The leader., 1903-10-07
AN ADDRESS.
To the Voters Of District No. /. Lin
coin County:

tlon 70 che office OF Justice of the
! Peace, but as / am opposed to neg
4 lecting the duties Of the present
/ while looking after the POSSIBLE
| ties of the future, / may be unable
to see each of you personally:
| therefore / take the liberty to adj
! dress you in this manner in order
Ito correct some misapprehensions
which may exist, and to remove
| the mask from some Of the calum-
MES which have been and are be-
ing circulated looking to my detri-
ment.
| My reason for continuing in the
race was fully set forth in my let
ter published in The Leader of
ISept. 9th, which briefly stated
was, that ! had been unfairly and
illegally denied the privilege of
entering the second primary, and
find that the views which / hold
with reference to the matter are
concurred in by nearly every fair
minded man in the district and
throughout the county. Hence it
is becoming more and more appar-
ent that the puny charge that |
have broken faith and am bolter
is as false as it isunfair. All who
know me are aware that | stand
by my VOWS with as steadfast in
tegrity as the average man, and
with great deal more than some
who are endeayoring to encompass
my defeat. | never have and
never will assume an obligation to
endorse something that is not
right.
If you will pardon slight di-
vergence | wish to call attention
to false report which was indus
triously circulated on the day of
the first primary = that I had
formed combination with my
friends to vote only for me and
ignore both of the other candi-
dates. That was wholly untrue
and was gotten up either by some
of the opposing candidates or their
friends for the purpose of Great
ing prejudice against me. Inever
heard of the diabolical scheme
until after the election and would
not have given it countenance if !
had.
Another weapon of vituperation
which some are rolling as sweet
morsel under their tongues and
welding with an energy worthy
of a better cause, is that / am a
drunkard. That is as false as the
statement made by the serpent to
our first parents if they ate
of the forbidden fruit they would
not surely die. True it is that /
have in the past been addicted to
the drink habit, and in the indul-
|genee of that very reprehensible
practice | erred agregiously and
most bitterly have / repented of
my folly; butt can truthfully say
that not one drop of intoxicating
liquor has passed my lips in
nearly six months, and by the help
of Almighty God and the assist
lance of my friends, and my own
determination, another drop never
lshall. The recollection of the past
is to me indeed a melancholy rev.
erie, fraught with shame and hu-
initiation, mitigated only by the
absence of knowledge of having
injured any one save myself and
my own family. If there is an
other human being on earth who
can demonstrate that / have dam
Jagged him and he will present his
claim, will pay him four-fold.
What more would an honest man
offer? What more could reason
able man ask? They call me ar
Independent. Well, in some re.
aspects | am. | am making this
race out in the open on high
plane. | have no relatives to vote
for me, no relatives to electioneer
for me, and none to run the office
for me after / am elected, and
am adhering to and expect to con-
tinue to adhere to the principle Of
Never prove false to friend Oh
ask quarter of an enemy"
No doubt the intelligent, high
minded, right-feeling people OF
Lincoln county would be willing
to excuse this little band of calum
niators who seem to measure my
manhood, pride and honor by Their
own narrow-gauge standard, but
if they are like Ephraim, joined
to their idols, or like Benjamin
Rush, who could not stop until be
had whistled his tune out, then
they are at liberty, so far as | an
concerned, to Lay on McDuff' 2
until the election is over, and
when they have done me all the
harm they can, when they have
poured out the last vial of their
Scandalum magnatum upon
struggling man who is trying tt
rise, and who is going to rise
then would suggest that they
take a vacation and go and camp
J, at the pool of Bethesda for a space
of at least thirty days, and if theil
/ presence should render the plac,
!, so obnoxious as to cause the Ange
of the Lord to refuse to com,
, down and trouble the water, lie
them keep on to the River o.
+ Jordan and take bath. The
people Of alden times bathet
: therein and were cured of theil
leprosy, and its healing stream ma,
even yet remove the scales from
some Of the political apostles o.