The Mena weekly star., 1908-07-23
NO NATIONAL ISSUES
John P. Logan Replies to George Legates' Letter and Takes Him to Task for
 Failure to Answer the Issues.

that 1t is rather amusing the way
 in which you dodge the issues.
 1t reminds me very much the way
 you lodged the vote on bills in
 which the people were interested
 while you were member of the
 Senate. In the first place you failed to answer my letter in any
 particular. You state that a chal.
 leuge from me to you to discuss
 the NATIONAL ISSUES before
 the people is ludicrous in the ex treme. By this statement, as well
 as by almost every other state
 ment contained in your letter, you
 are attempting to mislead and de
 ceive the people who may see and read your letter aud did not have n opportunity to read the one
 wrote you, for nowhere in my letter to you do l mention nation al issues. Yet you state in your letter that l seem to place nation al issues above state issues, while the truth is, that l referred posi- lively to state issues and specifi-
 cally to certain matters state poli- tics.
 You state that the Hon. T. N.
 Sanford, my opponent for the
 Democratic nomination, tried in
 very way possible to engage m :,
 m public discussion in that cam
 paign, and that 1 refused to dis
 suss the issues with him. This IS positively untrue, and even 1t
 were true, 1t is not now an issue either between you and Mir. San. ford or between Mr. Sanford and myself. Mir. Sanford and I
 fought out our differences in the
 Democratic campaign, and the Democrats of the district by their votes gave me the nomination,
 md Mir. Sanford, like the good
 and true Democrat that he is, ac- cepted the verdict of the people aud IS today doing all in his pow ei to promote the success of the Democratic ticket, and can be found upon the rig ht side to see that this district is represented by Democrat instead of by a Re- publican in the next State Senate.
 Your statement that it would be useless for you to make dates with me for the reason that 1 would not keep them is rather laughablo considering the fact that my letter to you challenging you to a discussion of issues IS the first that has passed between us of political nature. Ia 1t 1 challenge you, instead of your challenging me, and l refer the reading public to your letter in which the fear to meet the issues and a desire to avoid meeting me in the discussion is so plainly written that "A wayfaring man though fool may not err therein"
 In reply to your inquiry why I voted mo" on bill 162, which you term bill for the better protect ion of farmers, will state that this bill provided that where a man rented a piece of land and at the end of the year he came out in debt to the owner thereof by failure of the crop or otherwise, this bill made 1t an olfense pun ishable by jail sentence for him to move off the place or attempt to move. In other words if poor man renting land should have a failure of crop, the owner of the land could hold him, as slave, year by year until the debt was paid. By this bill if it had become law, interruptions per- sons could bring their tenants out in debt every year and force them to remain and till their ground | forever. This was a Dill that the | cotton farmers who work large | numbers of negroes wanted for their protection, but of course If 1t would put a negro tenant in Jail ii would have the same effect on a poor white man in this sec ton.
 l voted mo" on Bill No. 95 too, | "To Prevent the Fraudulent Is. sue of Poll Tax Receipts" for the reason that if the sheriff or any one issues a fraudulent poll tax receipt now 1t is a violation of the law and consequently did not con- slider II necessary to re-euaet a law already on the statute books.
 h regard 10 why I did not push Senate bill No. l66. the title of | which you fail 10 mention, will I say that this was bill for com pletiou of the State CaDgtol intro dueed lu the Senate by Senator Cotton, and was au exact copy of bill No. 400, the original State I Capitol bull that came from the | hous and was pending iu the Sem ate and afterwards became a law. ! opposed The original State \ House bill. of which ls6 was a copy, for the reason that it left the gap down for a big steal. lu IQn- &L.s etM-l r.a H 4