The Monticellonian., 1904-02-04
Thdt Har}ls Affidavit.

Mir. B A. Hardy. Of thls cIty. IS out in an affidavit in the last issue of the Rison Bazoo, in which i. he swears that he was told by an in surance agent recently, whose name he fails to give, that the in- sHranee agents raised s GOO to de- feat the Antitrust bill in the last Senate, and that he, the said in- suranee agent, had contributed one hundred dollars toward raising that amount Just what Mir. Hardy s motive was in rushing into print and making this aflidavitt, I do not know He may have wished to cast odium on the last Senate. of which I had the honor to be q member, or he may have hoped thereby in some inscrutabIe way to advance the political fortunes of tho great and only Jeff, although even If there were any truth in this charge of bribery, {and I do not believe a wori of i0 cannot see what 1t has to do with either Jeff Davis or Carroll D. Wood, or theii race for Governor. However this may be, MT. Hardy's memory seems to be quite defective, or he of all men would never have made q break like this. Has he forgotten this soon that last Winter. when the Antitrust bill was up for dis. cussion in the Senate that he t1ardy) along with number ol business men from Monticello sign. ed petition and sent 1t to the Sen. ator from this District. urging him to do all in his power to have said Antitrust bill amended as to its insurance clause so that the Insur. ance Companies could continue te dc business in this State, that il the King bill was passed without amendment 1t would be ruinous to the business interests of the State and if the Senator from this Dis. trict could not succeed in getting 1t amended, petitioned him to vote against the bill Will Mir. Hardy deny that he signed petition ol this kind which was sent to the Senator from this District? Will he deny that two other similar De. titions were sent from this Dis. trict, and from the business men all over the State2 In view ol these facts, does it not come with very poor grace from him to insin uate that the Senate was bribed to do just what he and the majority of the business men all over the State petitioned It to do? The Senator from this District did not go IS far as Mr. Hardy and other; requested him to do in his atti tude toward the Antitrust bill
 Inasmuch IS the insurance agent, were more interested in getting the insurance clause of the Anti Trust bill amended than anything else and voted for this amendment this affidavit of Mir. Hardy's in ef feet charges that l received a par of this s 900 in consideration ot my vote on this bill. In view oI these facts l demand that Mr Hardy give the name of the insur ance agent who makes these charg es, and that the light be turned or this transaction, and if any member of the last Senate, (myself includ ed, ) was guilty of receiving a brbe from the insurance agents, let the proof be brought forward, and lei him be punished to the limit of the law for thus prostituting the sacred trust confded to him. Mir. Hardy should not make or repeat suct serious charges unless he know. what he is talking about and car prove his assertions.
 Very respectfully,
 (. r. GOTHAM.
 1, B. A. Hardy, do state that