Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1886-04-15
AN INSULT TO THE STATE PRESS

|
Mr.. BRYAN, President of the At
lantic and North Carolina Railroad,
which be it remembered is piece of
State property, and the gentleman
mentioned State officer, has called
forth the righteous indignation Of ev-
cry self respecting newspaper in the
! State on account of his autocratic and
unwise course towards the Kinston
Free Press and its editor Mr.. c.. G..
DANIELS.
This gentleman, through his paper
made some just structures last fall up
on the management of the Atlantic
road and voiced the sentiment of Kin
ston people regarding the unjust freight
| discrimination against that town.
Like the faithful guardian of the peo-
Piles rights that it has always been,
the Free Press kept up the fight I'M
til the odiou discrimination was in
part amended.
AT the close of each year it is Gus
tomary with newspaper publishers to
send their railroad passes to head
quarters to have them renewed for the
coming year. This courtesy is one of
long standing and is extended to pub
fishers for inserting in their papers the
schedules of the roads and publishing
notices Of meetings held by railroad
officials from time to time. 1t is fire.
quently the case that ten dollars
worth of advertising is given to
railroad to one dollars worth of trav-
ell, but to proceed. Mr.. DANIELS
sent his passes over the A. Il G. r. r.
in January for renewal. Mr.. BRYAN
replied that he wanted to sec Mr..
DANIELS before renewing the passes,
and said II have no disposition to
treat you different from other news
paper people, but I wish to see you"
Mr.. D. not having time to 60 to New
Berne instructed Mr.. MAYO, who is
connected with the Free Press to call
on Mr.. BRYAN while in New Berne
attending to other business. He did
so, and he makes affidavit to the fol-
lowing conversation between him and
Mr.. BRYAN:
81, w. C. Mayo, do solemnly swear that
the following is the substance of the con-
versation that took place between Wash
ington Bryan and myself, in his Office at
New Berne, on the 5th day of March:
Mr.. Bryan said to me that he was per-
fectly independent Of what newspapers had
said of him and his administration, IS
shown by not replying to any article at
lacking his administration Of the railroad.
He said that he should have taken up the
passes held by the Free Press last tall when
that paper was assailing his administration,
but neglected doing
He gave me two annual passes over the
A. & n. G. Railroad-one for myself and
one for Mr.. @. C.. Daniels-on the account
of the Free Press. He then said, TELL Mr..
Daniels the conditions on which l give
these passes "The first time he attacks me
or my administration they will be ordered
taken up" w. G. MAYO.
Mr.. DANIELS returned the passes
as soon as he received them and stated
to Mr.. BRYAN that he could not ac-
cept them under the conditions at
tached.
This attempt on the part of the
President of the A. Il N. G. r. R., to
bride the Free Press is an insult to
every decent newspaper in the State,
and deserves the severest criticism,
which it is surely receiving.
Almost the same mail that
brought us the Free Press, bore an en-
velope from Mr.. Bryan containing an
annual pass made out in the name of
The SENTINEL. This is favor en-
tirely unsolicited on the part of the
editor, but if it is hemmed around
with such conditions as accompanied
the passes to Mr.. DANIELS we must
most emphatically decline it.
Railroad passes are not given to
newspaper publishers to silence their
mouths on matters appertaining to the
road, they are too often a scanty re-
muEeration for advertising services
rendered. No editor in North Caro-
lima feels that he is not FREQ to express
his own sentiments and those of the
people relative to any great railroad
wrong which may occur. The rail-
road official who takes this Aattering
function to his soul is no wiser or no
better than-wen Mister G. WASH
INGToN BRYAN.