The record-union., 1894-11-03
MR.. JoHNsoN's REPLY.
SACRAMENTO October "A,

SACRAMENTO, october II, 1898.
Hon. a. CdHljRettj-DEAR SIR: YOur
letter, dated Sacramento, October %, 1894,
was received by me this morning at
Grass Valley. You say in that letter that
my son having, at a meeting held at
Tracy, San Joaquin County, asserted
that the convention which nominated me
was railroad convention, in justice to
the gentlemen composing that body
am compelled to take notice OF such an
untrue statement" and, as result, fur
lher on, you state in effect that my son
having made this, by you termed an un-
Warranted attack, you respectfully in
Vlte me to joint discussion of the rail-
road issue III all its phases, including the
1undIng OF the railroad debt, and the
ownership by the Government of the
subsidized roads in case of the non-pay-
m9nt OF the amount due the people,
In reply, have to say that | had made
fifteen speeches in this campaign up to
Monday, October S, 1894. In none of
of these speeches had / referred to Won
personally, or to your record as mem
Der OF Congress. 1 had discussed merely
the platforms Of the various parties My
speech delivered in Sacramento, Septem-
Der, l9, 1884, was published IN the REC
oI:D- UNION of September 20, 1894, and
ALI my other speeches were based
substantially upon the same line. You
opened the campaign at Angels Camp
with a personal attack upon me.
Y on followed it up with a speech in
Sacramento, on October &, 1894, in which
you personally assailed me, misrepre-
sented my position, misquoted my
speech. misstated my sentiments, when
you had before you copy OF my speech,
and know that you were acting improp-
erly in so doing.
In addition you made such a personal
assault upon me that you felt compelled
10 publish an article in the papers ex-
planning the language you had used in
regard TO myself You followed this nm
by making speeches in Mono and Inyo
Counties, where no doubt you thought L
would never near what you said, by
making direct personal attacks upon me.
\ on followed this course throughout the
campaign. AT every place you have
spoken you have asSailed me. You have
caused to be sent to the newspapers tele-
grams speaking OF your meetings, and
lauding you for having exposed, as you
said, my duplicity.
Ihls course you have pursued for more
than two weeks, and now, at this late
date, when the campaign is nearly at an
enc, when you know that l am adver-
tlsed to speak for every evening but one
to tue close Of election, you write me a
letter tlEdlng fault with something that
my son, and not myself, has said in re-
gard TO you, and basing your challenge
upon tnat statement attributed thus by
you TO my son, you challenge me to
joint discussion of matter which is but
one OF the issues before the people OF this
State.
Atthe beginning of the campaign, before
you acted IN the improper manner above
detailed, had you signified your desire TO
discuss the political issues OF the day
with me, l would have been pleased TO
have met you III joint debate. Now, how
ever, feel that your conduct has been
such as to place you outside of the pale OF
legitimate debate, and L cannot, without
loss OF SeIf-respect, condescend to debate
or discuss any measure with you in
public.
80 lar as my son is concerned, he is of
age, competent to protect himself, and |
am informed has already accepted the
challenge you claim TO have made to dis
cuss this railroad question with either
about this so-called challenge by your
him or myself. Your manner of talking
TO me shows that you are apparently in
sincere in the matter, because, without
waiting Tor any reply from me, you go to
Sourland, precinct in Sacramento
County, and cause TO be sent a florid tele-
gram to the Examiner, stating that you
mad challenged me, and that had not an
swered you, when you knew you could
. not, at the time you spoke in Courtland,
nave received any reply from me to your
letter, because, first your letter was re-
celNeo by me this morning at Grass
valley, and you knew l could not receive
or answer 1t before you went TO Court
Land; and, secondly, you state in your
letter that L shall communicate with the
Hon. t. Ii. Gould. Chairman of the DEM
ocratle State Central Committee, and not
Win you. 1t would appear. therefore,
that you were seeking to obtain some ad-
vantage by this challenge before 1 could
act upon it. Very respectfully,
GROVE l.. JOHNSON,