day, and to any ma
5 among you the invitation to come an
i. | look at their books and assets when yo
4 please and you shall have an open an
a free opportunity to see whether 1t stand
! as John r. McFee says and as the com
mlttee of examiners say, not fraud bu
a reliable and honestly conducted COL
! poration. Our mutual insurance CON
4 panles, when they nrst start, have YER
little except their premium notes.
' | know one mutual insurance compan
1 now that has not dollar except its pre-
' MUM notes, and some of you knew th
same instltutioH. Whenever q loss |
. made they take the very cum mberous wa
of collecting on premium notes. But
is just as good as gold because 1t is lad
up of honest men who meet the respoI
( | sibillties, and, gentlemen, this corpors
= ton has paid every dollar that is agains
4 | 1t, and only contested those that they be
heved were unfair and unjust. Has any
body been robbed or cheated? Yes, some
body has been robbed or cheated. The
4 tried to rob that company of their fai
3 name; they tried to rob VIM. Bright @
r his fair pane and tried to get him out O
| the church. Now, gentlemen, what hav
they done? AS l said, no damages coul,
bring back to us the satisfaction of min,
, | we would have had IL we had not beei
, , attacked. And we have proved to you
| think, to your satisfaction, and the,
have not attempted to contradict 1t, eve
ry dollar of loss that we claimed In ou
Darr. DR.. Tantum stated to you he ha,
made careful and thorough examina
ton of their books so far as he could 70
, He then footed up $25,500 they have los
since these attacks commenced, and ht
> had not gone through their books; S25,
900 of actual losses, of policies which
they had and lost, not OF what they nigh
have gotten. And need l say to yor
what they might have gotten? Mr.. Jones
said he abandoned his agency altogether
and ceased to canvass. Mr.. Williams told
you he began to lose faith somewhat him
self although he kept what he had to a
great extent by his own personal char
acter, yet he ceased to make any more
efforts and get new; and 80 it has been all
around; we prove actual loss, and that Is
corroborated by Mr.. alright .and Mr.
Hawkins TO be largely in excess of $20,-
we do care that our reputation shall be
vindicated and above all that the truth
shall prevail.