The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1897-05-21
Mr. Smiths Reioinder.

Mr., Smiths Rejoinder.
To Mr.. Perry II Nugent Deputy Sheriff
Your article of the 18th inst. in the
Banner, and your acts of the past two
months, do not seem to harmonic ex-
actly. You We're the first man heard
of who proposed to kick and take
some step to defeat the action of the
democratic executive committee of
March | and the last man to
lay down your arms against said
committee on May s, as twenty-one
| of that committee will bear testimony.
when you brought in your last protest
from your precinct asking the execu-
tive committee to kick itself by en-
dorsing your Summerfield resolution.
Yet you say you are not fighting the
organized democracy of Marion coun-
ty. Great gnus!" What more could
the most ardent Of the gold bug kick
ing crowd have asked you to do for
them? The first in action and the last
to leave the field! Yet you would
have us believe that it was inmate
rial to you who were appointed coun-
ty commissioners. Doesn't it, a. this
late date, appear to the public to be a
case of sour grapes with you?
Mr. Mitchell declined to be candi-
date, I hear you say. Eth? Don't you
and the public know that Mr.. Ms
card of declination appeared long after
the eleventh hour, and long after all
means, petitions, letters and personal
interviews with the governor, had
been exhausted by his friends and
found to be futile? In fact, didn't
this whole crowd understand that the
governor would not appoint Mr.. NJ.
under any circumstances, hence the
card of decIication?
AS I have stated before, ! am sorry
that Mr.. N. has allowed himself to be
used as tool for a scheming SKA dir
ty sheet and get battered up so, with
out any seeming benefit from the fight
against the Bryan free silver
democracy of Marion county. This
was the last act of the drama, the last
fight Il think of the gold-bug faction
of the county, and this under cover,
and whether or not they suspected it,
they certsi1iy run upon good-sized
snsg when they tried 10 down the
ffsa. M
Now, you say you are tired of the
whole thing, and have decided that it
was only a tempest il a teapot. Had
you said the results, so far as smash
ing the executive committee are con-
cerned, was a tempest in teapot, /
would agree with you, for this very
fight against the executive committee
has warned them, put them on their
nettle and bound them together in a
way to make their actions in the fu,
ture respected. It was no fault of the
kickers, for they left no stone unturn-
ed, that the tempest they tried so
hard to produce did not materialize
and sweep the democracy of the coun-
ty from the face of the earth.
The democracy of the county have
been accustomed to speak through
three channels: First. conventions;
second, primaries; third, the execu-
utive committee. Our county COM
missiOners have always been chosen
through the executive committee, you
having been chosen few years back
through this body. Most all of our
county officers have either been Sc
lected through conventions or prima-
ries, and finally endorsed by theexec-
utive committee as democratic candi-
dates before they are allowed to go
out and unfarl the democratic banner
over the county.
You said you would sign, if asked, a
petition to Governor BloXham TO ap-
point man who was candidate, but
defeated before the executive commit
tee, for commissioner. If this is not
kicking against the organized democ-
racy would like 20 know what would
be kicking. Nothing short, suppose,
of a complete overthrow.
IS to the part you took in having
the Pedro district called together to
see if it would not endorse the kick"
would say this: 1t is not a question of
veracity between you and |, but one for
you and Mr.. Alf. Proctor to settle as
to the exact part you played.
Ii Mr.. Carney saw in your last arti-
Gle in the Banner your stated friend
ship for him it is possible he might
have very close fellow-feeling for
you. Yea, and utter your prayer of
late date, Lord, deliver Us from our
friends" Yours, very truly,
G. J. SMITH.