St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1902-01-22
Landlord Blacks Reply.

n | 'Oti 4'SN ASottN5 "Ioh ~ oAe4lN ult pOSl
= ton as briefly and clearly as possible.
do not wish to cast any reflections on
e one who for forty years has adorned the
4 bench and bar OF this state, and has also
gained an enviable reputation in the
. chambers of Congress; but do wish to
: be understood as stating as emphatical-
ly as possible that the article referred to,
= as far as it concerns the management of
2 the Avenue House, is utterly false very
misleading and in many respects scan,
dalous.
, do not feel called upon to reply to
more than one OF the charges laid upon
me in the article mentioned. AS to the
alleged gambling den which was being
maintained on the opposite side of Rail
road street, have no knowledge. l do
know that never furnished liquor for it,
AS to the questions involving the au-
thorities and the liquor agency, have
taken no part whatever. AS to the
charge of keeping liquor for the use of
my guests, l can only say that | have
paid the penalty for it. AS to the charge
of keeping an immoral house and a har-
Dor for unchaste men and women, | feel,
that in the interests of St. Tohnsbnry
and its hotels, it is duty to state my
position. 1t is as to this charge that
declare the article by Judge Ross to be
utterly false and scandalous. l cannot
understand how man who pretends to
have the welfare Of the town at heart
can wlfuIly publish and circulate reports
which he must know are unfounded.
Since the present agitation began,
have been searching in vain for some clue
as to the origin of this complaint against
me. The manner in which my efforts
have been rewarded is sufficient proof
that the complaint is unfounded; and
Judge Ross knew OF this at the time he
wrote his review. l followed one rumor
after another without success. was
told that Mr.. Rolfe CobIeigh could give
me information regarding the matter
| saw Mr.. Cobleigh and he told me that |
Judge Ross made out the complaint as to |
the selling OF liquor. Thinking that at
last my efforts were to be rewarded, at |
once called upon Judge Ross and with
him had the interview that inspired the
article in your last issue. But that in
terview furnished no enlightenment as to |
the origin of, or the foundation for, the |
complaint against the Avenue House.
The only fact could learn from Judge |
Ross was that the rumor was brought |
to him by certain members of a certain
secret society, banded together for the
very purpose of ferreting out the evils
which were supposed to exist within our
midst, The names of its members or the
name of the society | could not learn.
To all my inquiries there was but one
answer. That answer was that the
names of the members and the source of
their information were confidential, and
could not be made public. And yet even
before the heat OF our interview had
passed away, Judge Ross writes tor pub
LEGATION, and discoses our entire CONVEX
sation, and more than that, the CONVEX
sation is grossly misrepresented, especial
ly to the effect that | cast any reflections
on the character of the girls in this town
and that | said anything which could be
construed as an admission of the charges
against me. To the publication of that
interview | would not object. provided
it could be published as it actually took
place. In fact it is my most earnest
desire that the whole matter of this
charge as to the management of the
Avenue House be made public
For the purpose of showing to Judge
Ross that | was sincere in asking the
origin of the complaint, l offered $25 for
proof that any man in this town had
made the charge that Judge Ross has
since set forth in his letter. The proof
has not yet been shown. l now repeat
the offer and extend it to any man, wo-
maa or child who will furnish proof that
any patron of my house, or any man in
this town against whom a judgment
could be collected, ever made this charge
against me. II the proof is offered that
any responsible man made this charge
am ready to furnish him with an oppor-
tunity to prove the truth of it. The
only reason | have not done so before is
because not one of this society dares to
make the charge; and it was to save his
friends that Judge Ross refused to give
the names Of the ones who started this
scandalous report.
And again, if Judge Ross and the mem
bers of this society do not care to have
the matter settled by an action at law,
will submit to an investigation before
committee of three or more citizens of
this town. The investigation NAV be
held behind barred doors and in the pres
ence of newspaper representatives only.
Furthermore If they desire to have the in
vestigation made public it may be held
in the Howe Opera House, and they NAV
select their own date. If these offers
are not sufficient to satisfy the Judge and
his followers that | am sincere in saving
that his accusations are false, will aid
their already tagging zeal by paying all
expenses of the investigation and | will
allow Judge Ross to be the chairman of
the investigating committee.
If there is reliable evidence to the effect
that married men and women are being
unlawfuly entertained in my house |
have yet to learn the source thereof. On
the other hand over one hundred of the
best business men in this town have said |
over their signatures that they did not
believe these allegations to be true. And |
now If Judge Ross and his handful of fol-
lowers desire to remove the stigma that
hangs over them, they may do so
by anV one pf he met bO5Q hova mos,