The weekly true Democrat. (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1905-1912, 1907-10-11
COL ONRL WALES
AND MIR. Wl. SON.
Try As They VIII Thsy cannoe Shake
on RspuaIatian are crsas In-
instice Done.

JaeksorNiIle. a.. Sept p, $50


Editor Bro ksville Star. BroOksville,
Fla: y
Dear Sir:-A clipping from your val
liable paper in the True Democrat, OF
Tallahassee, of Sept. 25th. 1907, pur-
ports to give a statement from Mr..
Wilson: THAT from 1876 to 1877 il
will be found that Mr.. Wailes worked a
very.suceessful scheme and that many
thousands of dollars and many thous-
ai1ds Of acres of land were given HIM
during those years, and although he
disappeared after that period from pub
Tic notice, he bobbed up again in 1908
after the payment by the government
Of the Indian War Claim, 70 claim the
enormous sum from the State Of Flori-
de- Of $l72, 900 On asfour years contract,
made over 20 years before and which
contract had been abandoned by him for
many years.
IA the above is a correct copy of
what Mr.. Wilson has written, ask the
privilege of answering his erroneous
Statements that your readers may be
correctly informed, and Ill try and an
swer as brieflylas possible.
The testimony of others before the
present committee of investigation of
internal Improvement fund at Tallahas-
see, was that, when Governor Drew
took possession at Tallahassee, and had
ousted the carpet-bag government he
Drew found that all the lands belong
ing to the internal Improvement board
of the state, were tied up by the action
of the United States Court appointing
q receiver in the case of Vose on which
judgment had been entered in that
court.
Governor Drew and the Hon. Hugh
Corley went to Washington to see II
the lands due the State could not be
patented. Not succeeding, they re-
turned to the State and recommended
the board of internal Improvement fund
to appoint me as State patenting agent
On the~~19th of October, 1873, thai
board contracted to allow me 2 cents
per acre of such lands patented to the
State, to be paid in lands at the current
prices at the date of such payment.
To show Mr.. Wilson'S error, in stat
ing that was paid many thousands
of dollars" for such work: Years ago,
such a statement was made by another,
and then | called the attention of the
internal Improvement board to said
statement, and M Mcintosh, secretary
of the board, wrote me letter, under
the secretary seal, dated May 18th,
1890: Sin response to your request
that the trustees Of the I. |. fund of
the State of Florida inquire into the re-
port as to whether or not any money
had ever been paid to you as State
agent for procuring an adjustment of
the claims of the State of Florida for
lands granted by the act of Congress of
Sept. 10Th 1850, and acts amendatory
thereto, am directed by the board of
trustees to say that a careful investi-
cation has been made in the records of
the board, as we'll as Of the contracts
between the trustees and S. /. Wales,
dated April l3 and Oct. 10, 1878, and it
appears that at no time since you were
appointed State agent has any money
been paid to you by the board OF trus-
tees Of the internal Improvement fund
of the State Of Florida or any Of its Of
ficers or authorized agents; and IL fur
Their appears that all payments to you
under your contracts have been made
in lands at the regular schedule prices
in force at the 'time of such payment. "
We think your readers will decide, from
such certificate from the l. 1. Board,
that am not guilty as charged by Mr..
Wilson.
In this connection, think il proper
TO state that, under the above quoted
land contract, / was able to bring many |
millions of acres Of land patents TO the
State, and that four millions Of the |
same were sold by Governor Bloxham
to Mr. DisstOn, for one million dollars, |
with which money Bloxham paid off
the Yose judgment, and the court re-
moved the receiver, and for the first |
time in many years the internal inn
provement board had lands at their dis
posal. Mr.. Wilson says ''and although |
he Wailesl disappeared after that /
period from public notice, he bObbed up
again In 1903, after payment by the
government of the Indian War Claim,
to claim the enornoAs sum from the
State Of Florida Of $t72, 900 on four
years contrct made over 20 year be-
fore, and which contract had been /
abandonded by him many years"
10 answer such statement, the first
important thing Is the contract itself, 1
which viii best show whether It was
only four years or longer:
State Of Florida,
Executive Department.
''KnOw al men- BIZ these presents:
That !. George p. Drew, Governor Of
tho State Of Florida, rSpoGing special
trust and eOnfdance Go the ability, n-t
dsllfq ard prudence o. Sydney ]. Wales /
4 q hereby colAtifute and appoint TIE
Sid SydHey j. Wailea agent fof The /
efaea % florida before the department \