The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1885-11-25
Galloway Speaks In His Own BE.
half.

Mr.. Galloway Speaks In His Own Be-
half.
We find the following letter In the AbbcruI
Messenger, and, in justice to Mr.. Galloway
we transfer it to our columns:
DUE WEST, November, 13, 1885.
Col. G. E. e. Drayton, Aiken, 70,
q copy OF the Aikcn Recorded, In which you
review my letter written to the A6beriile Mes
scngcr OH my return from Aiken two weeks
ago. l presumed the paper Was kindly sent
by yourself and desire at the first apportu-
nifty 10 assure you that my letter to the Nes'
senger was not intended to do you or any one
else an Injury. l desire the more to do this,
inas,nucli us you have invited me to do so,
stating that it was due to myself and also the
If in that article a single citizen of Aiken
was misrepresented l ain free anu perfectly
willing to correct the same-juSt, as free anu
hearty to do SO rs TO have written the article
to the Messenger.
Allow me to say that your article presents
matters In Aiken in a very different light
from what they appeared and were represent.
ell to u spectator witnessing them during an
excited election, the like of which we have
never seen and which you say has never been
equaled before in your town.
I desire to say Just here that not q single
statement or sentiment was MANUFACTURED by
me, but 1 simply reported them as heard IN
public speeches delivered by citizens OF Aiken
and what was publicly and frequently spok-
ell of on the streets. Nor did l even then re-
port the strongest or most objectionable
things said by SOL Of the speakers OF aiken
her own citizens. While l was there l did
not hear them corrected and of course suppos-
cd 1t fair to accept them as true. Your arllc!e
for tile first time %corrects the material points
and I am perfectly willing to accept 1t, espec-
tally as you have taken the trouble to lnVes-
tigate matters and to ascertain facts. When
III your town I was surrounded by persons
who were excited on the election, and under
these circumstances things and people were
In all probability written and spoken OF qulle
differently from what they would have been
on Il more quite occasion. The public speech
cs were all on one side for though the opposi.
ton was invited to participate they preferred
not to do SO.
Now events occurring thus, a sentiment de-
veloped itself that I simply described, strong.
Is l admit. though not SO strongly as 1t really
pr resented Itself.
Allow me, moreover. to say that my article
was written in a great hurry one morning to
catch the mail and not one word OF II was
read over. am the regular local cor:espon;
as l had been absent all week l was pressed
for time TO meet my obligation with It: After
q little reflection however, l wrote the edi'
tors, saying that I had not read the article
and to cut out all personal reference or any
thing that had the appearance OF being offer'
sive as we did not desire such an article 10
appear. The article did appear lust as writ.
ten except SOME W pOSINpIlCdl eiio!S. AuS
} Senior editor TO whom 1 wrote was busy in
court and did not know that I had so written
him until l met him the next week and alst
after he had written his note 10 yon: L have,
however. the IT., editors note OF November
3rd. We quote q few words from MS reply
"You: note Of last week asking to make q
few alterations in your letter came too late as
we had already printed that side of the pa
Der. am sorry we did not get 1t sooner"
desire briefly to notice a few points u
which you allude In your letter., l woult
first say that I WAS sent to Aiken along viii
>, those who had charge of the rail road meet
ing Wednesday A delegation could not g.
: from Abbcville, G.. H., and were urgent that
delegation be sent from here. 1t was under
stood to be a PUBLIC gathering TO which an tn
, friends along the line Of ROAD were invitad.
!, did not volunteer my service, but went on re-
e quest. ,
, the barber shop. l stated that one Of the PAL
ty and not myself went TO the barber slo'
( Before breakfast. What the barber said wa
, stated at the breakfast table, at Mr.. Bush
hotel, not R REi,Sa was w ana ! fe dsrlreS t hsi i9fo d
The next point I would notice is the refeI
! ence to the Rccorder's office, and here 80
/ will permit ME to say ] did not lead the III
question" A little reflection will probabl,
t recall to your mind the lact that a delegat
from another point first introduced himself
r you and then the party; ne 1t was who frs
. ulluuSu W UrS III ASeeN 'NN
e showed the file Of your paper. / then walke
4 over to the table where q general converse
ton eusued, In which all Of the party under
: Stood you TO say that inetcal Of being
:. strong advocate Of the rail road tax this tim
/ your pc per was neutral" or words of tina
import. or course your ron versntion shoWe
tax and would so vote. This was as 1 say til
understanding we had from the conversation
and this was so expressed several times a
forwards among ourselves and no one dill
. Your editorial evidently shows that you
feelings are wounded by the statement thu
some of the Germans OF your town had stoc
: in the paper. l am indeed sorry for this, for
did not intend to unjustly wound amy one
feelings. A much stronger construction ha
been put upon my language in reference t
this point by others than l at all intende'
: We simply intended to say That as was toi
that through their influence growing out
: his money relation the paper was neutral by
= that YOU yourself were not. l was twice tol
= the same thing while in Aiken and after lea'
y ing the same statement was made by q GENT,
man not of our party; l understood hat
r was commonly believed and so stated 1t.
!. was told 20 by q gentleman whom you kno'
!, and did not doubt it Mt the time, nor until
! saw your article. 1 now feel that this info
nation was erroneous, and it becomes me as
y gentleman candidly to say so. l do SO will
= out reserve on reading your article:
:. What you say Of your German citizens I an
q glad to know, for all heard was just the OF
! 5osite and there seemed to be a very bite
feeling against them. Much stronger lar
! guage was used by some of the Aiken speal
crs publicly than anything | reported, no
were the Impressions modified by the con-
mon conversation on the streets around tn
: polls. / did rot meet any of them, but form
ed my opinion from simply what | heard an
; reported 1t simply as heard, employing tn
very language used time and again. II thi
language was spoken simply in heat of excite
ment then those who used 1t are to blame, nc
, I, for it is surely natural for a stranger to lorr
: his impressions from what he heard.
What I said about the business houses {
Aiken was taken from a speech made on tn
, occasion by one of your fellOw-citizcns an
= from conversation on the same subject an
was literally reported as heard.
AS regards Paris Silnpkins [ simply say tina
I did not speak to him at all, did not mee
him and was in no way responsible for nj
presence. 7 did mention him however as
speaker, which You must have oVerlooke
When YOU say 1 did not allude to him.
AS for my purtI did not push myself forWar
as your article would seem to indicate. l ha
Il nothing to say at the barbecue that day an
y not until the third speech that night. My a
Z ~lusions to Aiken were entirely complimentar,
and one of your citizens said to me, "thoug
: opposing the tax, l like the spirit of your II
!: marks
ut my dear sir, I think I can truthfully sa
, that your article is q very severe one, and ha
the advantage of being deliberately writer
{ whereas, mine was most hastily written, nc
,, read over and the last Of it not published l
which we mentioned things complimentary t
> your town and citizens.
! You did ME also an injustice In Selling upoi