The Forrest City times., 1892-04-22


 the bad taste to call somebody bad names in his youth and in time of great excitement
 Col. Rector did not think that there was correspondent of Northern re. words and that they will do service in the next camgaign for president, if 1t should happen that Fishback was beaten for the nomination. that that speech and Beavers letter in the Ga. show thereby that Rector had made the charge of dislOyalty to Mir. Davis against him and Beavers had written that the people were against him be- cause he had not answered the charge Now if Rsctor's test of democracy were adopted this state and in the South, the Democratic party could not get and hold corporals guard at the North, outside of New York city and Southern Indiana, where there is rebel sentiment.
 Some of our young democrats, when told of the mistake of making an ap- parent confederate test of democracy say defiantly, we don't care, let them go, we have right to suit ourselves. But we do owe a great deal to the Northern democracy and to the con- servatiye people of the North. Look how these came to our rescue in 1874 and filled the house of representatives with democrats because Sheridan had issned his celebrated drum-head court martial address to the people of Louisiana, proposing to kill freedman upon drum-head sentence which, with other usurpations in the South, caused that great meeting and protest in New York at which Mir. Evarts made his great speech in favor of constitutional liberty. Look how tbey came to our rescue when an effort was made to pass the force bill last year; such an oyer- whelming revulsien was never known in a free country as that, in which opposition to the force bin was, know,a large factor. The opposition to hira are now beginning to see that they have produced this impression and are hedging, by saying they do not oppose Fisliback for his past opposi- tion to Mr.Davis and the confederacy, but because he told lies and deceived Jim Lane thirty years ago. One would have thought that years ago, some of those gentlemen would have thought 1t a saintly merit to have lied old Jim Lane out his boots or his life, But the trouble is that the explanation does not explain, it will be said and be- lieyed, that he was left out because Rector had charged him with calling MT. Davis d traitor anc Beavers had said that democrats had left off SUD- porting him because he did not an swer Rector's charges.
 Now in 1866, bir. Clark and myself made a canvass against the constitu- ton of lS6s, to get the people to turn out and vote it down, and kill recon struction. We thought then there was some honor in congress, as they had promised that it should favor the vote and if it was voted down recoDstruc- ton was dead. Our canvass took us up the Arkansas river in and through the Northern counties and south of the river, back to Little Rock. When we reached Fort Smith, we found in Fishback an active friend and coad- tutor. 1 was ordered out in the can yass of 1875 by the central committee and canyasSed some of the Northwest erp counties and later canyassed near ly every county in White River val lev in 1872. In 1874 the Democratic party had a hard fight to sustain the logic of the situation, in which Will shire for congress resulted so favora- bly, to the people of the state before the Poland committee, and resulted on our line of fight i'll sustaining the Garland government. We had Rey- holds and Rector to fight in our own camp then. I do not mean Reynolds or Rector, for they were with us, but mean such other confederates as them and made it and it was printed in your city that an independent and mistaken democrat that we had tl fight, had been beaten and Fishback and Bob Newton, Bob Howard and BObtailed Sam. as Lord Dundreary would say, that's me, had done 1t. In all these fights he was like me, in it at his own expense, after that dropped out of politics until last year and then took up the cudgel again when l received orders of the central committee to help to save Slemmons in his last race when he was in needed danger, and for Cravens in his race, always at my own expense, but he has worked in every canvass and worked effectively, while Gen. Reynolds was making money in Chicot and making no canvass for the party, would not allow his name to be used for governor when it would have been q tower of strength. He should not now com plain in the role he was playing, if the story Uf John Hook and Beef, should be told. He and all other men have a right to determine whether he or they will save their party and country, or serve self and family and make money, but when the choice is made, good judgment would seem to indicate the propriety in them of leaving dead fish to rot on the shore, and not stick them in the nostrils of decent people, even though one the people had after twen- ty-five years of trial found worthy of trus, had thrown the fish to rot on the beach of time. This letter is for your own eye and encouragement, but you are at liberty to use it as you wish. l never held or wrote or spoke a senti- ment on public affairs in my life that 1 was ashamed to ever have known, and published on the house top. do not publish this because 1 am not vain enough to suppose that 1 could influence one pc rsOn in Arkansas, but I take this method to let you and him know he has my hearty sympathy and good wishes. For gentleman of his ability and standing and sound un- fiinching democracy is at least, en- titled to the consideration that would give dog. Yours, truly.
 5. w. WILLIAMS.
 
 Forty-nine years after being VT ecked a schooner, sunk off Cape May inlet,