The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1889-05-09
DUDLEY'S LETTER.
BENJAMIN HARRISON PROVED
AN INGRATE

BENJAMIN HARRISON PROVED
AN MIGRATE.
Dudley Was His Friend Before the
Election, But He Is not Recognized
by Benny.-He Is In the Soup.
| WASHINGTON, May 5.-The follow.
ing alleged letter from Col w. W.
Dudley to Samuel Van Pelt, an old
army comrade living in Anderson, Ind
was published here to-day as a special
dispatch to Chicago paper, from
Anderson
"My dear Sam: Yours received. !
need not tel. you that it would be very
gratifying to me to see you get the
Indian agency knowing, as l do,
your special fitness for the place and
your service to the country in the
hour of her sorest need; but I am
sorry to say that will De unable to
render you any assistance whatever
with the Pres ident. He has lost his
backbone, and is too cowardly to be
seen consulting with me, for the simple
reason that the copperheads and reb-
els of Indiana have trumped up a
lot of charges against me. He seems
entirely oblivious to the fact that it
was through my efforts that Indiana
was saved to him."
When the above was shown to Col.
Dudley he pronounced it ga clear,
| cold forgery" said he had telegraph
ed to Van Pelt as soon as he saw it in
the paper to day, demanding that
Van Pelt give out for publication the
letter which he actually wrote, and
added: II wrote only one, and 1 have
preserved copy; here it is. While
| don't care to nave my private letters
published to the world, yet there is
nothing in this letter which 1 am
ashamed of; and, while it was hastily
written in confidence to an old friend,
| would have no objection to the Pres
ident seeing it. / have asked nothing
from Gen. Harrison, and therefore
have nothing to complain of. wish
the administration every success, and
would not, if could, embarrass it in
any way. I am out of politics, and
would not accept any public office. 1
have recently associated with me Mr..
Charles G. Ingersoll, of New York,
and Jerome Carly, of Philadelphia,
and have decided to devote my entire
attention to the practice of law. I
neither seek nor W uld accept any
public Office"
Following Is the letter:
Washington, D. G., April Is, 1889.
IS. d. Van Pelt, Esq, Anderson,
Ind: Dear Old Sam: Your good
letter of>the 26th Of March, I got in
good time, but found me absent. l
have recently returned from trip to
the South, where l went on legal
business, and had a good time and a
little rest from the crowds of people
who throng my Office from morning
until night, and from the mountain Of
letters which pile upon my desk every
day. Your letter got into the pile,
where I rescued it at night, and l
hasten now to say how much good it
has done me to hear from you again.
There is nothing l should like better
than to do something for you, Sam,
but am afraid you overestimated my
influence Your old friend Reed
has placed his pension in my hands,
and am working away at it to get it
soon. Perhaps there is no one in the
country who has done SO much for
Gen. Harrison during the last twenty
years as 1 have; but because our
Democratic friends down in Indianop-
oils have started the hue and cry on
me, Brother Ben does not seem to feel
that he can afford to recognize me as
an acquaintance, and consequently I
don't take dinner at the White House,
as might be expected. l have not
been inside the White House since
ClevelaDd's Inauguration, little over
four years ago, but will see if some
thing can not be done little later on,
and tell you what to do. Ifyou should
not hear from me again, Sam, for the
next two months, don't be alarmed,
for there will be just as good chances
two months hence-and little better
as there are now.
.'Give my kind regards to all the
boys at Anderson, and remember me
always as your friend,
"W. w. DUDLEY"