The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-10-29
ADMITS RECKLESS TALKING.
REV. LEE APOLOGIES FOR At
TACKING MAYOR MELDRIM.

The Preacher Made Amends for Ar
Taigning Innocent Gentlemen,
Whom He Thought Attended the
Macon CRrnivaI-HumbIy Retract-
ed the Sharp Rebuke, and Says
He'll BE More Guarded In Future.
Mayor Meldrim has received an ex-
PLANTATION OF the attack recently made on
him in a speech at Macon by Rev. ]. w.
Lee, who is there making speeches in the
interest of the Bib county anti-saloon
league. Reference to Rev. Lees remarks
has been made in the Morning News dis
patches, which stated Mayor Meldrim was
arraigned before an audience in Macon
for conducting himself improperly while
visiting the carnival in that city.
Along with Rev. Lees letter comes one
from Secretary o. A. Park of the anti
saloon league, who calls attention to the
apology, and expresses regret in behalf
of the league that the unfortunate mistake
was made on the part of the preacher
in allowing himself to be misinformed on
a matter of such vital Importance to those
concerned. Mayor Meldrim did not have
the brunt of the attack to bear alone,
however, Mayor Walsh of Augusta, also
seems to have been singled out by the
preacher and treated to an unpleasant
rebuke.
"Our local press did not notice the re-
mark" Secretary Park explains land the
explanation was made by Rev. Lee at
meeting more largely attended than the
one at which the attack was made. Rev.
Lee had no intention of rejecting upon
you, but referred to the mayors of Savan-
nah and Augusta being present with our
Mayor on the night of the Venetian revel
during our late carnival.
The committee regrets the unfortunate
remark, and had we known it was the in
tentiOn to make it, we would most GER
tainly have protected you from even the
slight imputation, which everyone who
knows anything of the official referred TO-
at once recognized as mistake. Rev.
Lee has done all in his power to correct
the mistake, and il is at his request that 1
| forward a copy of his statement"
Rev. Lee apologies for his remarks, and
explains that he was misinformed az 10
the gentlemen he attacked. His signed
! statement is as follows:
Macon, Ca, Oct. g. 1S9S.-My attention
is called to the fact that some statements
are being published and circulated about
an incidental remark that L made about
! the presence of the Mayors of Savannah
and Augusta during the carnival. l am
not informed as TO what these statements
are. and, therefore, do not know whether
! they are correct or not. At the time l
made the incidental remark referred to, l
! believed it TO be true, and it was made in
/ the course of a discussion of a subject 10
| which l thought attention should be call
ed. 1t was not my intention at the time
to make any personal attack on the good
names of the Mayors of Savannah and
| Augusta, whose names I did not know.
"Since making the remark 1 find, upon
! investigation, that my information, so far
| as it referred to these gentlemen, was in
| correct, as l am assured neither of them
| was in Macon at the time referred to.
| did both unintentional injustice. l sim
cerely regret having made the erroneous
/ remark 1 made about them, and do now
| entirely retract it, l would be glad that
all possible publicity be given this retrac-
! ton, especially in any and all newspapers
/ that contained any reference thereto. If
! this correction is not satisfactory to the
gentlemen, l stand ready to do anything
| right to meet their views.
/ las I would never Intentionally wrong
another, and if 1 should. through misin-
formation or otherwise, do an injustice to
any man, l would do all in my power to
rectify the mistake and make amends.
81 hasten to make this retraction of my
own free will, and without any request
from the gentlemen referred to- or any
other person. Yours respectfully,
-. w. Lee"
Mayor Meldrim is satisfied with the ex-
/ PLANTATION. He has not worried himself
about It at any time, however, as he Is
well known in Macon, and even had the
remarks been more generally circulated
| they probably would not have been be-
lieved by his acquaintances there. He
lost no sleep over the affair at any time,
and now that an apology has been made,
there will probably be nothing further
/ heard of it,