The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-04-18
THE GyYroN SCHOOL souABBLE.
More Points About a Matter that Has
Made People Unhappy.

More HO1uUS = DOuC Il MdUO6T tIldI IAd0
Made People Unhappy.
GUYToN, GA, April 16.-Editor Morning
Ne,os: In your issue of the l4th l find a
characteristic communication from Prof.
]. H. McGehee, headed the "Guyton SQUAD
BILE" l say characteristic, for, like every
thing which emanates from the professor, it
is filed with invective, also with sharp
evasive criticisms, which a shrewd lawyer
is likely to employ in defending bad case
If IS hard to understand from the article
inst what the professor is driving at
His complaint seems to be that he has
MOI been taken sufficient notice of in the
renort of Guyton's harmonizing meeting
which appeared so graphically and cor
rectlv in the News of April &. To use his
own inspired language he has been mini
fed - This is too bad, but then, on the other
hand. he complains of detractions and defa-
NATIONS. ETC. ("Ohl delightful alliterationrD
Now. where shall we look for these detrac-
tions and the other d'Sl As the professor
was in a manner so hurtful to his own opin-
ion of himself, 'minif1edn in the article of the
9th. we must look to that of the 4th for the
alleged 'd'S.n What is said in that article
OF the angered alliterationist: Only this. that
he was elected principal, and was called O
neither detraction nor defamation. The
article goes on to say that he was
elected second time, with Baptist lady,
in every way capable instructress, as his
assistant, and that he soon reduced her
salary, on the plea that the attendance had
fallen off 1t was said that he refused to pub
lish in the little weekly "suppressorn he
edits a call for public meeting; that find
ing the meeting equally well advertised in
other ways less expensive he turned his
HEAVY editorial guns on it and its purpose;
but when the meeting was held he was
there and was one of the most frequent
and "hedrieSt orators" of the occasion.
This is about all that was said of him ex-
cept the report of the meeting of April 6,
which correctly stated that he and his
father did not admire Col. Davant's long
strides towards harmony C'that they
wanted harmony, but not in such
chunks0 and insisted on a recess to
consider the proposition of Col. Davant,
their own co-relgionist and trusted leader.
Now, where does the detraction come in?
Where the defamation? 1t is a weak char
acter which sees either in these assertions.
Having read his whole article one wonders
where to look for its motive, excepting in
the anxious desire which the Professor evil
IDENTIFY mas to bring himself to the notice of
larger public than quiet Guyton fur
nishes.
There is absolutely nothing that he can
pronounce as personal to himself in the two
very correct accounts given by your re-
porter, save those which we have condensed
above, and it is particularly worthy of note
that he does not deny single one of the
statements made regarding him.
He takes occasion to let the Savannah
public know the amount of his income;
he fakes pride in the fact that his hand
is, like Isltmaels, against every mans, or as
he puts it, ''some Methodist, some
Lutherans, some Episcopalians, some
Presbyterians, and several not be-
longing to any church." He directly
attacks the Baptists, and in postscript he
is cautious to intimate that what he had
said was to be considered not as an attack
upon that denomination. In fact his words
were to be considered in an altogether
Pickwiciian sense. One thousand dollars
may be sufficient incentive to the PrOfes
SOr to breed strife, and renew it after har-
moniOus settlement, but we are very sure
that old John Wesley would never have
Endorsed the opinions of this young man or
his acts.
But to review in brief your card, Prof.
McGehee: Do you give one single instance
where you were DETAINED? Was it abso-
lutely necessary for the committee to ''pro-
49,
Il captured the gun (Jhe little ''suppressor'0
to protect myself? IT, as you say, you age
prospering better than ever the alleged
defamation has not injured but helped
you. But you knew that instead of defam-
ing you the MORNING NEWS report very
prominently brought forward the fact that
as result Of the denomina-
tional fight Guyton had two good
schools, and from an educational
Cfs ~a,aA Id
AS you are the teacher of one of these
schools, was it defaming or injuring to
speak well of your school too? Is it not a
TACT that when, as you say, some of your
own church, ''some Lutheran, some Episco-
pal, some Presbyterian, and some not be-
longing to any church, are antagoniZing
you, that you are admitting a humiliating
fact that a wiser man would have left
Tor his enemies to bring against him, with
out you prefer notoriety to being consid-
cred mentally well poised.
You bring forward three alternatives
that you imagine confront you. Burning
at the stake-your verdancv is not calcu-
lated to make you ripe for present martyr
dom. No one has sought to drive
you away, while If immersion has
ever been suggested to you it could not
have been in the orthodox way, for your
own denomination recognizes it as one of its
forms OF baptism, SO that if suggested to
you at all may it not have been done in a
kindly way and for sanitary purposes only!
Does not the secret of your bad temper
lie in the fact that at two full meetings of
our citizens you were outvoted, and deserted
by your own leaders at the last meeting?
And are not these meetings "the javeins
tarown between the suns" the Guytonians
usually holding their meetings at the town
hall, according to good old Methodist
custom, at early candle lighting.