The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1901-08-16
Replies to Charges Made by Rev
Warner.

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In his sermon Sunday evening upol
the recent harvest festival, Rev. j. p
Warner made, what seems TO a larp,
number OF people, wholly unwarrant
ed attack upon City Attorney Watson
In reply thereto Mr.. Watson says:
l have been requested by grea'
many reputable citizens of this cit,
to reply TO the scurrilous attack mad,
upon me by Rev. Warner, Sunday
evening, at the First Methodist church
in this city. Idesire no CONTROVERSY
through the press upon this subject
have lived in this vicinity 43 years
10 or which L have practiced law in
the city Of Owosso, and have certainly
endeavored to merit the esteem OF all
law abiding citizens. / never have
Tried to pander to any class, and all ]
have to say in relation to the attack
Is, that it was cowardly in the ex.
IRENE. If "a man attacks me in a pub.
TIC place, where have an opportunity
or replying, / consider him worthy of
my notice, but when a man attacks
me from behind his pulpit where there
Is no opportunity of replying, he is a
coward and reminds one Of prairie
dog who sticks his head out of his
hole, banks, and crawls back before
there is an opportunity to be hit,
therefore will not consider Mr.. Warn.
er's TRADE any more than would the
rawlings Of crazy man.
AS to the facts as to whether the
mayor of this city had an opportunity
to consult the city attorney relative
10 the attractions Of the street fair.
The city attorney met Mayor Emery
on Wednesday, and asked the mayor if
he had witnessed the various shows in
the city. He stated he had most Of
them, and thought there was nothing
out OF place in any Of the shows. The
city attorney stated to the mayor he
understood the Streets of all Nations
and the Trip to the Moon were lit
tile OF color; the reply of the mayor
was, that he presumed that that was
so, but that taking the show as whole
there was nothing Objectionable in it,
and that people would find that he
was not as big crank as some people
had supposed he was. That the
committee had very kindly asked his
Judgment upon all the attractions, and
had kindly consulted with him in re-
lation thereto, for which he was Deep
ly grateful, and that he believed there
was nothing in the shows that called
for his condemnation.
l understood that later on Mayor
Emery had conversation with one of
the aldermen of this city, in the pres
ence Of leading business man of the
city, and stated that he had been into
the Trip to the Moon, and that he saw
no objection to it, stating, of course it
would not be a proper show for
church, but for a street fair that he
had no objections TO make to it.
Hhe city attorney never heard any OBJ
Jections to any Of the shows by any
one until Saturday afternoon.
AS to Mayor Emery having no oppor-
tunity to consult with the city at
torney, l will state that Mr.. Emery
has very frequently consulted me upon
matters appertaining to the city char
ter and ordinances, and frequently up
on matters that were purely under the
jurisdiction of the prosecuting at
torney, and which l, as city attorney,
was under no legal obligations to give
counsel upon, and at all times have
treated the mayor with the utmost
courtesy and respect due his office,
which fact Mayor Emery has public
ly asserted at various times, and has
stated that he has never had any fault
to find with my treatment Of him,
which statement l think the mayor
will verify at any time. He certainly
is not justified in denying the fact.
The charter of the city of Owosso
provides that the mayor, by and with
the consent Of the council, may ap.
point certain officers, those officers are
officers of the whole city and belong to
no man or class Of men, but are SER
wants of the people, and 1 have not
learned yet that because a small fac
tion Of men asks man to Jump off the
earth that heis In duty bound to do so.
This is all l desire to say, except to
suggest, that If the performances re-
ferred to by the reverend gentleman
were demoralizing to the morals of the
few who witnessed the performance,
how much more so it must be after he
has explained it to about one thousand
people who did not witness it, and has
asked to have his sermon printed in
the city papers, so that the perform
ance that took place in the shows
might be understood by thousands OF
people, young and old.
Yours very respectfully,
FRANK III. WATSON,
City Attorney.
George w. Beck, Durand druggist, at
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