Evening journal., 1896-09-25
LETTERS FROM TIE PEOPLE
Mr.. KERR.s sTATEMENr-

TO the Editor Of the Evening Journal.
Sir: My absence from the city yes
terday afternoon and evening. and IN
fact that l have been extremely busy to
day, prevented me from seeing the ar
ticle in your issue OF the 23d This /
my first opportunity to reply, and
hasten to assure you that / have no
the slightest hesitancy in proclaiming
myself as the author of the article re
ferred to, nor had | any intention to-
conceal my identity, as. when asked by
great many my opinion OF Mr.
Bryans remarks in regard to IN
clergy, | referred them to the articl
in the Every Evening.
To be as brief as possible, the discus
sion resolves itself into the question
whether Mr.. Bryan used the word
"The clergy" or, as you have II, You
will find In our cities preachers OF tn
gospel. for, If your report is pre-
faced with the words "The clergy,
then It is, as characterized in my ar
ticle, a wholesale denunciation OF the
ministry. If. on the other hand, he
said. You will find preachers init
mating exceptions, his remarks could
not be construed into being denuncia
tory of clergymen as a class.
must contend that my report is cor
rect until it Is proven to be otherwise
For many years 7 was a lecture re-
porter and consider myself an expert
in that line. and while ! did not take
down all Mr.. Bryan said Immediately
after Mr.. Bryan had delivered that por
tion OF his speech, In fact, while he
was still dwelling on Il. | made notes
of the salient points, and that put It
down correctly is borne out by the fact
that with one exception, those to whom
I have spoken in regard to Il, confirm
my notes and the exception was not
quite clear on the subject.
Having been stenographer for
twenty-five years during which time
have trained myself not only to re
port, but to remember verbatim, eX
tracts which ! deem of Importance. 1
cannot feel that l have made q mis-
take this time, but / am open to con
viction, and If the Journal can produce
another stenographic report identica
with the one published yesterday, then
/ will acknowledge myself in error, but
until then, / must continue to consider
my report just as good as the other
fellows.
In conclusion. do not need to re-
for occasional correspondents of news
papers to sign their initials or to us
a nom de plume, consequently ! fail to
see any warrant for the term coward
used i'm connection with myself. /
trust. therefore, that the Journal viii
be as fair as / am trying TO be, ana
make the amende honorable.
c. II. KERR.
Wilmington, Del, Sept "a. 1896.
TWe have all respect for Mr.. Kerr
and for his opinions. It is merely a
difference existing between man who
did not take down all that Mr.. Bryan
said" but who made notes Of the sa
lient points" Immediately after Mr.
Bryan had delivered that portion of his
speech" and an Evening Journal re
porter who took down all that Mr.
Bryan said and just as he said it. II
Mr.. Kerr is a stenographer, and we
have no reason to doubt that he is, he
K will know that there is no possible
twist of stenographic characters whic
can. in q transcription, convert the
words "The clergy into the words
| You will find in our cities preacher
lof the gospel" The characters are en-
| tirely dissmilar and the phrases can
not be confounded. We know what
Mr.. Bryan said, and quoted him liter
ally. Mr. Kerr did not know what he
said and quoted him from memory
and catch-notes, and he and every
other stenographer knows how treach
erous both memory and catch-notes are
when the formation of a phrase or a
sentence is involved. We are glad tha
Mr.. Kerr has come out from his cove
and thereby relieved himself Of th
epithet applied to him. We do no
propose to go cunning over the coun
" to find some stenographer who viii
bolster up either his memory or hi
catch-notes. That is for him to do
/, nd he is welcome to all the comfor
lie can obtain from such an enterprise
Ed