The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1900-11-02

VuiSlOn ana shame rom every honest
Walsh county man, that candidate for
so high an Office would stoop so low and
appeal to so base motives for support.
ONE FACT LACKING.
MOSES 6, WYL1E,
General Merchandise,
Drayton, N. D., Oct. %, 1900.
Learning that reports were being cir
culated over the county reflecting on the
moral character of Prof. w. ]. Alexander,
the undersigned who were members of
the school board of Drayton schools
and who took pains to look up the facts
i'll regard to the matter, in the interest of
justice, wish to make the following state
ment of facts. Two years ago when
Prof. Alexander was first employed as
principal of the Drayton High School,
his former wife who resides in Kirksville,
Mo-. wrote to the clerk of our school
board, making charges, which if true,
were OF such a nature that the board
would not for moment consider his. be-
ing retained i'll our schools. The charges
were that the professor had shamefully
neglected his family; having agreed to
support the children until they were
eighteen Years of age, that he had done
nothing for them for more than year;
that she, his former wife, being lett in
destitute circumstances, was depending
on this support and found it very hard to
support herself and family without it. On
investigation we found that instead of
this beng correct, the children had not
only received the amounts agreed upon
N fl,of h,,f, Icsx he
i'll advance. That instead OF being III
had turned over to her all his real estate
valued at ten thousand dollars, together
with all his personal property, reserving
nothing for himself. He also secured a
legal separation from her, to which he
was justly entitled, she putting in no
objection or defense.
(The balance of the letter is simply an
eulogy of Mr.. Alexander as an educator,
Christian, etc., and is omitted for want OF
space.-ED.)
Respectfully,
]. M. WYL1E.
r. B. RICHARDSON.
R. HoRRocKs.
The above letter is printed without
money and without price. Ordinarily
certificates of character and political
eulogies of this kind are not published in
opposition papers, and generally not
even in papers of the candidates own
party without being paid for as advertise
ments, which they in all respects are. II
Mr.. Alexander had been attacked in the
newspapers he would and should be en-
titled to space for reply. We do not
know this to be the case. All republi-
can editors of the county were more or
less cognizant of the fact of Mr.. Alex
ander having two wives and two families
TO support, but except in one brief and
indefinite paragraph we have seen no
reference to the matter in the county
papers. Hence Mr.. Alexander and his
friends will have to bear the response
bility of making this matter subject of
newspaper comment.
THE PIONEER EXPRESS has heard
very different statements as to the status
Of affairs in the divorce proceedings and
in the payment of alimony, but as we get
this letter SO late it is impossible at this
time to get these facts duly verified. But
if we grant everything as actually true as
stated in the above letter, there are sew
eral very important facts omitted which
are really the gist, the right or the wrong,
of the case.
MIR. Alexander is admittedly divorced
man. That is not necessarily his fault.
What the people would like to know,
and have right to know, before they
trust him to guide their children in the
paths of morality and virtue, is whether
the divorce was caused by immortality on
his part. or not. Two years Of good be-
havior in Drayton or the recommends
ton ofMessrs. Wylie and others don't
answer the question and condones no
lapse Of virtue.
The fact that the court makes Mr..
Alexander pay alimony is prima facie
evidence that he was in the wrong what
ever that wrong was, and practically con-
tradicts the statement Of the letter that
Mr.. Alexander brought the suit and that
there was ''no defense" by Mrs. Alex
ander, because if Mrs. Alexander had
been unchaste, then the court would not
have allowed alimony and would un-
doubtedly gwen the four children to Mr..
Alexander to care for.
We regret that Mr.. Alexander allowed
himself to be candidate. AS private
citizen such matters are not for public
discussion. As candidate they are
legitimate matters for inquiry. The
questions have been asked in private and
the answer is given above in public. As
we said it is not an answer, because it
on,its that which the voters most desire
10 know. Was immortality on the part Of
Mr.. Alexander the cause of the divorce1
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orD "a HTHrr Il muRes 3;f5 NJ 5l.