The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1897-12-15
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER Is. 1897.


We are not disposed 10 prejudice the
case Of Colonel Stubs by passing upon
1t pending his appeal. but We are not
willing by our silence 10 leave the matter
in doubt as to how we regard the assault
which Colonel Stubs has seen fit to make
upon those who preferred charges against
him and those who investigated the
charges.
Colonel Stubbs. in his card TO the pub
lie. sets out with the statement that he
Is thoroughly convinced that this whole
business was an executed scheme TO blast
his reputation and character, and that
behind ii all is concealed the hand Of
powerful interests alike indifferent 20 the
honor and interests of the Confederate
Veteran Associations and TO the charac-
ter and reputation OF the individuals com
posing these bodies"
That charge seems 20 us does not COM
menu itself as probable TO any sensible
man II is only n little while ago that
these same gentlemen had such a regard
for him that they bestowed upon him the
highest honor within the gift Of the Grand
Camp, and that they should now, within
few short months, turn upon him and
for selfish purposes seek to blast his re-
putation without cause is simply incon-
ceivable.
lie complains that these comrades
should, In a spirit OF kindness and broth
eriy love. have approached him private
ly with their suspicious and have given
him an opportunity to explain away those
mysterious checks before dragging him,
as he expresses 1t, into a public investiga-
ton.
So Ear as that goes the whole matter
might have been originated and finally
disposed Of behind the doors of the camp
and the public would have been none
the wiser II might have been hushed up
and a great public scandal would have
Deen avoided But we cannot consent
that that was the proper way to dispose
OF these serious charges. The Grand
Camp. Confederate Veterans OF Virginia.
Is a representative organization. II re-
presents Southern principles. II repre-
for those principles. Honor is its motto,
and 1t cannot afford TO conceal and by
concealing seem to wink at any official
transaction on the part OF its members
which is at all shady. The officers OF the
Grand Camp. Confederate Veterans must
be above suspicion. and we have such
high regard for the honor and integrity
Of the Veterans Of Virginia. that we be-
iieve that 800 out Of every thousand of
them were perfectly willing at all times
and under all circumstances and without
previous notice TO stand up before their
comrades and the public and give an &C
count OF their official acts
We believe that the men who brought
these charges against Colonel Stubs did
toward him as they would have their
comrades do towards them under similar
circumstances. We believe that they
were prompted solely by a sense OF JUS
tice. and while IL must have been most
painful and humiliating for them to have
called UP a matter touching not only the
good name OF a comrade. but the good
name also of the Grand Camp. we can
not but commend them for the honest and
courageous course that they have pur-
sued in bringing this matter at once be-
fore the bar Of public Investigation and
thereby saying to the world. that the
Confederate Veterans OF Virginia have no
ccnceaiments. II shows that a healthy.
moral sentiment pervades that grand or
eanization, and II IS a notice 20 the p,,h-
iic that nothing crooked viii be tole-
rated.
And now a word as to the committee
that investigated these charges. We re.
mark at the outset that II was a commit
tee OF Colonel Stubs own selection. COM
posed of his own comrades. men who saw
service on the field of battle. men Of dis
crctdon and OF spotless character. They
saA patiently and heard all the witness
es. They heard Colonel Stubs pronounce
those checks TO be forseriss; they heard
him finally acknowledge that the checks
were genuine; they heard him say that
ne was in the habit OF playing cards for
money. and that these checks were given