The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1902-09-05
or the selIefOutaine Republican.
WALLACE W. ROACH.

tius tuc fccomueuubttOu Ol non. w.
r. Warnock for postmaster. This was
not unexpected. Envy always wagged
. wicked tongue. But that he should
be assailed as criminal In that Demo
cratic paper, the Cincinnati Enquirer,
and In letters TO Mr. ,warnock, after
his appointment, is not only unjust but
cruel. / can conceive of no reason for
it, except envy, begotten of unworthy
personal hatred.
II there are good reasons why Mr..
Roach is unworthy TO be postmaster OF
Bellefontaine, those reasons presented
to Mr.. Warnock, or either Of our United
States Senators, would have prevented
his appointment Why, then, is this
public assault on his. character? Such
q thing was never done before. When
Mr.. Gearing was app9i9tsd postmaster
nobody hunted up, much less made pub
lie. his army record, Of attacked his
private life. The same is true as to his
predecessors.
l ask. then, as friend Of Mr.. Roach,
why he has been singled out for this
attack?
1 ask the public to follow me while !
lay this whole matter bare.
Mr.. Roach was in his fifteenth year
when his brother In the Union army,
was captured by the rebels in Georgia
A neighbor boy, little older than Mr..
Roach, bad brother In the Union
army killed by the rebels. This fred
the blood OF these boys, aud they ran
away from home at nightsto join the
Union army. When they got to Harmar,
near Marietta, where they enlisted,
two men offered them $3.50 apiece 70 &c
IS their substitutes; and as the boys
had determined TO 60 into the army,
and had run of from home for that pur.
pose. and as al men who then enlisted
were paid bouuties, boys IS they were
they saw no difference between going
In as volunteers or as substitutes, and
they were mustered In as substitutes
Under the circumstances there va.
nothing wrong In it. and very little
difference as to how they went in.
But tits said Mr.. Roach did not en-
list till some time in February, 1855
But as he Was not Is years old-lackei
more than three years OF being o
Illegal age to enlist-how could he hav,
enlisted much earlier? Il was not hi
fault that he was not born earlier; 4
was hardly his fault that the war ended
50 soon after he enlisted He could no
foresee that IL was going TO end 90 soon
II l were going 70 pass Judgment ol
this act Of his life, would say that b.
deserved unusual credit for enlistine
He never attempted TO cover up hi
record, and never claimed that he va
Q veteran soldier.
Il But following this, It IL published b
the world that Mr.. Roach was de
iserter? IL this had been true, wba
was the object In publishing It now
nearly forty years after the war. but :
crafty personal hatred? Men VIII
causelessly make such attacks on thei
neighbors are not examplars in society
and are not warranted in setting them
} selves up as models
But Mr.. Roach was never Q deserter
He never went over TO the enemy. h
never tried to desert the asg or tn
army. Kept In the service in Geor
gia, six months after the war closed
the soldiers relaxed in discipline-n
enemy TO look after; nothing to do bu
camp duty; they forsged, took ''Frenc
leave" hunted, fshed, ETC., but Away
? came back to camp In few days. MI
Roach and comrade were gone fou
days on one of these leaves" The
never thought of deserving. But th
, officers OF the regiment put them dow
as deserters, without charges or tria
The military authorities at Coluu
, bus corrected this. and Mr.. Roach e
! an honorable discharge from the SCI
vice within 80 days, his discharge sta
h ing that no cause was known why b
|, was not eligible TO re- enlist in the arm.
which could not have been II he hs
; been q deserter. Yet these enemies
. his, pretending TO give the ofiici
q record Of this matter, say In their lett,
o. to the Cincinnati Enquirer that M
= Roach had the record of his desertis
ana discharge changed two or thr,
- years after the war. That they fali
q fed. and that state the truth, you cs
N satisfy yourself by looking At the r
> corded copy of his discharge and !
" date, in the County Recorders Office.
The men who have attacked NJ
m Rcach's military record In this upju
. and uncalled for way, could have asce
- tanned the facts II they had wanted
RI be just
r. An attack 10 also made ON N
Roach's civil record. The charge th
he drew illegal fees while sheriff q
had TO pay them back Is unworthy
honorable men. IL is sufficient 70 9
4 that what he was charged with ov,
drawing didn't amount to 25 cents
day while he was in Office, and that
simply drew what his predecesso
I'M drew, and what he thought was right
II has been charged against him
these enemies that Gov. Nash
manded his resignation as trustee
e. the Dayton Asylum because Of CORR
ss ton in Office; whereas Judge Nash 81
of no charges had been made against hi
r. and his resignation was asked, only
IT. order TO reoreanize the board. To Il
these men who have used dragr
he and a scandle-monger's saddle-bags,