The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-11-13
CHAIRMAN DOSTER
 ANSWERS ROUNTREE
EDITOR OF PRATTVlLLE PROG RESS, WHO PRESIDED OVER THE RoUNTREE COMMITTEE, WRITES A CARD.

Editor H. S. Doster of the Prattv1lle Progress and chairman of the committee which recently sat in Birmingham to in- vestigate the charges against Secretary J. A Rountree of the Alabama Press as- sociation in connection wich ehe Cana dian trip, sends the following card to the Age Herald:
 To the Editor of the Age-Herald:
 Having returned from q weeks absence from the state, my attention has been called to the charge of J. A. Rountree, the deposed secretary of the Alabama Press association, that 1 imposed upon the railroads In securing transportation on account of the recent Canadian eXcu- sion. Until he reiterated this false charge in last Sundays paper 1t was not my intention to reply to 1t as 1 have always tried to make 1t rule of my life not to kick fellow who is already down, no matter how neinous may be the crime by which he has fallen. And then again, l have always been q strong personal friend to Rountree and my sympathies went out to him, and especially when one of his prominent Birmingham friends ap- peared before the executive committee and urged much leniency towards him as the case would admit on the ground of his insanity.
 l wish to deny most emphatically that l imposed upon the railroads in securing transportation on account of the recent Canadian excursion, and 1 defy Rountree to name single railroad official who will endorse his statement. The three young ladies t1 whom Rountree referred in hl3 charge were well known to Col. Falkner personally, and I attempted to make no concealment of their identity. This trans Gn ot1 my account, but as a personal favor to the young ladies, and Col Falkner so stated his entire satisfaction before the lnvesti- gation committee, as Rountree well knows.
 l have ben on seven consecutive press excursions, and I have never made a cent out of any transportation, or other wise, on account of these excursions. On the other hand I estimate that 1 have paid Rountree about one hundred and fifty dollars more than the actual ex penses, and which money went into his pocket. l consider this money just about as honorably obtained as if he had stolen it. l have been regular member of these excursions and no one more than 1 can realize the depth to which this fellow mas sunk in his greed for money. He has always taken the best of everything on these excursions, ignoring the pres ident and all the other officers. He has been the whole thing"
 Rountree knew that I suspected that he made money out of these excursions and at the executive committee meeting in April I asked him the plain question where all this expense money would go. He replied that all the money was charges made by the Pullman Car company, rail- roads, and steamboats on the St. Law renee river. Upon that statement, which he knew was false at the time of making it. he obtained my twenty-nine dollars. From a moral standpoint, at least he is guilty of violating section 4729 of the crim- inal code which says: Any person. who, by any false pretense or token, and with the intent to injure or defraud obtains from another any money, or other per sonal property, must. on conviction, be punished as If he had stolen it." He has made many false statements before the executive committee which considered him a man of honor and trusted him to ar range the details of the ..ress excui sions It has almost shaken my faith in hu- manity to know that fellow-being could be so interruptions and utterly devoid of all moral sensiblities
 l regret very much to be forced to make this public statement, for my desire and inclnations are always to praise and ee- vate humanity when can conscientously do so As chairman of the investigating committee would have gladly exonerated Rountree if I could have found any ground for doing so. I regret the predca- ment of Rountree. I have no enmity to- ward him. but simply wish to rid the Alabama Press association of this great evil In this matter however distaste- full 1t has been to me, I feel that I have performed a duty which I owed to my self and the Alabama Press association of which l am a member
 H. S. DosTER.
 Prattville, November 12 1903