The freeman. (Parkersburg, W. Va.) 1886-18??, 1888-03-14
THAT DISCUSSION AGAIN.
FERGUSON vs.. CARSKADON.
The Judge Reiterates HIS Rsiterations
and Fires Volley at "Your
Aad-d. Camp"
(From The Intelligencer.)

S1R:-Your reply to my last an
swer to you is at hand. 1t begins
with your usual scurrility in regard
to myself, and when you have OK.
hausted yourself in that line you
hoist a flag Of truce, and beg for a
cessation Of hostilities in the line OF
personal discussion, and to confne
the argument hereafter to the ques-
ton in dispute. Inasmuch as you
commenced this line Of discussion
and have gotten more than you
bargained for, and therefore pro-
pose to stop it, appreciate your
wish in the matter andrhave con.
cluded hereafter to accommodate
you, provided you .. try out the
treaty. But taking your reply to
my last answer, together with the
one which preceded it, l am at a
loss to see anything ~emaining to
be argued between US. You make
up list of what you call charges
made against you and your party
by me, and to some of them you
make a round about denial, but
your denials apply either to such
of the list as are wholly immater-
ial to the matters in issue between
US, or to those formulated by your
self, and not made by me. But as
to the main charges, as you choose
to call them, made by me, you have
not only not denied them, but have
directly admitted every one Of them
to be true. In your first letter to
the INTELLIGENoER you undertook,
as then understood you, to prove
that the true and only way to adopt
the Prohibition Amendment to the
Constitution was for, it's friends to
organize themselves into Third
political party, with candidates for
all the Offices to be filled at the
election. Knowing from my associa-
tions with the friends of the
Amendment in every part of the
State that your policy would be
fatal to the Amendment, 1 took
issue with you in that matter, and
showed to the satisfaction of, at
least, forty nine fiftieths of all the
voters of the State, that your third
party movement, if carried out, so
far from aiding the adoption of the
Amendment, would, in all proba-
bility, be the means of defeating it !;
but at the same time gave you
credit for sincerity in your profess
sions in the matter. Your reply
satisfied me, as we'll as the other
real friends of the Amendment in
this part of the State, and elsewhere
so far as I had communication
with them, that had mistaken
the true object and purpose of your
third party movement. And 1
then went to work to "smoke you
out," and compel you to "show your
hand" and expose "the true in
wardness" Of your third party or
ganization, and l have succeeded.
Ny so called Charges" against you,
which you have thus admitted to
be true, as stated above, are:
/. That while advocating your
third party organization as the
true and only way to secure the
adoption of the Amendment, you
knew perfectly we'll that your party
would be utterly powerless, of it.
self, to secure its adoption.
2. That you knew at the same
time that in order to the adoption
of the Amendment it would be
necessary to obtain from the other
parties nearly, or quite, $4,000
votes in it's favor.
8. That knowing this, as you
did, you and your third party
friends generally, both writer's and
speakers, indulge in such TRADE
Of abuse and pursue course toward
the other parties, collectively and
individually, as to drive hundreds,
perhaps thousands of them from
the support of the Amendment
who might otherwise vote for it.
4. That you don't desire the ad
option of the Amendment now, OF
at any future time, except it be by
votes cast on your third party bal
lots, which you and your party
fatter yourselves would carry with
r i L.