The Columbus weekly dispatch., 1907-06-13
JUDGE JEFF TRULY
REPORTED CORRECT
THE VERY LEARNED AND ELU-
SIVE JUDGE DID SAY THIS
COUNTY HOARDED HER
SCHOOL MONEY.
For Her superintendent to Fatten
Upon-SeriOus Charge Against
Several of the Counties
of Commonwealth.

received a communication from the
county of Lowndes which reads in
part as follows:
When Truly spoke in Vicksburg
there appeared in the Herald's write
up of the speech the statement that
he said that he was opposed to the
school fund money being boarded in
counties like Monroe and Lowndes
for county superintendents to fatten
upon the interest thereof, or words to
that effect. This has hurt Truly very
much with his small following in this
county. One of Truly's friends has
written him about it and he has de-
MED making the statement, saying
that the Herald has distorted it, ETC."
The correspondent wants to know
the facts in the case. The facts are
given in the following statement by
r. Leighton c. Barret, city editor of
the Herald:
THE main fact in the case is that
Judge Truly made the statement ac-
credited to him and made it in such
language that he ELECTED the applause
OF his supporters in the audience. BY
no amount of equivocation or denial
can he get around this assertion,
which was made before several hun
dred citizens of Vicksburg.
4 reported the meeting and Judge
Truly's address, and the report was a
fair one in every particular. Beyond
a general desire to furnish an accu-
rate report 1 had further incentive
in the fact that Judge Truly had
charged that in its news columns the
Herald had misreDresented several of
his speeches made in other places. I
wished to show the people of Vicks-
burg by the correctness of my report
what dependence could be placed in
the charge of misrepresentation made
by Judge Truly. Indeed, so particu-
lar was l concerning this matter that
I would far rather have committed
an error favorable TO Judge Truly
than one which could have been con-
strued as injurious to him.
Previous to attending the meet
ing I was informed that in discussing
the question of the distribution of
the school funds Judge Truly made
severe structures on counties which
in his opinion were receiving a larger
portion of the school fund than they
were entitled to. l was also informed
that when he was in one part of the
State he would name different coun-
ties from those he mentioned when
in another part of the State, seldom
if ever criticising the counties which
were a part of the territory in which
the particular speech was made.
was further informed that when in
any county he was accused of having
placed it on his list of the unright-
eous he would unhesitatingly deny
that he had ever made reference to
that county.
Under these circumstances, when
l went to the Truly meeting at the
Vicksburg opera house, | carried with
me a firm determination to pay par
ticular attention to the names of the
counties which were the objects of
his structures on that particular oc-
cdSlOQ. L fecOfQoQ Ll0 names OIL
these counties as they fell from the
lips of Judge Truly and took down
and published the exact words of the
statement with regard to the county
school superintendents growing fat
on the interest
NO complaint concerning this re-
port ever reached the Herald from
any of the friends of Judge Truly and
the judge himself waits until nearly
a month after the publication to ques-
ton any of the statements contained
in it. Being brought before the bar
OF public judgment in Lowndes coun-
ty, he pursues the course which l was
informed he had pursued on previous
occasions.
Such petty mendacity, TO say the
least, i'll becomes a candidate for the
Office of governor of a great State.
.'R. Leighton c. Barret,
"City Editor, Vicksburg Herald =
The paragraphs in the Herald re-
port which refer to the matter in
question are as follows:
Judge Truly said that. like other
men, he was sorry for the sins of his
youth and would plead the statute of
limitations of twenty years in his de-
tense. His next remark was: I am