The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1901-10-30
IATIMER AND THE ENQUIRER.
The Congressman Admits Some Charges and
Denies Some-The Enquirer Replies.

y
G. Latimer, Representative in
Congress from the Third district,
and candidate for a seat in the
United States Senate. This let
ter is in reply to the information
that was published for the bene-
fit of Mr.. Latimer in our issue of
October 8. We expected al an
swer sooner, but presume that
the delay was occasioned by Mr..
Latimer's having hastened to
Washington in the hope of being
Of assistance to the President in
the distribution of Federal pat
ronage. However, here is Mr..
Latimer's letter as received,
spelling. punctuation and phrase.
ology being reproduced without
change:
Bolton, S. c., Oct. II, 1901.
Editor The Yorkville Enquirer:
find in my mail to day Your paper in
which is contained an article headed,
Information for Mr.. Latimer."
You quote from certain letters from
DR.. J. VIM. Stokes, statements with re-
gard to me not true. l had right TO
believe him a true friend of mine.
through personal effort saved his seat
in Congress at 4 critical time when it
was contested, and never did him any
injury during his life. He is now dead.
and | presume left this record behind,
however: protesting in the same letter
against appearing in the role Of infor-
mant. You are So anxious to defend
your unwarranted attack on me at Tir-
zah that you put in print this dagger
thrust at me in secrecy, and now cover
ed by the shadows OF death. never
claimed anywhere or at any time that l
was the author of Free Rural delivery.
Neither was DR.. Stokes the author. If
in his reference to ';defense of title, -
he means to claim the authorship of F.
r. Delivery. nothing could be more
absurd: the Congressional Record,
and every member of Congress who
knows anything about the subject will
bear me out in the statement that
several appropriations had been made
to the service, and it had been in opera
ton several years before I went to
Congress. But | care nothing for his
claim on that line. | deny that I ever
offered him free pass. did solicit a
party of members of Congress and
Senators to visit Due West when Bryan
spoke and to visit this State and Cuba.
We hired a pullman car at so much per
day, the different roads pulled the car
free of charge. My object was pleas
ure and to bring representative men IN
contact with our people. invited DR..
Stokes with the other members Of the
S. c. Delegation to join US. For this l
have no-apology to offer, and will do it
as often as opportunity offers. and l
believe good can be accomplished: Sec.
Wilson visited my home and suggested
that he would like to experiment in
this section with clovers and grasses,
and proposed If I would furnish the
land he would make an experiment. |
agreed not only to furnish the land but
to bear all expenses, if he would furnish
the seed and expert to do the work,
this was done, and for this l have no
apology to make. He has made many
experiments of q similar character in
other States.
=. c.. LATIMER.
1t is true, as Mr.. Latimer says,
that DR.. Stokes is dead: but it is
equally true thathe was not dead
when the letters were written.
We have always considered the
doctor as a man of exceptional
integrity, who would not utter a
verbal falsehood, and the idea
that he would be SO silly as to
commit a falsehod to writing over
his signature is absurd, In our
opinion. We observe the COM
plant that Mr.. Latimer makes
about our putting in print this
dagger thrust at me in secrecy,
and now covered by the shadows
of DEATH" but we are unable to
see what that has to do with the
fact whether or not Mr.. Latimer
offered DR.. Stokes a Tree pass.
Upon reference TO DR.. Stokes's
published letter it will be obser-
we'd that DR.. Stokes said Of Mr..
Latimer: He also had sent me
an annual pass over one of the
great trunk lines: which l return
ed" Mr.. Latimer, it will be
observed, says OF Dr.. Stokes:
II deny that I ever offered him a
free pass" Technically there is
no issue of veracity here; but if
Mr.. Latimer had a free pass sent
to DR.. Stokes, then the doctors
charge holds good. In the alb
sence of a more specific state
ment from Mr.. Latimer, the
reader will draw his own conc1u,
sion.
We have never understood DR..
Stokes to claim credit for the
authorship of the free rural de-
liveries. We have all along un-
derstood, however, that he was
responsible for the arrangement
that secured free delivery along
star routes in South Carolina.
individuals who attended the
Tirzah meeting ofAugust3, 1900,
represented to Us that in his
speech Mr.. Latimer attempted
to claim credit for this, and q
note of the fact was made in our
issue of August +. Referring to
this in his letter Of August p,
1900, DR.. Stokes said:
II note that you use in your
criticism the term Star Route.
I do not know that he has ever
1oi1 c1oi,,, to tbo+ Sraci4ic mira 90