Evening journal., 1899-02-13
LETTERS FRON THg P.OPLE
A WaRp rO ma. HEIL.

a WORD TO MR. HE'LL.
To Jerome b. Be1 Editor Of the sun
day star
Sir; In an article appearing in your
paper the statement is made that /
had some trouble Of personal char
adter with Ralph De Soto. and that
animus connected Herewith led to an
attack upon him by me in the Evening
journal. / desire TO cay 10 you than
no word OF unpleasantness Of any
character ever passed between. Ralph
De Soto and me. The same assertion
applies to his brothers and associates.
In the nine years Of my residence here
1 never had fifteen minutes CONVEX
sation with Ralph De Soto or with any
Of his brothers with the exception of
ice, whom / met Occasionally at the
noon hour at a lunch place in this
city. The relations, slight as they
were, were pleasant in every particu-
lar. | also desire to say to you that
never asked a De Soto for a pennys
credit; never obtained from one Of
them a penny's credit; never owed one
Of them a penny, and never expect to-
On Christmas eve, 1897, my brother
and /, while walking up Market street,
were met by Recorder of Deeds Court
and c. Montgomery. He asked us in
70 De SotOs to get a cigar. We went,
and then Mn Montgomery insisted
That / take a pound Of smoking tobac-
co for a Christmas present / declined.
He paid Antonio De Soto $l.4O for the
tobacco and once more insisted that /
take IT, Again / refused and we left,
after / had quietly told Mr.. De Soto to
give Mr.. Montgomery his money back
when he was in a less insistent hui
NOR. There was not a word of un-
pleasantness in the entire transaction.
In fact, it was just the reverse. That
tobacco is still in the keeping of the
De Sotos, for Mr.. Montgomery refused
to take back his money, and / refused
TO take the tobacco. Ralph De Soto
was a stranger to the transaction. only
so far as his interest in Mr.. Montgom-
ery's S140 went Unless his brother
told him, he is still ignorant Of it. If
the De Sotos feel aggrieved because
they have b0gh the money and the to-
baccO / know nothing OF il. / invite
YOU to call upon Mr. Montgomery and
verify this statement, and also upon
Antonio De Soto. who, If he is not lost
to all sense of truth and honor, Will
suhstantate what ! have said. Out
side OF saulations of the day, / never
exchanged ten words with Ralph De
Soto during the nine years Of my resi-
dence in Wilmington, and not one OF
them was unpleasant. / never pur.
chased as much as fifty cents worth
Of cigars or tobacco at his store in
that period, and / never owed him OF
his penny, favor or a grudge. Al
fer sending valentines or anything else
TO Mrs. De Soto / will say that the
proposition is 50 ridiculous that a de.
nial from me is scarcely necessary.
arm not in that line Of business and nj
one knows it better than yourself. AZ
ter you have interviewed Mr. Mont
gcmery and Mr.. De Soto YOU are al
peldeg- liberiy to publish their state
ments, for, in endeavorng to drag my
personality into a controversy will
which / have nothing personally Il
do, you have done me a gross injustic,
by making misstatements OF fact ant
drawing therefrOm deductions whici
must necessarily be false.
If you are a fair man you will re
tract the statements and imputatfonI
made against me, for you can easil,
convince yourself of their faisity.
Yours respectfully,
GEORGE CARTER.