The news & observer., 1905-12-17
AN OPEN LETTER
Mr.. Shipman Answer the
Y Letter of Congress-
man Gudger.
He Maintains That Mr.. Gudger Did
Argue in 1904 That He Would Not
be Candidate for Re-
Election.

Election.
Some days ago The News and OBJ
server printed in full the letter writ
| ten by Hon. James NJ. Gudger, the
Democratic member of Congress from
the Tenth District denying that at
any time in 1904 he had promised to
| be a candidate for reelection. In
answer to Mr.. Gudger's letter, Mr..
Shipman writes the following:
An Open Letter.
"Hendersonville, n. c..
Dec. 13. 1905.
Hon. j. NJ Gudger, Jr.,
"ASheVillc, N. c.,
MY Dear Sir
Il have noticed your open letter "tO
| the voters of the Tenth Congressional
! District in reply to the personal let
Democrats on Nov. 23rd That letter
was the first and intended to be my
last upon political conditions in the
district and l regret that your reply
| creates an issue Of yeracity between
us and forces me 10 disclose circum-
| stances in defense Of my statements
| which otherwise would not be given to
| the public. In determining the issue
which you have made by denying my
authority that you would not ask for
third term. the public will consider
the circumstances and the interests
! of both of US bearing upon the ques-
| ton. 1t is matter of little conSe-
| quence to me, personally, who shall be
| nominated for Congress next year
| but it does concern me to have my
! integrity questioned by an individual
| in whom l have had implicit conf
| dence.
'Inasmuch as you do not remember
giving me authority to state to the
people that you would not stand for
a third term. if nominated by accla-
matiof anG elected last year. shall
| endeaVOr first TO remind you of the
| time, and place and the conditions
| which prompted such action on your
part. You we'll remember the distinct
rumblings of an approaching storm
| of opposition against you during the
/ winter and spring of 1904, when some
| of the parry leaders began to look
| into the situation with reference to
| the advsability of selecting a new
man for Congress, fearing that you
| would lose in q second contest
! When YOU came on the field in 1902
! the district had q Democratic ma
! jority of 5000 based upon the Con-
| gressional vote of 1909, and your
narrow escape that year with only
| 1873 majority was quite enough to
! alarm the people and prompt the sug-
| gestiOn of new candidate. You had
! fallen behind the State ticket 679
votes in the counties now composing
! the Tenth District, and many Demo-
Gratis contendcd that it was advisable
to look for another standard bearer
The Rutherfordton Sun reviewed the
| result of the election of 1902 and
called upon the party to nominate a
candidate who could unite all the ell
ements i'm its ranks The opposition
was growing apace and the situation
I had become alarming. Then it was
that you, Mr. Gudger, left your post
| in Washington and came upon the
scene in person.
my paper and the Asheville Citizen
| had already come to your relief, de-
claring it to be the policy of the par
| ty to give a man two terms and that
as a matter of simple justice you
| should be renominated. The fact is
! | had been a friend upon whom you
could rely since your first nomination
! in 1902 and before returning to
| Washington you saw me in Hender-
sOnville and voluntarily agreed, if
| nominated by acclamation and elected
!
| You were a guest at the Hawkins
House and / went to your room by re-
quest to go over the situation with
you. Then and there occurred a con-
| versation which you surely have not
! forgotten. I well remember words
| to this effect: "Shipman, / have de-
cided that if the opposition to me IS
withdrawn and the party will nomi-
| nate me by acclamation this time l
will not ask for another term. What
do you think of publishing a state
ment to that effect in the newspa-
| pers:" / replied that in my opinion,
a public statement would weaken you
| before the people and advised that
| you neither say or write anything but
| let your friends handle the matter.
| To this suggestion you asSented In
these words Alright, you tell the
boys that if they will withdraw this
| opposition, nominate me by acclama-
tion and elect me this time l will not
| be in the race two years from now,
| and the field will be open for all.
| You cannot have forgotten this, Mr..
| Gudger, and yet you seek to make
| a grand-stand play by suggesting in
your recent production, that you take
! opportunity to circulate this news over
| the district was much better than
mine. and YOU did not make any
such promise. 1t may not have been
"a plausible reason" for you to keep
mum and 'Iet your friends handle
| the matter" but the indications now
are that you thought so at that time
! and followed the suggestion through
out the campaign. But your friends
1 made the promise for you, in quiet
way, and | was not the only one who
did it. l charge that Maj. Kirkpat-
rick, your private secretary, gave out
| the same assurance to the people that
1 did, with reference to this very mat
! ter, notwithstanding your contention
now that he "had no knowledge of
any such agreement" If Maj. Kirk
patrick made no such statements let
him say SO over'his own signature, in