The record-union., 1897-03-21
for Mayor, nor for any other public Of

|
daily paper. On the above date Charles
E. Leonard asked me to become a di-
rector in a proposed new daily paper,
and as he has publicly stated in the
Bee politely but firmly refused. In
the face of all these facts, / have dur
ing the past several weeks been sub
jected to indignities seldom expert
enced by private citizens outside the
domains of a Sultan or Gar My
home and my footsteps have been
Swallowed. l have been logged by a
| Bee reporter, who placed words in my
mouth in his reported and published in
terviews which I never uttered, and
who turned and twisted many things I
did say in manner to lend color to
the Bees infamous charges. My pri-
vate office has been intruded upon and
my confidential clerks have been sub
jected to offensive questions at the
hands of Bee detectives. Even the
privacy of my home has not been re-
spected, but has been invaded by a
! Bee detective, who, under false pre-
lenses, gained admission to my home
and subjected member of my house
hold to the most inquisitoral, insulting
and offensive questions. Honesty of
purpose and spirit of fair mindedness
should long since have prompted these
men to acknowledge in their paper that
they had been misled and deceived by
their own hired detectives into believ-
ing that had even the remotest con-
nection with the nefarious plots they
claim to have discovered.
| Their failure to do this makes it
| hai Of hot foi
minded and honest has not been shown
in this case, and that it was evidently
their deliberate intention, for no cause
whatsoever, to ruin my reputation be-
fore the world
A circumstance which 1 much regret
in this connection is the fact that
shortly before this matter arose, an adj
Vertlsing contract was entered into be-
tween the Bee and Wainstock, Lubin
& Co., of which concern 1 am the Pres
ident, which will not expire for many
months and which meanwhile compels
me to lend my financial support to
those who, without the slightest cause
or reason, have endeavored to ruin my
good name before the world.
The whole matter is now in the
hands Of the law, and the public may
rest assured that the accusations made
by the Bee will be thoroughly venti-
lated and the falsity of the charges
clearly proven. 1 realize that in this
matter / have not alone the incentive
before me of securing a judicial vindi-
cation, but l have also public duty to
perform in the interests of society.
If men who happen to be the owners
Of newspaper can wantonly conspire
against and endeavOr to entrap private
citizens into wrong doing and failing in
| this can, nevertheless without let or
hindrance, be permitted to attempt to
| ruin, over night, SO to speak, a reputa-
| ton which 1t has taken a life time to
| build up, then no man in the community
| is safe. To-day it happens to be my
turn, tomorrow it may be my neigh
boris turn, and the next day his neigh
| boris turn, and so on. If there is no
| remedy for this sort of thing little less
| than reign of terror must follow
Many of my friends have urged me to
submit in silence to the outrage to which
| / have been subjected at the hands of
the Bee rather than to attempt to bring
to justice a newspaper with the spirit
shown to be possessed by that journal
henceforth be subjected at the hands of
| that paper to the most constant, cruel
and outrageous abuse; that every act
of mine would henceforth be distorted
every public utterance of mine ridiculed;
that every effort would be made on their
Tart to injure my business and to hurt
the feelings of my family. l have not
permitted myself, however, to be re-
strained by prudential reasons in doing
what / believe it is my duty to do. If
l am to be subjected to further abuse
and indignity at the hands of the Bee,
l shall at least have the comforting con-
seriousness that l am suffering in an
| honest endeavor to vindicate my good
name, and that my prosecution of and
| my earnest protest against the license
of the press may, if only in a degree,
restrain in the future INSCRIPTIONS
newspapers from wantonly attacking
| other innocent men.
In making this statement I have
done so with full conviction of it's truth
and of my ability to establish it.
have not made it in malice, ill-will or
hatred, or with the intention of injur-
| ing or doing injustice to any human be-
| ing. Nor have 1 made this statement
with any other purpose than that ex-
pressed, namely, to do simple justice to
| myself, because without any act or ex-
| preston on my part, my name and good
| fame have been dragged into public
view, and subjected to public criticism,
calculated to bring me and mine into
public contempt and disrepute."
NOT READY TO TALK.
representative of the Record
Union" called upon Messrs. V. S. and c.
K McClatchy, informed them of the
filing of the complaint and that it would
be published this morning and asked If
they had any statement in re-
gard to it that they desired
to have published with it. They
were also informed that Mr. Vein
stock would be interviewed on the sub
ject. They replied that they did not
care to say anything at present in re-
gard to the complaint, and were assured
that in case Mr. Weinstock said any
thing in his interview to which they took
exceptions they would have an oppor-
tunity to reply to it in the Record
Union" tomorrow.
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