The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1895-03-27
HIT THE WRONG man.
DR.. j. w. Houghton Makes Wig
orous Protest.
He Objects to Being Scored as the Author
of an Article Known to Have Been
Written by another Person
NOthinO IN ha OAandad at

and Wean may have had in the first in
stance connecting me with the authorship
of an article on the waterwOrks, which
they assume to answer in the last issue
of the Enterprise, they were afterward
told, and before their articles were in
type, that | had no connection with it.
l did not suggest the writing of the
article, and did not furnish an idea.
This would be a sufficient answer to all
personal references but for the fact that
their letters assume to be a review of my
statements made in meeting previous
to the one under consideration, and on
the same subject.
The figures gave proved exactly what
| claimed for them, provided the facts as
sumed were true; but whether true or
not, the question is not one for personal
insinuatiOn, depreciation or attack, but
for explanation and correction of the
error Whether it was my purpose to be
accurate and fair as even Messrs. Wean
and Webster, | can probably tell as easily
as they; and those who heard us will
judge.
l supposed, and still think, that in an
effort to show the advantages of water
works, it is perfectly legitimate to men
tiOn the probable rise in the value of real
estate, and | do not mean to misrepresent
them when | call attention to the fact
that one or both Of these gentlemen made
use of similar arguments to influence
voters when we were all working together
last year, and the gentle sarcasm of Mr..
Webster that | might with equal
prOpriety have made an estimate
four times as large as / did, does
not diminish the force of that cOnSidera-
tiOn. In all financial enterprises bust
ness men do estimate probable profits
and advance in values of property affect
ed, and | never heard before that it was
just as reasonable and sensible to make
an extravagant and improbable estimate
as modest and conservative one. II
there are any indirect advantages to be
obtained from public improvements, ad-
vance in the value of real estate is GER
tainly one of them.
| do not claim to have all the truth on
the waterwOrks question, but while Mr..
Webster has some, perhaps / have little;
but these differences are matters for in
quiry and demonstration, and not for
personal detraction. All feeling and
personalities ought to have been kept out
of a discussion of this kind, and for my
self have never put any into it-either
in public or private.
Let me add, in passing, that Mr.. Web
ster evidently has a corner ON all such
qualities, either inherited or acquired,
as business sense" mathematical ac-
curacy," memory" fairness" "can-,
dol" Honesty" truth" etc., and am
not in it. Then, Mr.. Webster has not
got pond water on the brain;' let us be
thankful for that.
Ii MIR. Wean wac ever assured that |
wrote the article of which he complains,
that was corrected before his article went
into print, and he allowed it to be pub
lished knowing that fact. 1t is not worth
while to contrOvert his assertion about
my want of courage as argued from the
fact that | was absent from the second
waterwOrks meeting. Evidently he has
plenty of courage or he would never have
gone into print over his own signature
or any other with an article which the
reader can accurately estimate without
any assistance from me. But suppose |
had written the article over a fictitious
signature? / Twas once connected with
newspaper, and | have distinct recol-
lection of several local politicians going
into print many times over fictitious sig
natures.
Charges of misrepresentation" "sec-
Ond-handed and distorted information"
"extreme and bitter prejudices," have
no weight when it is remembered
that | had nothing to do with the article.
OF course | was "afraid to 90 into an
open meeting and discuss the waterworks
question in an open and manly way and
preferred ambush and bushwhacking
tactics to those of legitimate warfare"
and that is the reason staid away from
the meeting. So Mr.. Wean would have
his readers believe and the assumption is
that he is honorable and manly in his
methods and would not do anything un-
reasonable or unjust or that could by any
possibility mislead the people. /
would not cOntrOvert this assumption
for there can be no doubt Of the entire
transparency of this whole affair, and
no one is likely to be deceived.
Why, if he meant to be fair, did Mr..
Wean attempt to damage my reputation
by appealing to what he evidently con-
ceived to be popular prejudice. II be-
cause of my belief in higher criticism,
to which he refers, I am entitled to any
opprObrium he is equally involved. for he
has repeatedly both publicly and private
ly endorsed the same views. Doubtless
he supposed that would be so complete
ly overwhelmed that no reply would be
made.
By the way, what relation has ques-