The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1891-09-24
MR.. kEITT'S LETTER.

Elsewhere may oe IOunu Il lettel
from Mr.. Jos. T.. keitt. He has said
The Herald and News is hostile to the
Alliance and he is going to stick to it,
though he fails to produce single
utterance of this newspaper that has
been unjust or unfair to the Alliance
or to himself. Then his memory IS
bad too. Now The Herald and News
has always thought Mr.. keitt was
honest and sincere in what he was
doing in the Alliance, and disposed to
be fair. That has been the honest Judg-
ment of this newspaper. Will he
prove it now?
The Herald and News has always
been friendly to the Alliance, and has
said time and again that we believed
the Alliance was organized for good
purpose ard could be made Of grea.
benefit to the farmers. We are glad to
see the farmers organize for their pro-
lection and look after their own inter
ests.
The Herald and News was the first
newspaper in this State to publish any
thing about the Alliance when it was
first organized several years ago.
The Herald and News was the first
county paper to offer to members of
the Alliance in this county space in its
columns for an Alliance department to
be edited and managed in the interest
of the Alliance by men appointed by
that body. Because the editors ap-
pointed for that department have not
kept it up is not our fault. We have
time and again asked them to furnish
US matter fol the department.
Yet Mr.. keitt says he is impressed
with the conviction that we have been
abitterly hostile to the Alliance" We
would Ike to ask him again, wherein,
when and how? We have criticised
some Of the public utterances and acts
of some of the members of the Alliance
and some of the demands, but it has
always been done in fair way and we
defy Mr.. keitt or any one else to show
the contrary. Has Mr.. Keitt treated
us in the same way? Let US see.
The business of newspaper is tc
publish the news as it finds it. That
we try to do. People who desire the
truth want to see what is said on both
sides of question. According to Mr.
Keitt our hostility to the Alliance is
in publishing things that are written
and said in opposition to some Of the
demands and criticisms of some of the
leaders. Are the '-lesders" above criti-
eism? Is it desired that the people
shall see nothing that is said in opposi-
ton to these demands? We thought
free and open discussion of them was
what was wanted. That has been our
idea.
Mr.. Keitt says that he ''may have
said that they (the Newberry papers,
would not. tell the truth when they
could,n and illustrated it by an associ-
lated press, dispatch that he says they
published "with flaming headlines" J."
Mr.. Keitt should be careful. His illus
tration will not work. When be says
this newspaper will not tell the truth,
he is saying what he knows to be un-
true himself. AS to the illustration he
uses, no such article as he refers to was
ever published in this newspaper, so
far as careful examination of our files
will show. On July 18th We pub
lished shaEs z5sesiz z5sesi I'd Press dispatch M
Of the Fort Worth meeting, at the close
(which was a resolution of the anti
subtreasury people condemniug the
subtreasury, land loan, and railroad
ownership, and with very modest head
lines, simply indicating what was in
the dispatch. Nothing is said about
the number of people present nor who
they represented. Mr.. keitt should
stick to the truth himself.
The Herald and News has never
tried ''to mislead and deceive the
brethren" and when Mr.. Keitt says so
he says what is not borne out by the
facts. The Herald and News is not
responsible for the facts stated by CORE
spondents or contained in the clip
pings from other sources.
The Herald and News published the
action of the County Alliance on the
Liberty Hall Sub-Alliance, and after
ward the action Of the Liberty Hall
Alliance; on the request Of the County
Alliance, if .hat is stimulating them,
then we plead guilty, but wherein is
that hostility 20 the Alliance. We
might say, however, now, that if the
members Of the Liberty Hall Alliance
did not approve this political measure,
then we do not think their conscience
ought to he bound, and if we are not
mistaken one of the cardinal principles
of the Alliance is freedom of thought
and expression in religion and politics.
We may be mistaken, however.
In regard to the other headline re
ferred to by Mr.. Keitt on the Butler
Stokes matter, if Mr.. Keitt had taken
the pains he could have eeen that we
distinctly stated in an editorial note
that the headlines we're not Of our max
ing, SO that the people might know
that we did not endorse them. The
article was clipped and handed to the
printers with the intention of chang
lag it, but it escaped the attention Of
the editor, who on this occasion did
not read the proof, until it was printed
hence the editorial reference to it.
We have taken up more space in this
matter than We intended, but have