The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1890-07-03
SENATOR MATLOCK.
AN OPEN LETTER BY HIM TO ATroR.
lNEY GENERAL HOGG.
Denies that he IntimateG the Attorney
General Acted DishonorabIy, and
Asks Some Pointed
Questions.
AUSTIN, Texas, June 80, 1890.

.
SR-The Dallas Times-Herald of
June 70 and other papers in the state
published your Dallas interview, in
which you say in reference to the state
ment made by Col. Taylor, Mr.. Bell,
Wilkie and myself that you would not
\ at present dignity the ISLANDERS" any
i more than to say: "The insinuations
by Matlock that I ever acted dishon-
NEebly or dishonesty or ever attempt
kd blackmail in my life is false. If he
> or others know of anything that re.
fleets upon my official or personal
integrity they owe it to me and above
all to the people of Texas to make it
public at once, so that it can be fully
Investigated, and, if true, that Texas
may be spared the humiliation of in
structing her delegates to vote for the
nomination of corrupt man for gov
ernor."
/ am entirely satisfied that the above
interview was premeditated and de-
hberate act of yours after careful
and prolonged consultation with your
able and most trusted political sup
porters and friends, with whom you
were closeted at Dallas on the twenty
fifth and twenty-sixth of this month.
Your characterization of myself and
the other gentlemen named as
"slanderers" may be the language of a
gentleman, but it is no answer to the
charges made by Messrs. Bell, Wilkie
and Taylor and the statement
made by myself You make no
reference in your interview as to what
l said, but state that the intimation
made by me, that you ever acted dis
honorably, ETC., was false. made no
such intimation, and when asked to
express my opinion, replied l had
stated facts. That statement of mine
is still in print and has been before
the public ever since the twenty
first day of June, and you
have until this moment never
publicly or privately to my kno Wedge
denied single word of it. If what
/ said in my interview is not true why
do you not come out boldly and deny
it? If it is true why do you not ad-
NIT it and explain it? You demand
of me that If know of anything that
reflects on your official or personal
character that shall make it public.
Have you not seen the interview of
Col. Taylor in the Houston Post of
June ID? Did he not say in that in
!. terview that you gave him much I'M
necessary trouble about the time he
was closing up work and getting
"A roo6G ~ f,.r n I,,,ll
" ing TO the State? Did he not say that
pour attacks would not have made
Eim So sore as they did had you not
<made rather singular proposition?
Did he not say that you offered to sell
him tract of land up where you
lived; owned, he believed, by yourself
and father-in-law2 Did he not say that
he thought it very singular coming
from one occupying the position you
did-especially as he thought the
price remarkably high and great
deal more than the land was worth?
Did he not say in that interview that
he interpreted your offer Ito sell the
land) to mean that if he, Taylor,
would buy it you would cease your wal
upon him and the capitol building?
Did he not say he did not want the
land, had no use for it, but.wanted the
war to close and that he put you off
by telling you that he would write to
Mr.. Farwell, who was in Europe, and
submit the proposition to him and
that this seemed satisfactory and that
you ceased to find fault until you
thought he had time enough to hear
from Mr.. Farwell, when you began
again? Die he not say that you made
proposition to Mr.. Bell, who could
tell all about it? did he not say tina
it appeared to them that you were try
ing to force them to buy your silence
by taking the land? l suppose you
have seen the interview with Mr.. Bell
unpublished at the same time and in the
y same papers. Did not Mr.. Bell say
that when he was sent down to Austin
by Col. Taylor, to investigate the capt.
tol building and to compel Mr.. Wilkie
to cure defects and tear down and re-
build where the work was not in strict
conformity to specifications, that
shortly after his arrival that Mr..
Wilkie informed him that he believed
that you we're trying to blackmail
him by compelling him to buy tract
ofland? Did he (BelD not say that he
doubted Mr.. Wilkes statement, but
that after he had' been in Austin a
week or ten days and hearing your
complaints about work for which there
was not even shadow of foundation
that he began to believe that Wilkie
was telling the truth? Did not Mr..
Bell charge in that interview that one
dav in your Office you offered to sell
him that tract of land for 3O,OOO,
saving that it belonged to your father
in.law, whom you wanted to move
down TO Austin to live?
Did not Mr.. Bell state in his inter
view that he did not want to buy the
land. and does he not charge that you
persisted in trying TO make the sale
and that your urgent and uncalled-
for complaint about defects in the
building, that a man of your intelll-
,o,,oa knew did not exist, excited his