Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1901-10-23
LAr,MEa AND THE ENQUIRER.
The Congressman Admits Some Charges and
Denies Some-The Enquirer Replies.
[Yorkyillo Enquirer.l


lished for the benefit of Mr.. Latimor in
our issue Of October 0. We expected an
answer sooner, but presume that the
delay was occasioned by Mr.. Latimer's
having hastened to Washington in the
hope of being of assistance to tho Presi-
dent in the distribution of Federal pat
ronage. However, here is Mr.. Latimer's
lettor as received, spelling, punctuation
and phraseology boing reproduced with
out changes
Bolton, S. O., Dot. ID, 1901.
Editor The Yorkyille Enquirer:
| find in my mail to-day your paper In
which Is contained an article headed,
Information for Mr.. Latimor."
You quote from certain letters from
DR.. j. VIM. Stokes, statements with re-
gard to mo not true. had right to
believe him true friend of mine. /
through pc Jnal effort saved his scat In
contest, and never did him any injury
during lifo. Ho is now dead, and /
presume left this record bohind, how
ever; protesting In tho same letter against
appearing in tho role Of informant. You
are so anxious to defend your unwar-
ranted attack on me ut Tirzah that you
put in print this dagger thrust at me in
secrecy, and now covered by the shadows
of death. / never claimed anywhere or
at any time that was tho author of
Free Rural delivery. Neither was Dr..
Stokes tho author. If in his reference
to "defense Of title," he means to claim
tho authorship Of +. r. Delivery, moth
ing could DO moro absurd; tho Congress
sional Record, and overy member of Con-
gress who knows anything about tho sub
joct will bear mo out in tho statement
that several approximations had been
mado to tho service, and it had been in
operation several years before wont to
Congress. But care nothing for his
claim on that limo. dony that l ever
offered him free pass. did solicit q
party Of mombers of Congress and Scna-
tors to visit Due West when Bryan spoke
and to visit this State and Cuba. We
hired pullman car at SO much per day,
the different roads pulled the car free of
bring representative men In contact
with our people. l invited DR.. Stokes
with the other mombors of the S. G..
Delegation to join us. For this have
no apology to offer, and will do it as
often as opportunity offers, and believe
good can be accomplished. Sec. Wilson
visited my homo and suggested that llo
would like to experiment in this section
with Clovers and Grasses, and proposed
if l would furnish tho land he would
make an experiment. agreed not only
to furnish the land but to bear all OK
pcnses, if he would furnish the seed and
expert to do tho work, this was done, and
for this have no apology to make. He
has made many experiments of similar
character in other states.
A. @. Latimer.
1t is true, as Mr.. Latimer says, that
DR.. Stokes is dead; but it is equally true
that he was not dead whom tho letters
were written. We havo always consid-
ercd the doctor as man Of exceptional
integrity, who would not utter verbal
falsehood, and tho idea that ho would be
so silly as to commit falsehood to writ
ing over his signature is absurd, in our
opinion. Wc observe the complaint that
Mr.. Latimer makes about our quitting
in print this dagger thrust at mo in
secrecy, and now covered by the shadows
of DEATH" but wo are unable to see what
that has to do with tho fact whether or
not Mr.. Latimcr offered DR.. Stokes n free
pass.
Upon reference to DR.. Stokes's pub
lishcd letter it will be observed that DR..
Stokes said of Mr.. IIatimcr: "He also
had sent mo an annual pass over one of
tho great trunk lines, which returned"
Mr.. I.atimcr, it will DO observed, says OF
DR.. Stokes: 81 deny that | ever offered
him free pass" Technically there is
no issue of voracity here; but if Mr..
Latimcr had FREQ pass sent to Dr..
Stokes, then the DOCTORS charge holds
good. In tho absence of n more specific
statement from Mr. Latimer, the reader
will draw his own conclusion.
We have never understood DR.. Stokes
to claim credit for the authorship of tho
free rural deliveries. We have all along
understood, however, that he was re-
sponsiblo for the arrangement that
secured free delivery along star routes in
South Carolina. individuals who at
tended tho Tirzah meeting of August g.,
1900, represented to us that in his speech
MIR. I,atimer attempted to claim credit
for this, and noto of the fact was made
in our issue of August 4. Referring to
this in his lottor OF August 81, 1900, DR..
Stokes said
81 note that you use in your criticism
the term Star Route l do not know
that he has ever laid claim to that spe-
cific phrase of tho delivery, but there is
much confusion in tho public mind, and
leave the impression that he is responsi-
bic for rural delivery. He would proba-
bly, get from under your structures on tho
verbal inaccuracy of tho indictment.
Better use the generic term rural dcliv-
cry in any future references"
We observe that while the free junkets
to Due West and Cuba are admitted with
the claim that their object was pleasure
and to bring representative men in con-
tact with our people, nothing is said
about the many smaller trips to New
York and Niagara. DR.. Stokes says
these were for "family and frionds.'
AS explained by Mr.. Latimer, the
clover and grass experiment incident
sounds both reasonable and plausible.
DR.. Stokes, however, did not look at it
exactly that way, as is evidenced by his
letter of August 2lst, 1000. This is tho
way tho doctor saw it:
Ills farm was set in grass by q gov
crnmcnt export last fall. He was at it
for several weeks, and l believe is still
in charge. Of course the ostonsiblo
ground is for tho purpose Of testing
grasses for that section, but being within
Il short distance of tho State farm at
Clemson, there would seem to DO no
excuse for oxponding public funds on
private property, and especially would
it appear roprchcnsiblc when tho private
property belongs to Representative who
has to vote the funds for tho purpose.
used, any number of farmers in that sec
tion would gladly have granted small
plats for experimentation, and so have
avoided tho appearance of putting per
mancnt improvements on private prop.
crty at public expense. Tho principle
here seems too elementary for argu-
mcnt."
AS to how, if at all, Mr.. Latimor saved
DR.. Stokcs's scat in Congress wo have
no information. If Mr.. Latimcr's claim
is true, it was certainly remarkable
feat We arc doubtful, however, as to
! whether tho fact ever came to DR..
Stokcs's attention. If it had, tho doctor
would not layo bcon ungratcful; but at
tho samo timo wo have no idca that his
gratitude would have over descended to
the point whore he could have gotten