Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1896-02-13


ruin by the sophistrles OF Robt. q
innsersoll ! decided that ought 10 de-
nNer 10 them two lcotures In the
nfst, i showed that the statements OF
the champion blasphemer were SO
slarlnsly false as To be ludicrous and
ch,itied the lecture. Col. Ingersoll as
Humorist" In the second / s<1we1
that any one who seriously followed
the grim and grotesque Joker proved
himself very foolish. and Its title was
'Ingersollism as 1t is
More than week after the second
lecture ! received from Ingerson the
following:
Rev a. c. Dixon.
My Dear Slr-My attention was
called for the first time this morning
70 report that appeared in the Brook
lyn edition Of the New York World Of
February !, 1892, Of u lecture delivered
by you on the Slst of January, at the
Hanson Place Baptist church. and In
,nnt report me ioliOwlng Is said to have
been uttered by you:
"A few years ago II was found that
pictures and impure publications were
passing through the mails. Anthony
tomstock decided to stop IT. on in
NestigatiUn, whom should he And rem
resenting publishers of impure lltera-
ture but Col. lngersoll. paid to pollute
the minds OF the young OF this genera
tionV | write for the purpose OF Civ
ing you an opportunity to retract eth
er by stating that YOU used no such
language, or that the statements are
absolutely untrue.
II you do not make such retraction
shall commence an action against YOU
for having uttered p malicious libel
Yours truly. X. q. INGERSoLL.
10 Wall street.
To this / sent the following reply;
Col. Root. q. lngersoll.
Dear slr--"I did not use In my nd-
dress of January II the words You
quote from the World. but / should
have said them or something like them
II, In the press OF time, they had not
escaped my mind. The reporter OF the
World got them through my private
secretary from some notes that 1 had
spoken into a monograph in course of
preparation. but ] am willing to be
responsible for them as they appeared
In the World. for 1 believe them 10 be
true.
III time had permitted l might have
made the following quotations from a
book entitled Traps for the Young,
by Anthony Comstock. which l advise
you to read. beginning with the four
tuenth line from the top Of page 1877.
Lest you may not have the book will
quote at length or your bcheiit,
In February. 1873, there was pre-
scented in congress. to the house OF
representatives, "a petition, a duplicate
Of which Is printed below, headed by
the name OF Robt. G.. lngcrsoll This
was heralded throughout the land the
next day by an Associated Press dis
patch from Washington announcing
that Seventy thousand frecmcn,
headed by Col. Robt. G. mgersoll. pc
tltioned congress to repeal the laws
a a ha t(G1ptNtnalF
count of their unconstitutionallty and
the outragcs committed under them Dy
Anthony COmstOck'
Some of the papers at Washington
made vigorous efforts to carry this
liberal movement TO a success, and
almost daily had editorials in favor OF
It. Mr. Ingersoll resided there. and
the entire movement centered In him
His WAS the only name connected with
II that received notice from the press
or the committees of congress-, The
liberal press lauded him and eXtolled
him in highest terms Of praise for
heading this movement But he says
he did not favor this movement. Did
he not know that his name was at the
head OF the list? Did he not consent
TO have 1t put there himself? chs lat
ter IL believed to be truo) Did he by
any word sign or token. attempt to
undeceive the house OF representatives
or denounce the fraud and forgery,
II he did not sign 1t? Did he enter
single protest against the laudation
Of the liberal press because Of his head
ing this movement? Did he not put
his name there and knowingly permit
Il to stand there. with whatever In
fluence II might afford the movement
to repeal these righteous laws2
"What did he do? There is little
need Of arguments when simple facts
81 atfft IL in
following Is verbatim copy of pa
per on file In the office Of the secretary
OF the senate at Washington. copied
with my own hand, and the letters
are also verbatim copies OF letters
which were sent TO the senate COM
mlttecs
~ found the document after Mr.. In
gersoll had made his solemn declara-
ton In the Brooklyn music hall In
1882. In reply to Rev. Mr.. Talmage.
that he never favored the repeal of
these laws. We were obliged to
search long and zealously TO md this
precious document and the tell-taie
letters filed with II, and two or three
times almost despaired OF finding II.
Patient search was at last rewarded.
to-wt:
10 the Senate and House Of Repre-
sentatlyes OF the United States OF
America In Congress assembled;
The petition of the undersigned cit-
zens of the United States, residing at
and near the places set opposite their
names, respectfully shows;
That without the knowledge OF your
petitioners. and, as they believe, with
out the knowledge OF any great num-
Der of the citizens Of the United States,
certain acts were procured to be passed
nv congress in 1873 (since incorporated
into the United States Revised Stat
utes. Us 1885 1878, $685. $3.50, 2i.9lD, for
the ostenslble purpose OF suppresslpg
'obsrone literature etc. which re-
vetsed the policy and practice OF our
government since it's foundation;
wherefore your petitioners pray that
tho statutes aforesaid may be repealed,
Or materially modified, so that they
cannot be used to abridge the freedom
az ire press or of conscience. or to de-
etroy the liberty and equality OF the
neoule before the law and departments
~ the government on account OF any
yeIirious. moral. political, medical or
commercial grounds or pretexts what
And your petitioners viii ever pray.
Robert O Ingersoll, Chairman. H.;
Charles Case, Indiana,
Darius Lyman Ohio,
I G. Smith Massachusetts;
John II. Wolfe, New York Cttyi
i Hood Corey. ex-ofiicio. Secretary
Penn yam. n. y;
w. W. Jackson. eN-ofiloio, washington
and 10000 others attached to petition
300 feet long, filed with house commit