The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1884-10-30

The highest democratic idea Of running
political campaign, seems to DO TO throw
mud at republican candidates. Down South
the democrats have dangerous custom of
using shot-guns TO get rid of political oppo-
sition, but in the North, they resort TO
sSquirt-guns They do not assassinate men,
but assassinate characters. A notable in
stance of this is the scurrilous attack recently
made upon Hon. ]. @. Burrows, tho republic
can candidate for congress in this district,
in the columns of the Courier, charging
him with resigning his position in the army
without cause, with being "bounty scalper,"
and with having wronged half-witted sol
der out of his state bounty.
This dirty SANDER has been copied into
the columns of the democratic press, through
out the district emblazoned on campaign
banners, and repeated from the stump by
constituencies campaign orators, notably by
that political mountebank, Gen. Sam Cary.
As specimen of campaign mud-slinging, 1t
has seldom been equaled and never excelled.
That men who, outside of their political af-
hliations, are gentlemen, and who, under
other circumstances, would scorn to stoop
to such dirty work, will not only assist in
the circulation of such outrageous ISLANDERS,
but will prostitute themselves to the infa-
NOUS business of originating them, only
shows to what desperation they are driven,
and how utterly hopeless their cause has be-
come.
At the time of the alleged charges. Mr. A.
A. Knappen, now the Methodist presiding
elder of Albion district, was a partner of Mr.
Burrows, and the following letter from him,
which we have an his 0aon handwriting,
fully exonerates Mr.. Burrows, and shows
that he not only did what was right, but that
the firm of Burrows g. Knappen actually
gave to the administrator of the soldiers es-
tate $115 that they were neither legally nor
morally bound to pay;
ALBION, MICH, Oct. 16, 1884.
Editor Paw Paw Free Press and Courier:
In glancing over the columns of your
paper, under the heading Burrows Bounty
-Scalper," 1 find two very serious mis-state-
ments. The first is that when Captain Bur
rows resigned his position in the army she
was not sick" know of my own personal
knowledge that he was almost Immediately
after, and came to my home to be cured
And from his letters received just prior TO
his resigning, know he complained of being
sick. 1t is foul SANDER to represent him
as not sick when he came homo. Mrs. X. is
positive about this.
The second aspersion is that he cheated
the soldiers while acting as their agent.
am conversant with his conduct in this line
OF business, and / never knew him to wrong
one of them penny.
AS to the particular transaction referred
to in the case of White, permit me to say
that Mr.. Burrows was the wronged and not
the iorO7iQ d0er. / will state the facts
briefly: This young man upon enlistment
came to our Office In company with some ac-
quaintances of his who were strangers to us,
who assured us that be was in the habit of
xJsing for himself in business matters, and
desired to sell his state bounty certificate so
as to have the money to leave with his rela-
hves, and would regard 1t as personal &C
oommodation if we would ddUdnce il to him
and wait for the state to provide for its pay
rnent. which we did in the presence of his
neighbors, and supposed we were fully justi-
fed in so doing, as we had no hint from any
source that the soldier was "half -witted."
For II years neither of us heard word of
us heard a word of fault found with the
transaction, and had forgotten it entirely.
But finding after such lapse of time diff
Guilty in shoDing all the facts and circum-
stances. we made up our minds it were bet
Ter to compromise with the lawyer than to
fight it out. Under solemn protest that we
had previously paid the soldier but because
he was q minor and had not acted by legal
guardian, rather than be troubled, $115 more
, were paid. This is all there is of the case.
In equity, if not in law, all the facts were
against the administrator, and he collected
the $115 by way of compromise rather than
be troubled to carry forward a suit in the at
tempt to collect $50 and interest upon it
for IL years.
In simple justice to Mr.. Burrows I wish
you to publish this from one who loves fair
play, though he votes and acts with a differ
emit party than the one does who is so cruelty
misrepresented. Yours for tho truth,
A. A. KNAPPEN,
Presiding Elder Albion District.