The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1885-11-24
Communication.
DUE WEST, November, Is, l8$
CO... C. Il. r. Drayton, Aik~n, $. C..

DEAR SIR ~ esterday'S mail brought ne
a copy of the Aiken Recorder, in which you
review my letter written to the Abbeville
MESSENGER on my return from Aiken two
weeks ago. presumed the paper was kindly
sent by yourself and ] desire at the first OPP
portunity to assure you that my letter to the
MESSENGERS was not intended to do YOU or
any one else an injury. l desire the more to
do this, in as much as you have invited me to
TO so, stating that it was due to myself and
also the citizens Of Aiken.
If in that article q single citizen of Aiken
was misrepresentcd l am free and perfectly
willing to correct the same-just, as free and
hearty to do so as to have written the article
to the MESSENGER.
matters in Aiken in a very different light
from what they appeared and were represent
ed to a spectator witnessing them during an
excited election, the like of which we have
never seen and which you say has never
been equuled before in your town.
desire to say just here that not a single
statement or sentiment was manufactured by
me, but simply. reported them as heard in
public speeches delivered by citizens of Aiken
and what was publicly and frequently spoken
of on the streets. Nor did l even then re-
port the strongest or most Objectionable
things said by some of the speakers of Aiken
her own citizens. While I was there l
did not hear them corrected and of course
supposed it fair to accept them as true.
Your article for the first time corrects the
material points and l am perfectly willing
to accept it, especially as you have taken the
trouble to Investigate matters and to ascer-
tain facts. When in your town I was sur
rounded by persons who were excited on the
election, and under these circumstances
things and people were in all probability writ
ten and spoken of quite differently from
occa sion. The public speeches were all on
one side for though the opposition was invi-
ted to participate they preferred not to do
49,
veloped itself that I simply described,
strongly admit, though not so strongly as
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 it was read
over. l am the regular local correspou-
dent of the paper to which it was sent; and
as l had been absent all week l was
pressed for time to meet my obligation with
it. After a little reflection, however, l
wrote the editors, saying that l had not read
the article and to cut out all personal refcrcnce,
or anything that had the appearance of being
offensive; as we did not desire such an mr.
ticle to appear. The article did appear just as
The Senior editor to whom I wrnte was busy
10 court and did not know that I had 80 writ
ten him until l met him the next week and
also after he had written his note to you. I
have, however, tho Jr. editors note of Novem-
Der, 3rd. We quote a few words from his
reply: Your note Of last week asking to
make a few alterations in your letter c,me
too late AZ we had already printed that side of
the paper. l am sorry ne did not get it
sooner"
l desire briefly to notice a few points to
which you allude in your letter. l would
first say that / was sent to Aiken along
with the other delegations on oil invitation
from those who had charge "f the rail road
50 from .Abbeville, Z. H., md Were urgent
that a delegation be sent from here. It was
understood to be a public gathering to which
all the friends along the line of road were in
Vitca. l dld not volunteer my service, but
went on request.
In your article tho first point mentioned is
tho barber shop. / stated that one of the
party and not myself went to the barber shop
before breakfast. What the barber said was
stated at thu breakfast table, at Mr.. Bush's
hotel, not privately, and remarks made on the
same. This was when I derived the informa-
ton.
The next point l would notice is the refer
enSe to ths Rseordsr'; office, and here you
question:" A little reflection will probably
recall to your mind the fact that a delegate
FROM another point first introduced himself to
you and then the party. He It was who frat
showed the file Of your paper. / then
walked over to the table where q general con.
versation ensued, in which all of the party un-
derstood you to say that instead of being
q strong advocate of the rail road tax this time
your paper was "ncutrar' or words of that
import. Of course your conversation showed
us that you were personally opposed to the
tax and would 80 vote. This was as / say the
understanding we had from the conversation,
and th!s was so expressed several times after
words among ourselves and no one dissented.
Your editorial evidently shows that your
feelings are wounded by the statement that
some Of the Germans of your town had stock
in the paper. am indeed sorry for this,
ones feelings. A much stronger contruction
has been put upon my language in reference
to this point by others thau ! at all intended.
We simply intended to say that as l was
told certain Germans had stock in the paper
and that through their influence growing out
of this money relation the paper was neutral
but that you yourself were not. was
twice told the same thing while in Aiken and
aftey leaving the same statement was made by
a gentleman not Of our party. undor-
stated it.. l was told 80 by a gentleman
whom you know aud I did not doubt il ut
the time, nor until l. saw your article. l
now teel that this information IVES erroneous,
and 1t becomes me as a gentleman candidlv to
say so. l do so without reserve on reading
your article.
What you say of your German citizens
am glad to know. for all I heard was just
the opposite and there seemed to be a very
bitter feeling against them. Much stronger
language was used by some OF the Aiken
speakers publicly than anything l reported,
nor were the Impressions modified BY the
common conversation on tho streets around
the polls. l did not meet tany of them, but
fyrmed my opinion from simply what I
heard and reported it simply as heard, en-
ploying the very language used time and
again. II this language was spoken simply
In heat Of excitement then those who used it
are to blame, not !, for it is surely natural
for a stranger TO form his Impressions from
what he heard.
What l said about the business houses of
Aiken was taken from a speech made on the