The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1890-04-11
PHELAN WANTS TO FIGHT
He Requests Satisfaction Of
Editor John w. Fleming.
A CONGRESSMAN'S CHALLENGE.

A Newspaper Controversy which stirred
Up bad Blood In Tennessee-The Editor
Refuses to Fight and vigorously Scores
His wouid-be Opponent In His Paper.
NASHVILLE, Tenn, April 9-Col. John M.
Fleming, editor of The Knoxville Daily Sem
tinel, has received a challenge from James
Phelan, owner of The Memphis Daily Ava
lanche, and representative in congress from
the Tenth district of Tennessee. Editor
Fleming has refused to accept the challenge,
and exactly what further steps, if any, Con-
gresham Phelan may take are n& known
Editor Fleming instead of sending his ac-
acknowledgement of the receipt of the commu-
nication by wire, by which agency it was
transmitted to him, published it in The Sem
tinel, and 1t is the principal theme Of con-
versation. Mr.. Phelan's challenge came by
telegraph from Washington last Sunday,
and was as follows:
The Challenge.
WASHINGTON, April g.
To John M. Fleming, Knoxville, Tenn:
When / wrote you from Aiken had not seen
your letter to The Memphis Commercial You
are a liar coward and a scoundrel. will await
your message here and come to Knoxville to ar
range prelminaries. JAMES PHEIAs. 4
Editor Fieming's Reply.
Editor Fleming wrote his reply, which ap-
peared in The Sentinel last evening. He asks
Congressman Phelan to consider in what a
grotesque position he has placed himself
and then says:
you hold seat in congress from dis
trict Of Tennessee. You have assumed to
become a teacher of the children of the state,
as a historian in the public schools. You
ought to know, and are presumed to know,
the constitutional and legal penalties against
giving and sending or accepting a challenge
to fight duel. You ought ~ know that in
almost every possible aspect of the business
1t is a felony, punishable by Imprisonment
In the penitentary.
''Your telegram to me, IL II means any
thing more than mad raving, is a challenge
by construction and in contemplation. The
Interpretation most charitable to you Is that
the message you would await from me would
be agreement on my part to join you in ar
rangement in the prelminaries,' otherwise
why should you have contemplated coming
to Knoxville to arrange preliminariesf'
Not Worthy of Being Challenged.
Assuring Congressman Phelan that there
is no evasion desired in the matter, Editor
Fleming says in the course of his reply: II
yourself. You begin with coarse denuncia-
tions, which, if true, and you are stopped
from denying them, would exclude me from
recognition by gentleman, and therefore
not worthy, by your own charges, of being
challenged. Furthermore, my observation
has usually been that the denunciation fol-
lows the refusal to accept challenge In
asnluch as l had proven you guilty Of what
in retaliation you charge upon me, l am in
clined to think the authorities in the duello
would tell you it was your duty to have de-
manded the satisfaction usual among gentle.
men. l merely call your attention to those
points to show how ridiculous you have made
yourself even as a pretended duelist.
His Opinion of the Duel.
'But l take no advantage Of even this
In times past the men who have especially
commanded my admiration We're those who
had the courage to treat with contempt ths
demand se. the duelist, while recognizing
and insisting upon the right Of self defense.
l would have been surprised recently to
find that you had lived with so little learn.
ing as not TO have known that the barbar-
Gus role in which you have seen fit to dis
play yourself no longer serves to give re-
spectability among even that weaker class
that once thought it 'chivalrous to make
even bloodless exhibition of meek courage
on the SO called field of honor
Spoiled Boy.
II have treated your warike message as se-
riously as its lpdicrous character permitted
Indeed, | am pretty well persuaded that
you have been spoiled boy fattered into Q
delusive assumption Of some sort of personal
superiority, misfortune which oftentimes
follows too little spanking and too much
petting. 1t requires sometimes u rude back
set or two to take the starch out of self-con-
ceit. We have no preiminares to arrange,
Mr., Phelan. JOHN NJ. FLEMING"
The Congrsssman's Story.
Congressman Phelan is one of the young
est members of the house, and popular
gentleman. Editor Fleming is about twenty
years the senior of Congressman Phelan, and
has long been engaged in journalism He
is well known, and was at one time state
superintendent of public instruction. The
congressman's side of the story is as follows:
About three years ago NJ. Phelan pub.
lished, through Houghton, Miffln & Co, q
school history of Tennessee, having before
that published history of the state in the
Commonwealth" series For this work Mr..
Phelan expended years of labor and several
thousand dollars in the collection of data
While the first work was in press Phelan
received letter from Fleming asking for
advanced sheets OF the book in which he
professed to feel great interest, and compli-
menting Phelap on the work Mr. Phelan
replied, stating that he had no advance
sheets When the book appeared Fleming
reviewed it savagely in his paper, and, not
content with criticising che book, personally