Durango semi-weekly herald., 1902-03-31
A REPLY.

! - lAAN tDAAAA til AA0Ap4lo Va htGSl .
| "Jallway and Day" or Day and Jak-
way" | am not certain which, and a
| reply which is based on facts and not
false and misleading inferences and
statements. | would like first. how
.ver. to ask when the right was con
erred upon this man Day the right to
say in what lines there should and
should not be competition in Durango?
Al the time when he devoted his
| ayenings, his energies, his powers OF
persuasion and his faculty of con
structing a mountain of falsehood out
of a grain of truth to inducing Mr.. w.
G. White to enter the hardware
field. there were five full and complete
stocks Of hardware, stoves and their
kindred lines carried in Durango be
sides three or four others carrying
partial lines. But as his object then
was to visit his personal spite and
venom against Chapman, Jackson and
myself, he even overlooked his pet,
Jakway and induced another compet-
itor to enter another already over
crowded field. But now, when his
friend, Jabway, wishes to monopolize
the entire plumbing business of Du-
range he descends from his position
as editor of a Democratic newspaper
for distinction and patronage only,
makes Jakway's cause personal mat
ter with himself and assumes the
right to say that there should only be
one plumbing shop in Durango and
that he has decided it is best for the
city to so remain.
This self-constituted spokemau for
the city of Durango in general and
Jakway in particular. makes the asser-
ions, vouched for he says by Jakway,
hat l made every effort to defeat Mr.
Iakway in buying out German and
tender money to that firm after the
deal had bee. closed with .Jakway by
them. Both of IL-sc statements
brand as plain, unvarn4-hgG false
hoods. The facts are as 1o.lows.
When l heard the Durango Plumbing
Co. were desirous of selling out l
asked the proprietors about it, telling
them that If such was the case that
would like to make deal with
them. They replied that / was too
late in the matter, as their deal with
Jakway had reached a point where
they could not well consider any 9TH
ers, but also said that the deal with
Jakway was not as yet entirely con-
summated, and if by chance it should
fall through they would certainly see
if they and could not make an agree
ment as to sale. They did not tell
me. nor did l ask them, what their
offer to Jakway or his offer to them
was; nor did | make any further effort
to defeat their selling to Jakway, as
the editor of the misnamed paper and
his protege, for the present, would
have you believe. But would here ask
this question: When an individual or
firm wishes to sell out, what right has
any man to assume that no one but
himself has a right to make an offer
to buy? And will say frankly that
had Messrs. Rivers and German been
in position to consider proposals from
me | certainly should have tried to
buy their stock. But finding they
were not in such position, and would
not be, except through contingency
which might arise or might not hap
pen, l let the matter drop, telling
them, however, that | had been for
some time considering the ADVISABLE
ty of putting in a complete plumbing
establishment, and would now order
the necessary machines, tools and
stock and open up as soon as possible.
Also this edittrial writer of articles
and arguments in favor of monopoly,
the same man who once thought it ne
cessary to have a sixth stock brought
into Durango in order to prevent a
monopoly in the hardware trade, ac-
cuses me, indirectly, of doing some
thing improper in renting of Mr.. Bar
tholomew the room formerly occupied
by Rivers and German. Has not one
man as good a right to try and rent
a room he needs and wants as any
other? Jakway did not consult his
interest in renting a room? But l
did more than the fair thing by him.
asked Mr.. Bartholomew before agree
ing to rent the room from him wheth-
er Jakway had ever offered to rent or
said anything to him about renting
or if anything had been intimated
to him that Jakway was willing to
keep his room. To all of which Mr..
B. replied in negative, and added that
he wanted to rent to some one who
was willing to take the room for a
sonsideramle period of time, and that
as he had heard | was going to start
a plumbing shop he thought l might
probably want to take the room that
way, and as he had been told Jakway
was going to build place of his own
he would only want to rent for a few
months, and that if | would agree to
take 1t for a year or more at his
terms he would prefer to rent to me.
thereupon rented from him as | had
perfect right to do. AS to the cor
rectness of any statements | would
refer any one who has not got
troubles enough of his own, or who
feels any interest in the matter, to
Messrs Rivers and German and to Mr..