The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-04-20
WALKER EXPLAINS
 FLORENCE MATTER
SAYS REPORT THAT HE STRUCK MooERs FROM BEHIND Is MIS- REPRESENTATION AND DOES HIM GREAT INJUSTICE

To the Editor of The Age Herald:
 Your special from Florence, Ala, under date of April Il, giving what purported to be a correct account of the difficulty between H. F. Moores, editor of the Flor ence Herald, and myself in which it is stated that I approached MT. Moores from the rear and struck him with the heavy end of a loaded whip, is a gross misrepre- sentation of the facts and places me in a somewhat unenviable light before the pub lie. Before addressing this communica- ton to you I desire to state that I have approached your correspondent here, by whom this special was sent out, and re- quested her to make the corrections in her statements to conform to the facts. This she has refused emphatically to do, and as she is woman I have no redress but to submit the facts to you direct and demand a publication of this my state ment Of the facts, and the affidavits of reputable citizens of Florence supporting the same.
 These are the facts: There appeared in The Age-Herald of Birmingham on the sth inst an interview with me, in which I stated in effect that the Hon. Emmet O'Neal, candidate for governor of Ala bama, had told me on the day of the pres- idential election in 1896, that he had voted for MT. Bryan, and not for MT. Palmer, for President. Having advance informa- ton that MT. Moores would publish an ed- itorial in the next issue of his paper that would question this statement, and there- by reflect on me, I went to him, several days before the publication of his paper, and stated to him that l had been told that it was his intention to make a pub lieation of the nature stated above, re- feeting upon my veracity. I then told him very plainly that If such publication was made I would hold him to a personal accountability. Notwithstanding this he did publish such an editorial in the fol- lowing issue of his paper, and on the morning subsequent, being April IA, seeing MT. Moores standing on the corner of Court and Tennessee streets, I secured a whip and approached him, and when e short distance from him called his name. He turned and faced me. l then told him I had come to do what l had told him I would do. and then struck him across the face with the whip.
 Seeing him with a knife in his hand l reversed the end of the whip and again struck d him, this time with the butt enG of the whip. He caught the whip in one hand and struck me with the other hand tcontaining a knife) on the side of the head. Someone else then struck Moores about the face or head with their fist and the knife was grabbed from his hand. We Were then separated.
 The whip used was an ordinary team- ster's whip, and was not loaded as stated by rour correspondent. I can well un- derstand how people can see things diff ferently in 0 street fight, put cannot un- derstand why the facts in this case should be thus perverted by your correspondent, unless 1t be that she is actuated by an unnatural aninus growing out of the fact that she is an ardent supporter of MT. Mallory for governor, along with the Florence Herald and MT. Moores, while plead guilty of being a supporter of Mir O'Neal
 l submit the afidavits referred to here- with. l am yours truly,
 A. E. WALKER.
 Florence, Ala, April IS, 1910