Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-01-24


dam FTtendship Buried.
! NEAR CARTERsvILLE, GA, January 49, 1882
Editors Constitution; Your paper Of to-day,
containing Mr.. Hills long delayed letter. is to
hand. Allow me to thank you for your kindly
offer to admit my reply to this voldminous re-
| joinder in your columns hope shall not be
| obliged TO tax your generosity again. l shall
| only reply to attacks on my character. AS
| said before, Mr.. Hill is entirely welcome to
| abuse the Independents nobody objects
unless it may be the party, Of which he is the
| mouth piece.
Permit a word in Justice to r. W Grady In
! publishing Mr. Hills interview he expressly
| stated il was done with "hiS (Hil's under
| standing and consent " Mr. Hill did not deny
| it when he read it in print, nor does he deny it
| now. What he NAV do hereafter nobody can
| tell know l speak public sentiment when /
| say Mr.. Grady would have much improved this
| letter of the 18th. The interview was good
reading-sharp, spicy, and the letter is not
what was even expected of Mr.. Hill. 1t was
a cruel thing you did. Messrs Editors. in put
| ting out notice of its expected appearance
| day by day. Every organized brother who
! could raise a nickel rushed to the cirs every
| morning TO get the paper in which Senator Hill
| was to prove 'old FELTON," a "Radical;'' in
! which he was to show the ''ultimatum" that he
! affirmed he knew all about; in which he was to
expose to the bottom the ''fouleSt conspiracy
| home with the precious document he not only
| failed to prove single thing, but he declsr red
was the best Democrat in the State Tn
| memory 0t those muddy rides. of those waste :
| nickels, has brought down some very uncOm-
nlimentarv words upon your leader. who has
| failed again in an effort to save the State "
| With his usual luck he stands confessed before
| vour re derS and the public as a deliberate
| fa'sifier of truth He gives you long diSser
| tatiOn on "hyDocrI Y " and shows great anx-
| ietv for my present and fut re If To this /
4 ,,aI,, vA,1sf os,r
exposing so mnch relgionin his shop widows,
| you may he sure the stock inside is verv lean.
BEFORE go farther, allow word about the
wife # Senator Hill AS be drew the names
OF my present and former wife into rhe jun
hIed up lette e, for what reason I cannot divi e.
7 desire To say to your readers, knew Mrs
Hill's girlhood and maidenhoOd to he all that
was lovely and attractive and her beautiful
character as wife, mother and friend Is emf
nently worthy O. the highest respect. Her
children can rise up and call her blessedl
Mr. Hill puts great stress uDon the fact that
he wrote me a letter about the coalition" to
which I should have replied Mr.. G~adv's in
terview was dated January ID. Mr. Hill'S letter
to me was dated January 3D., a d mailed at
clock n. m Less than two days after that
friendly lette~ reached me- your type-setters
were busy on his interview.
The letter. although full of his peculiar af
fection. was 90 6ogmatic. so tmpertnRnt, so
presuming and offensive. that mywife remark
ed, Look out for an atrocious attack upon
YOU This is the avant courier of what is COM
ing in print~ He inclines to see the letter
printed judge from what he saws. hut it is
only a synopsis of the interview Itself. and
while it il at your disposal at any time, it is
uncaed for at this writing
With this treacherous letter and the Grady
interview before me- waited until Monday.
after it appeared on Saturday before l mailed
YOU my reply. ''F H R." in his correspond
ence. announced the fact that Mr.. Hill read it
on Sunday, and stood at the telegraph office
up to the last NOR ent before my letter left
my hands, in the hone thai Mr. Hill would
send line to saw that he had erred in thus at
tacking me-a man who. by his own cODfes
sion. had never sa an unkind WORD" of him
in public. No message came.
1t is too fresh in the minds of the public to
forget he charged ne with dishonesty"
corruption -" the selling of myself TO the Re
publican part and of - fricanzing the State. )"
to need further notice here Now. this pUz
zling demagogue has the audacity to affirm he
made nc attack on me whatever Has the man
bee 1me insane that he should thus belle him
self
Ii would be a curiosity in literature or NOR
ais to see his definitiou Of truth or friendship,
as exemplifed in his words and actions.
