Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-10-04
BEDFORD CONTROVERSY.

|Etf6nse OF his brother Raea.
nc most astonishing part about this
|s,4icle 10 me is chat Rhea Bowlin doesnot
|1'ke it. In my humble judgmentit is but
+ 0opr excuse for him 20 say, simply be-
|tftse the plural was used In only one in
|tttace, be felt justified In answering the
|Ntnle article. The time is Tar DISTANT l
|hoff, when am assailed 10 public print
|fNek ! win call upon my brother TO write
|n1 article 10 my defense.
The reply is made through the columns
In ypur paper 80 that Justice may be
done the good citizens OF Bedford vicinity
|n< Wei as TO answer the arguments oil the
7ehy do / sayTthat this is TO defend the
.,t.i,ord people7 There are many citi-
|eans In that vicinity whom have known
|t1dt and well. know them 70 be repre-
|6|H{Atiye men in their community.
|Enog them to be gentlemen and that they
|knoN how to treat q gentleman Many
III Mem were present upon the occa-
|tItu which now brings about
|in'k controversy. There may be some
|nai&hborhoods Ia this county that II
|Moold not be hard to convince the citi-
kANs that / was not gentleman, but that
|nltce is not Bedford, and most especially
|It tilat true among the best citizens of
|ftaS Vicinity who know me. Many of them
|6fN from my old state of Tennessee, and
|haVe noticed aud watched Glare say IT'D
With interest, my career sluce have been
Is eItizen of this county. Whenever have
|t0Qfcd for Office Ia this city there are
|niAng citizens of that portion OF the
|cEunty, who were not only my we'll
|wlshers, and expressed and felt a sym
|patbY In my cause, but some OF them have
|eyefi come from their farms to this city,
when they had some friends, and used
WHAT Influence they had la my behalf. To
|aay then that these good citizens, would,
|wlthout n cause, openly insult me or any
otAergentlemsp, is an insult TO the citl-
|zops of Bedford vicinity, that | propose,
ia th4ir behalf to resent; and here say 1t
u d Flander upon the gentlemen present
|aNo BE good name Bedford has always
|bHid III this county.
q tefer to Judge Beckham as to the cor
|raciiiess of my statement as TO whether
II not attempted to make speech, also
M TO my physical condition at the time.
|refer to the good citizens present as to
what words were said, when hallooed to
HE crowd as they were going down the
steps -three-fourths Of them having al
Ready gone down." that | would publish
Nal STATIONS statement in THE GA
|xRrfis the next week" Some of Bow
hints friends did try TO insult me when
did not intend to make a
|tn8fch, but the few who were left there
|khoueht was not going TO speak but in
tended to read Maj Stratton's statement.
|BcNlln and some of his over anxious
|lriesids, in order to thwart this, forgot
|thp proprieties Of gentlemen (lf they ever
|kneW them and tried TO insult without a
|fause a man whom his friends around
Bedford think is gentleman. Is 1t q
|Wonder that the good people OF Bedford
|viHlDity, Irrespective OF what secret or
|eunization to which they may belong,
|ccn5emn such actions as this, and claim
|ns thew tell me that AZ is as much Of an
|inAnIt TO them as IL is to me. | deny
|muet emphatically that any such words as
Ross Bowlin says were uttered-were
beard by me. Much Of what was said
Twas after was down stairs, Both the
|BoWlins combined would not for their
|rigli arm use an insulting word to me.
Ask II there is single gentleman at
|Bsaiord who knows me who does not be-
|sleFf that II he should come to my city
|knd attempt to make a statement to an
|Audience, and that part ofthat audience
Twas so ungentlemanly that they should
|aiietnpt to insult him, that / would be
|an,ong the first to resent the insultf
Further ask the people of Bedford, II
|Nt Bowlin had possessed the in
|etincts OF gentleman, If he would not,
|ibatead of encouraging such conduct, have
|tfiep, If it was like he told his brother
Ross TO write IL, to have stopped and have
|fhc mRnliness 20 listen for a quarter of a
|nllnpte 10 have seen what / was going to
|eay
I'd reference TO what Mr.. Stratton stat
lea have but little more to say. 1t Is of
|bnt small consequence TO take 1t at its
word; in that form it could only be re-
|Neefion upon the citizens who participated
ri The First ward meeting. produced in
|paplic print the statement Of
Msl Strettou, w-!3h l told the
good people OF Bedford |
md IN my possession.
III making references to gentlemen TO
my statement, I was particu
Has to mention no candidate for any coun.
Nv ofllce, there being several present,
fh0ught that outsiders should settle this
|uatter. In a conversation with Judge
|Zinn to-day he told me that he did not re-
Al|"ttipOi dhy NhAhE ~ AOieiNhNN " ohaNS Va
|distrlct officers said by Stratton in his
+ nous speech. Having talked to so many
|of Che Democrats present at the First
ward primary meeting, and having never
found a single one who would substantl-
ate MIR. Bowlin's statement, / was GER
|faitly justified, In view Of the fact that
Mai Stratton's statement denying IL was
I'm ny possession, thinking that there were
|nUne who understood 1t as Mr.. Bowlin
|Sait 1t was.
Say, for the sake of argument, that we
HIte all mistaken when we said that Mr..
GffAtton's statement was not as Mr.
HsEliD stated 1t, that Maj. Stratton has
lied -willfully written false statement
hen what does 1t prove? Simply
,net the chairman, without authority,
Misunderstanding what was said, (foT
Capt. Green says he heard nothing said
95nnt state or district ofllces)i that we
ftn about TO allow a man who did not
|pafticipate in the convention to vote for
1slegates TO the county convention, and
aat he was a Republican.
lake 1t for granted that Rhea Bowlin
H4a there, that he was an honest(?) man,
nef the men to whom he refers were
lionest; that the men to whom l referred