The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1910-06-01
4 DIGNIFIED LETTER
FROM HON. r.. F. ROGERS

Editor Star: 1t seems that Mr.. ]. 2.
Phillips and the Anti-Saloon League
are quite anxious to say or do some
thing to put me in disrepute before the
voters Of the county.
The facts in reference to Mr.. Phil
lips charge against me in the daily
Banner of the 31st inst, are as fol-
lows: On Saturday after the last pri-
mary Mr.. W. D. Tompkins came to me
in the office of his livery stable and
told me that he wanted Mr.. Phillips to
come down, and that if l would work
for temperance in the legislature and
could make the Anti-Sa1oon League
believe il, they would make no fight
on me; that they did not understand
me. l told Mr.. Tompkins / was a tenn
perance man and should work for
temperance and morality if elected He
asked me to write down what I would
do. The first line l wrote was, Il
stand for local option. home rule and
local self government" and then added
that l was for temperance and would
work. for temperance, just as I have
said in my speeches in the campaign.
1 gave Mr. Tompkins the writing. He
asked to remain in his office Tor
half an hour until he could see Brother
league Mr.. Tompkins came back and
told me they tried to get Mr.. Phillips
to come down, but he would not do 1t.
Mr. Tompkins gave me back the paper
and 1 have it now. Only at the urgent
request of Mr.. Tompkins, whom I loved
as a friend, L wrote down what 1
should try to do for temperance. L did
not address a letter to Mr.. Tompkins,
nor to Mr.. Phillips, nor to the Anti
Saloon League, nor any one else to get
Mr.. Phillips to come down. I offer $50
for such a letter to be produced. I
acted in good faith with Mr.. Tompkins
at his urgent request and have moth
ing earth to regret in the matter.
little thought, however, that the
Anti Saloon League was using one Of
its members, Mr.. Tompkins, whom
regarded as a bosom friend, to prac-
tice duplicity upon me to get some
campaign help for their candidate, MI
Phillips.
The office Of member of the legisla-
ture is not worth the fight that has
been made on me and had I have
known that I would have been smitten
in the house of my friends-the tenn
perance people I should not have al
lowed my name used as a candidate
scientiously stand for local option and
temperance and not for statewide pro-
hibition, the AntiSaloon League has
dictated who the people should vote
for as clean men" They have charg-
ed that 1 was the candidate of the
liquor traffic. while 1 shall be thank
full for the vote of any qualified voter,
there is not a man engaged in the
traffic of whisky who ever intima ed
that he wanted me to run for the leg
islature.
AS a professed Christian, I have been
deeply humililiated at the sacriligeous
parody the AntiSaloon League wrote
on the 23rd Psalm and published in
both county papers that it was Ma
rion county preachers version of that
Psalm" God forbid that I should ever
thrust such a dagger as that in the
back of a child of grace Brother
Phillips, if you are elected next Friday
L bid you God speed in every good
work for poor down trodden human
ity Brother Bigham, the Methodist
preacher in Ocala, l know you made
stump speeches two years ago against
Governor Gilchrist who was for local
option. He was elected governor and
the old ship of state is headed for the
harbor. Yours for peace,
r. F. Rogers.
Lynne, Fla, June I, 1910.