The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1897-11-25
THATAWFUL SCANDAL
THE SUBJECT OF A SPECIAL
INVESTIGATION.
A Member of the Atlanta Constitution
Staff Finds 1t a Horrible Lie, and
Is Authorized to Tele-
graph Denial.

"A u0HDeT Oh Cnc ACIahCa
Staff Finds 1t Horrible Lie, and
Is Authorized to Tele-
graph Denial.
Mr.. Robert B. Cramer, member
of the Atlanta Constitution staff and
representative of several Northern pa
pers, arrived in the city Sunday
morning upon the special mission of
investigating the winston scandal"
which has obtained such widespread
circulation.
Soon after his arrival Mr.. Cramer
became convi need that the report was
a horrible lie and then sought and OBJ
tanned permission to make denial
through the papers represented by
him and through the Associated Press.
He wired about a thousand words to
the Constitution that night, from
Winston, and said he would send out
a condensed denial to the Associated
Press from Greensboro.
From his report to the Constitution
we give the following extracts
WINSTON, N. C, Nov. 81, 1897.
THE CONSTITUTION.
Atlanta, Ga.
The millionaire tobacco manufac
turer Of this city whose name has
been connected with scandal that
has reached almost nat ional circula-
tion wit hin the past few days, author
ICES the statement in the Constitu-
tion that he will give half of his
I'd Tn he
originator of the story. He left here
last night on a business errand in his
usual health, if not in his usual
spirits, and will return the latter part
OF the week. l saw his brother, who
is also his partner, this afternoon and
received from him the following
authorized interview which he said
the full knowledge the
family has Of the matter:
Last Monday our representative
in D4nville telee raphed US an inquiry
the health OF my brother
and hiEUing at a matter OF a peculiar
domestic scandal We thought IL
some joke or tobacco drummer, and
made jncOse reply. But it was DO
joke to the Danville man, and he took
the first train for Winston. He told
US that the DtnvIlle telegraph opera
tor had caught the story passing over
the wires, and that it was spreading
My brother was inclined to
treat in lightly, and none OF Us
dreamed that it would ever reach so
serious stage as it seems to have as
sumed today.
"Since Monday we have received
daily increasing number of letters and
and we feel that the time
has come for US to attempt to head
the story off. There is not shadow
of truth in it. My brother has never
been involved in any sort of domestic
scandal. To those who know him this
denial will not be necessary, but there
may be some who will hear OF him for
the first time in this connection and
believe the horrible lie.
"We are doing all in our power to
trace the scandal back to the black
hearted scoundred who originated it,
and if we find him | think he will be
willing to swap places with the man
he tried to make my brother out to be
In the meanwhile the only comfort
we can get out Of the matter is the
offers of assistance in our
search. They have come from all d.
rectiOns. and show how fast and how
far the lie has spread. Hanging is too
good for the creature who could origi-
nate so vile SANDER, and we do not
believe that he will escape the puDisE
ment he has invited"
"Have you any suspicion as to who
first told the story?" l asked.
He hesitated for a moment, and
then shook his head.
NO" he said.
HAS your brother any personal enc
mics who might have done it?"
mot one"
perhaps it was a discharged en-
ploye?"
Il don't think so. In fact l don't
know what to think. The most that
we can do is to do the best we can.
and il we catch the scoundrel I'll
guarantee that"
The brother stopped and shook his
big shoulders in gesture which show
ed that the dictionary didn't contain
the words he wanted. Then he closed
some of the people of Winston-Salem
and to ask them if they believed the
story or any part Of it. I did this so
far as was necessary, but / did not
need to go far. The accused man has
as many friends here as there are
names in the city directory, and every
man and woman of them is walking
protest to the scandal. He has lived
mere all mis- life and. even If the alleg-
ed affair had not been located here by
the author Of the story, nobody in
Winston-Salem would have believed
it for moment.
There is nothing In this pretty lit
tie city on which such a rumor could
have been built.
So far as the spread OF the scandal
is concerned it is next to impossible
to exaggerate in making even a geo.
graphical estimate. Everybody on
the train coming here was talking
about it. Letters and kilograms
have arrived from all parts of
the country, and the local newspaper
men are tearing their hair because the
big newspapers of the north are order
ing from one to fifteen thousand
words Of story which isn't story at
all
The people who are trying to find
the rascal who has caused all the
trouble have apparently hopeless
task.
THE SENTINEL is persuaded that
the reporter has made a mistake in
reference to the stupendous reward
mentioned in his telegram