As to his lengthy review of what he did for
me in -four Congressional campaigns. l shall
rot bore YOU with anything more than the
facts to show you the faSity of his charge
majesty. TO entreat his good offices in my he
half, and / shall only need his own teStin 0ny
to do so. His own mouth shall speak for him
and not another do not suppose his vanity
the injury a self-appointed and self-commis
stoned AMBASSADOR might so. between bel
lgerents VIII found his well meant efforts
very much in their way and of no particular
benefit "a mans praises have ry musi
cal and charming sound from the mouth of
another, but they sound little fat
and untunable in his own"-says ZenO-
phep, and with all Mr.. Hill's brilliancy,
it is possible to feel somewhat surfeited with
so much self praise, and while l would be the
last man to point out to him a~y kindness or
favor done to himself, it would be wholesome
lesson to him to remember that help can be
come a very onerOus thing when it is done to
be able to give you a slap, because of it. No~
let us see the record. Mr.. Hill need not sneer
at scrap bOok-tor you will need nothing
more to floor him in any argument or state
ment of fac's He can permit bimSelf con-
tradicted by himself with more equanimity
than auv man who ever lived. He actually
rushes into print to convict mself of false
hood and deceit-and yet comes up to a fresh
attack smiling ever
In 1874 he neither appeared in print or in
person to aid me- (He proposes to show he
'imperied his own standing" in his rty to
helm me). His 'stsndtng' was 50 good at that
time-he was published AS one of Co onel
Dabnev'S speakers agains- me. He told me
afterwards he di not appear because he loved
me so much; and believe it.
In 1Nf6 he did Ii tie more. That was tie
year the Legislature was to be elected, which
was to make him United States Senator What
he did YOU will find in your files under date of
July I'd, 1873. and headed Sense for the 7th
signed, Benj H. Hill. l furnish an extract
81 1875 greatly desired to see this breach
recOncilet. Without explaining to aim my
urpose, 1 had conversation with him in
Washington. l found him anxious TO be in
harmony with his party, but unable to see
how he ould make an advance to bring a out
harm ny. He seemed to think that the orIv
purpose of some who had control of the party
machiRery was to us it to humliare and de-
feat him in a spirit of reve ge l came home
and made it convenient TO vi it Gainesville on
the q aYpCntiUp af 10
the convention. tRemem bar, ne was a candi-
date himself for the Senate) l ende4vo to
ascertain If Dr. Felton's apprehen. ions were
correct asked the chairman would he (Fel-
toni stand any chance if he expressed a will
ingness to go before it. None in thu world:
we are going to have a convention expressly
to beat hin, and will crush him out by a
maj j0rity of five thousand :"
Now, MessrS Editors, I certainly did not
send" Mr.. Hill, he afflrms he never ex-
planned his purpose to me. and I was found to
be correct in saying 10 him The party ma
chinery was used to defeat me What sane
man would ask another to go upon such a
RIDICULOUS errand2
What he said to them dhe eommittee) /
know not, but no man rose up to say sought
the nOmt alton then or since
Now, & ntlemen, what are we to infer from
this mans wi d assertions? So long trained to
make the worse appear the bett-r reason
he actually tells an unit utn to s,ander me-
was anxious for harmony made a pro
position mysef. nSmely: If each voter would
lndorse OF tne back Of his 9ubernatorial ticket
~ tne October election the name of the
they desired TO make their CeAgFe-~ an
November, would abide tAe . ssnan IN
mot the decision 81 o. "ill of the people,
When THIS 10y tri' ksters.
thev rsa,e'1 deposition wss p esented, did
deoS I've it! They threw it back in dis lain
-44ring it an insult to the party" I his is
matter of record, and represents the whole
truth.
Senator Hill so greatly '1mperilled his stand
ing In the party" that the party elected him
to the Senate the next January. 1 could tell
him of friend he had at that time, buG self
laudation is his special prerogative
In 1878, when this Sense for the Seventh
appeared, he told the Ringgold Convention to
nominate me. but was fair enough to saw this
pr posal would astonish nobody more" than
myself which was true-emphatic4l
had no idea of asking such a thing from
body organized especially to beat me-" DR.
Stephens. now deceased and Col Frank Grav
OF Atlanta. then of this county, came to me
and desired to know il / would permit nv
name voted on at that convention 1 dec lined.
If that convention had endorsed me and ap-
proved my course In Congress, l should have
been gratified, as was likewise grateful to all
men-au parties-all citiz ms, white and col
ored, for similar endorsement at the polls. !
should, certainly, however, have felt no more
gratitude to them than l would to the same
number Of citizens living in the district.
Messrs. Editors, it is very clear 1 did not send
Mr.. Hill to make any such proposition-nor
can ANYBODY picture me on my knees, pleading
with him TO ask for what so respectfully de
elined.
Now we come down to 1880 was jogging
along with my usual canvass, when etter
dated July 10th was received from Mr.. Hill. l
have it before me:
Dear Doctor: l want to see you. Some sug-
gestions have been made touching the canvass
in the 7th which / think are worthy of your
ment can be made to make All easy time for
you in this race, but we can do nothing with