The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1901-12-20
LIBRARIAN MUST
SHOW LETTERS
Says Mr. Scott Cannot
Withhold BroWnPapers
TO COME OUT TO-DAY
Librarian Explains Why He Declined
to Show Them.
HE. DESIRED TO MAKE MONEY
New York Paper Offered Him $500 for the
Contents of the Letter-Thc Committee
Hears Both Sides and Decides in
Fsvor of The Times-Most OF
the Papers from the SYM
pathizers of Brown.
he. DESIRED TO MAKE MONEY

The long lost papers and letters re-
| Iatine to the famous John Brown case
will be made public to-day
1Ic conditions and restrictions under
which they are to be given out will be
when the Library Committee. composed
Of members Of the Senate and the House
| of Delegates, will hold an adjourned
meeting.
so much of the exceedingly valuable
| papers as would be of interest to the
people cfsthe State and elsewhere will
! be rewarded with success, though a, days
delay was made necessary by having to
| appeal to the Library Committee in order
| to effect this result
| The story of the discovery OF the pa
pers. printed in yesterdays Times.
aroused great interest. 1t was there
| stated that Mr.. ". ". Scott. the State
! Librarian, in whose custody the papers
are, had declined the night before TO
| allow them to be seen. Another and a
| more formal application was made to
! the Librarian yesterday. bitt he again
refused politely, but positively. The re-
/ porter then appealed to the Secretary
| of the CommonwealtIf, Mr. Law
| less. This gentleman decliIted 70
| interfere. The newspape man next saw
/ the Governor lis EXCelIeucy expressed
the opinion that the papers were public
property, and as such ought to be placed
| in the hands of the reporter. But he
did not see that he had a right to de-
n,and. that they should.
APPEAL 40 LIBRART COMMITTEE.
The next appeal was TO the Library
! Committee. the final resort. This body
! held a called meeting in the afternoon
| at O'Clock, but soon adjourned, as there
| was not q; quorum present OF the mem
Eers from the Senate. The next meet
| ing was at 5 O'Clock. The attendance
| was large. Mr.. Glass. the chairman,
! called the meeting to order. Mr.. Scott
was present in his own behalf. and Mr..
John Stewart Bryan appeared as the
| applicant before the committee to see
the papers. Mr.. Glass asked Mr.. Bryan
to state why q, meeting of the committee
| had been desired. This Mr.. Bryan did
briefly. He said certain historical pa
rers had been found and were now in
the State Library. He had applied
| through a representative of The Times
to see those papers. and Mr.. Scott had
| absolutely declined to allow him to do
! So Mr.. Bryan asserted that it was his
belief that it was the object Of the
| Librarian to sell the contents OF the
papers to a New York paper before they
We're made public in Virginia He ap
pealed to the committee q. citizen of
the State and a taxpayer to be per-
mitted to examine the public records OF
the State.
MR.. SCOTS SIDE.
! Mr.. Scott was invited TO make d state
ment- The librarian said he had nothing
| to conceal from the committee. He was
| entirely straightforward and frank He
said he came to discover the papers in a
most interesting way. Some time ago he
saw in a. paper a letter advertised for
sale which, from the nature Of it, must
have once been in the archives OF the
Estate and might probably have been
stolen. This letter belonged to the Revo-
lutionary period. He was in doubt
| whether this was the original or a. fac
smile. He thought the latter view of it
extremely improba BILE. Sc MI Stanard.
the secretary of the Virginia Historical
Society. and he undertook to look through
tbs archives of the Revolutionary period
to see if the letter had actually been
stolen. 1t was in one of the great. dry
bundles OF these papers that the Gocu-
IlentS in question We're found. Mr. Scott
indicated to the committee the character
of the papers. He declared that they did
not relate to the trial OF John Brown,
but for the most part were letters to
John Brown while he was in prison and
from persons confined with him to per
sons outside. They were all from sym
pathizers with Brown and his cause.
There were ninety-siX in ALL They were
in the original yellow envelopes used forty
/ years ago. They had been lost since 1850.
Every librarian since that time had
searched for them in vain. lie had look
ed for them diligently. Some years ago
Walker Howard, the janitor of the Capt.
tol had said to him that these papers of
John Brown had been put in the walls of
the Capitol and sealed up again. He got
the consent OF the Governor and had
masons come and with their trowels try
to find hollow sections where it was pos
sble to hide them. One point was, found
where there was a reverberation noticed.
/ The nlasor.>I opened the wall there. No
thing was found
Mr.. SCOTT'S APPEAL
Returning to the nature OF the rapers
/ found, Mr.. Scott said that some of the
letters promised rescue for John Brown,
some of the writer's wanted his autograph,
| and there was one letter from woman,
letter was of particular interest He
thought the entire lot would be worth not
less than 5000.
Mr.. Scott here made his appeal. He sait
he had found the papers when many
!. others had failed. He saw that they
were exceedingly valuable and of inter
est to every reader in the land lie hat
bu, small remuneration for his dutie:
! as librarian. He saw in the finding o
the papers an opportunity to earn a.
..honest penny He haG contracted viii
one of the New York papers TO turnlsl
Il excIusIv copies or these letters an,
/ for theln the paper waste pay him %a
1 l,asl]ai worked very hard to prepare tn
! Sarti.>;e sEfi had gone to considerable eX
7 IL Ih