The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1903-07-03
THAT "BREACH OF COURTESY"

The Reporters Side of The Question 4
Some "BreachcS Of Courtesy"
III The Past.
Editor Herald and News: l hand
you herewith a communication which
have asked the Observer to use in it's
issue Of the same date. Evidently, the
! Commissioners have been offended.
They have been offended deeply. They
| have been offended by an articale writ
| ten by me in the capacity of a reporter
| for The Herald and News.
But, Mr.. Editor, even in the deep
gloom in which The Herald and News
| Office has been enshrouded because it
has offended the Commissioners s-even
in the midnight gloom in which we
stand, there is matter for congratula-
| ton. The Commissioners, while their
dignity was sore, gave statement to
| the public. Star chamber proceedings
| were abandoned and the very courteous
| Commissioners took the public into their
confidence A little offending accom-
plished what The Herald and News has
long been working for. Mr.. Editor, |
offer you my congratulations. True,
| this statement was printed in only one
of the city papers, and was introduced
by an attack on The Herald and News
and on a lone reporter, but it was a
statement, and a statement to the citi-
zcns Of Newberry, nevertheless.
I ask you to print the following com
muncation to the Observer, explaining
my conduct in the matter Of the otfense
which the courteous Commissioners
took:
Jno. K. Avn.
COMMUNICATION TO OBSERVER.
| Editor Observer: In the last issue of
your paper, there was published state
mcnt from the Commissioners of Public
Works to the citizens of Newberry.
Prefacing this statement, was an arti-
Gle, signed by the Commissioners, asking
you to publish the statement ''giving the
public an opportunity to read the same
without its being sandWiched between
editorial comments such as editors
usually treat their correspondents with
the courtesy of placing in the editorial
cloumn reporters interviews and
the reply of the mayor lnasmuch as
the statement from the Commissioners
which is prefaccd by this article was
not furnished The Herald and News
(although the Commissioners are but
public servants and The Herald ano
News is one of the two public organs
in Ncwberry), and inasmuch as there
is later in the article a reference to Tho
Herald and News office, ! suppose the
: Commissioners mean to say ti1at they
think they were treated with dis com ties,
by an article which appeared in thu
issue Of The Herald and News c,f June
26.
That article, if that be the article
meant, was written by me. On Mon
day morning before the issue cf th
5 paper, Mayor Jno. w. Earhardt h ande'
, me copy Of Il letter from him replying
l. to communication from the Commits
sioners of Public Works. | asked hir
S for I: copy of the communication, an
. at his request, Mr.. n. o. Stewart furn
t ishcd me a copy. That communicable
T. explained former request of the Boar
v Tor an appropriation from city council
e and called attention to the "pressin
: needs of the city for the improvement
e which the Commissioners desired t
f make with the money which they aske
e Council to appropri ate. This suggeste
S the headline, commissioners Wan
Money! The reply of the Mayor sin
, ply stated that Council could not rails
t the tax levy for the improvements dc
l. sired, because the "tax levy is alread
j. as high as it can be made" I askc
# the Mayor for an explanation of h
d reply and he kindly answered the que
c tions which | asked. This was printe
T. because thought it explained the pos
II tion of Council in the matter of refusa
d and it was given the prominent plat
r in the picture because | thought
is explained the whole situation bett
d than did the communication of the Cor
I'd Mayor, presume is what the Commi
So sioners term. reporters interviews,
IL and | suppose the headline is the "ec
C torial comment" referred to.
e desire simply in this connection
c ask wherein the f'breach of courtesy
IS consists. In the first instance the Cor
}. missioners had not shown The lIera
It and News the courtesy Of furnishing
20 witb,a copy Of their communicate
r. That | secured from Mayor Earhardt
Is connection with his reply.
I. DO the Commissioners object to ha
S ing headlines placed over a lett
) signed Dy them? Or do their Sipnatur