The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1891-11-27
AN EXPLANATION BY J. r. SCRAF.
FORD.

| an omcer OF the city OF CORVALLIS, mad Occa
sion in my official capacity to 60 to the res
idence of Mrs. G.. Hutton in said city
There accompanied me chameleon gentle
man from Albany. I spent about thirty
as lodging house as WELL and took my de.
parture quietly as went-unruffled in spir.
it, thinking ill of no man. Shortly afte,
this much-talked-of and greatly misrepre.
sented event, laid aside, at my home, my
heavy uniform on account of the excessive
heat. My friends t?) started flying rumo,
that had lost my uniform while at the
lodging house above named. The evil oi
| joking is seen in the sequel to this. Yet it
may be asked, "Why did you not array
yourself Immediately in your uniform again
and squelch this unnecessary rumor?"
The answer is very easy and very simple
| 1t was hot.
| 1t may be further answered that an limo.
cent man seldom or never curries favor with
untruth circulated against him; for he sim.
| ply relies on his Innocence to defend the
charge. Generally the man who knows the
report is true is the man who makes the
noise. L.
Ba sed upon this flying joke, on the 3d
day of October, there appeared mean.
| scandalous, vulgar and wicked libel in a
surreptitious journal, the Sunday Mercury.
The only grain of truth which that scaven-
| ger contains, or is capable of containing, is
| the grain embedded in the word "Mercury."
1t is said that that deadly drug taken into
| the human system will breed foul ulcers in
the mouth, salivate the gums, decay the
teeth, denude the scalp, blur and blotch
the skin, corrode the bones and destroy
the flesh until the poor wretch succumbs, a
total wreck. Such disease has the Sunday
Mercury wrought i'll the minds of its edi-
tors and proprietors, and such condition
will it breed in any mans mind who feeds
on its reeking, rotten, purifying, imaginary
food.
Deeming myself grossly DETAINED by such
publication, caused the matter to be
brought before the grand jury of Benton
county. No sooner had the machinery of
the law been put in motion against this ma
lignant and poisonous journal, than men
who call themselves respectable in Corvallis
arrayed themselves on its side and sought to
thwart my plans. would like to ask this
community and every right thinking man,
Why should any respectable citizen espouse
the cause of a journal that goes about caves
dropping the lady's private closet to hear
perchance, some faint whisper, that it may
build thereupon tissue Of falseheads to
wound her soul and murder her hopes and
prospects of life-a journal that is prying
into the sacred and private lives of men
might perchance find some weakness that
flesh is heir to, to parade before the public
gaze, hoping to disrupt all morals, so that 1t
might glut itself with mud and filth and
stencil? A ghoul wandering over the body
polite seeking some home to destroy; some
fair girl that it might stamp upon her brow
the scarlet letter; some promising boy that
it might blast his hopes in life; some useful
citizen that it might consign to exile or
death--why should any man of Corvallis
SSpOuSO LuC CduSc VI SuCu
Did any of these respectable citizens of
this vicinity encourage. or have hand ia
the publication or circulation of the libel
mentioned? Is this the reason why / SEEM
ed to be deserted when most needed assist
ance? Had this anything to do with the
fact that it needed but one vote in that
grand jury to have brought that heinous
Journal to the bar of justice, where mems
motives can be enquired into and the facts
brought out. Where can you, dear reader,
connect the fact that juror was seen in the
dead hour of night on the back streets of
Corvall with Mercury sympathizer Oh
the right arm and a Mercury sympathizer
on the left arm?
am aware that have been the subject
of great deal of talk, critical and other
wise. 1 have been asked by men whom l
know are my friends, "Why did you not do
so and so?' and "Why did you not do SO and
so?' referring to my conduct during and
since the Mercury investigation. Now, my
good friends, it is much easier to stand off
and PROFOUND queries than it is to do, if
you had been in my shoes. One would say,
eff it had been me would have killed the
scoundrel;" another would say, "John, 60
and treat the scrub and get rid of him. %
Now what would you have done under all
the diversified advice, all pretending to be
for my best good? Well, I did both.
tried to get the fingers of the law around his
windpipe, and when found that these fin
gers were either disIocated or SO rusty that
they couldn't get a grip on even Mercury
man, yielded somewhat to my optimistic
friends and asked my libeler to cease hos
tilities. After having taken up the gaunt.
let of the law, was 10th to take up the
gauntlet of war. My war friends will up
braid me for this, while my peace friends
will applaud me for this.
All ask is for time to vindicate my con-
duct. My fellow citizens. I might with
truth exclaim, "Man's inhumanity to MANI
The greatest sin in life is in doing injustice
to your fellow man. Every man should
therefore beware and ponder well before be
speaks or acts in a way that might do injury
to his fellow JOHN r. SCRAFFoRD.
Bucklents Arnica Salve. /
The best salve in the world for Cuts, |
Bruises, Sores, Ulcers, Salt Rheum, Fever |
Coras TIaffor Chained Hands Ehilb1aihs