The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-09-20
|esoeated Attacks Against Him Led
to the Receipt Of Many Anony-
nous and Threatening
Letters.
4 AD1sGRACEFUL CARTOON
Had to Give up His Walk Across the
Bridge For Fear That He
Would Be
Killed.

NEW YORK. Sept. 20.-Miss Mary
b. Gaynor of Utica, a sister of Mayor
Gaynor, has given to the Evening Post
n copy of letter written her by the
mayor September 8. describing his
Eeensation when he was shot and the
conditions that preceded the would
be assassin attempt. He says he
had discontinued his daily walks
across the Brooklyn bridge after re-
ceiving many threatening letters and
bitter repeated attacks upon him by
Hearst newspapers. Concerning these
attacks he wrote:
Though the thing had not entered
my head that morning, / was not sur
prised when / realized l was shot.
had had b feeling for some weeks that
might be assaulted on account of the
anonymous threats ! was getting by
mail. had not received so many nor
DO regularly since was opposing the
ring corruptions and the McKane
conditions in Brooklyn and Gravesend
when was young man. had ceas-
ed walking over the Brooklyn bridge.
"The matter of the pictures of the
Reno prize fight had come up. had
no way as mayor to stop the theatres
from showing them. BY the city char
ter their licenses were revokable py
Judges of the supreme court, not by
The mayor, and the district attorney
and corporation counsel decided there
was no law forbidding such pictures.
They had been shown for years with
out objection.
But the Hearst newspapers kept on
denouncing me for not stopping them.
suppose you know the way they had
beEied me ever since I became mayor.
Meanwhile, people of wicked or dis
zordered minds, of whom there are a
large number in New York City. would
cut these articles out and send them
No me with abuse and threats written
8on the margin, or else with anony-
Hmous letters threatening me. Prob
ably they cared nothing about the
pictures, but the particular disorder
q their minds was infiamed by read
ang how bad a man was.
Finally they printed that terrible
cartoon of me, entitled The Barker.
was dressed as ruffian and standing
outside a prize fight ring twirling a
cane and barking for people to &C
Pa and see the sport. Two men slug
8ging each other, one of them down
ana bleeding, were exposed In the
ring.
mink Of one who has been more
oI library student than anything
eise all his life and who never ever
saw boxing match being pictured
iike that. But the ignorant and dis
ordered minds believed It, and | sup
pose many others who read no Other
newspaper did, and were naturally in
named against such a rutfian being
mayor.
i mat was the object these news
papers had In view, although the,
printed all the pictures of the fight II
'ne most revolving form, as they hat
oeen doing for years with all sucl
,ishts. Even some sensational min
s'efs wrote to me as though they be
lieved 1t.
IL was during this time that i
ist entered my head that might b'
y Danger, especially in walking owe,
ue bridge, although earlier in thu
ear | had received a few slmila
hreats when these same newspaper
'eclared we were discharging small
mployes, but taking on expensive
such journalism is. of course. Il
osolute defiance of the criminal law
sna 1t didn't enter my mind to pub
IVY call on the grand juries and th
.'s.fict attorney to protect me iron
out was weak and feared peopl
Touid say was thin-skinned.
But the time is at hand whel
nese journalistic scoundrels have go
stop or get out, and am read
aow to do my share to that end. The
te absolutely without souls. If dc
ent people would refuse to look a
ueh papers the thing would right II
elf at once.
me Journalism of New York Cit
as been dragged to the lowest dept
degradation. The grossest rallel
% and libels, instead of honest state
iehts and fair discussion have gon
unchecked. One can not hel
mpathizing with the decent news
| hapers.