Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1896-01-02
Stone On the Wear Case.

EostOf NopNOttC-Au JCoeCiu oS 1ao
public appears an article under thu
caption Wears Long Scores" con
| tanning some personal references tc
myself which, with your permission,
desire to notice. The Republic report:
Judge Wear as saying that am '.pros
ecuting him for personal and political
reasons" and that | am sat the bottom
of all the trouble caused young Wear,
etc. Similar statements attributed tC
Judge Wear appeared in previous is
| sues of the Republic and other st. Louis
| journals. He was reported as saying
| that was representing" his son be-
cause he had opposed my nomination
| as Governor and because he is not in
accord with my views on the currency.
How correctly Judge Wear has been
reported l have no means of knowing.
[ can scarcely believe he made the
statements attributed to him, but since
such statements have been given out
on authority of circuit judge, l feel
that | should not let them go uncOn-
tradicted, for it is serious charge to
make-thai am wrongfully using my
official power to persecute anyone. In
the first place l wish to say that il
Judge Wear opposed my nomination as
Governor I never heard of it until his
recent visit to St. Louis. Circuit
judges do not generally take an active
hand in politics. With two or three
exceptions, do not know how any of
the circuit judges stood in that con-
test. do not know who Judge Wear
favored. If ever heard. and l am
confident never did, it has escaped
me entirely. As to his views on the
currency my ignorance was equally as
dense and blissful. Until / read his
recent purported interviews 1 did not
know whether be was for or against
silver, for or against gold, for or
against bimetallism, for or against
bonds, for or against any other partic-
ular thing related to the currency. l
do not reflect upon the importance of
his opinions; l mean only to say l
knew nothing about them. And if l
had it would have made no difference.
1 am very pronounced in my views
upon these questions, but l have not
made political opinions test OF friend
ship nor permitted them to disturb
my personal relations to others. This
is made easily apparent by the fact
that several gentlemen, pronounced
gold men, are to-day holding import
ant commissions under my appoint
ment. am not Judge Wears enemy.
As to his son, / never saw him. |
have absolutely no cause under heav-
en- for being the enemy of either. The
statement, therefore, that | am s'perse-
cutting him for personal and political
reasons is absurd. l repeat my un-
Willingness to believe that Judge Wear
made such a statement. If he has be-
come hostile toward me because of my
official action with regard to his son,
/ cannot help that, and have no apol-
ogy to make. Let me state briefly my
connection with the Wear cases. In
February. 1898, w. E. Renfro, the
Attorney of Butler county,
wrote me concerning the trial of Wear
for the murder of Lail. He called at
tention to the fact that the defendant
was the son Of the Circuit Judge and
that he was being ably defended by a |
of eminent lawyers. He |
wrote:
s.Lail is poor man, unable to en-
ploy counsel. am a young, mex
perienced attorney" q presume the |
Lail referred to in the quotation was a |
relative to deceased). In view of the i
facts stated in his letter, Mr.. Renfro |
asked for the assistance Of the Attorn-
ey General. I will state here that |
that was the first ever heard of the |
Wear case The murder was commit
ted in 1892, while l was engaged in
my gubernatorial campaign. l sup
pose some account of it was published
at the time, but if saw it il made no
impression on me. So I say the mat
Ter Va new to me when Mr.. Renfro