The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1917, 1910-03-24
The Negro Revenme Collector of Georgia
One of the Southern Congressman Who
Deserted TO the Republicans, and
Thus Helped to Increase
the Cost of Livimg

Dear Sir:-You state in the March Sd issue of
The JeffersOnian in substance that Henry Rucker
Collector of Internal Revenue for Georgia for the
past thirteen years, who is negro, has not been
ousted from the office and there has been de-
term1ned and concerted fight made on him by the
Senators and Representatives in Congress from
Georgia, because the Deputy Collector, DR.. VIM
King, is Congressman Bill Towards father-n-
law.
DR.. King was appointed an Inspector in the In
ternal Revenue Service in 1885 by President
Cleveland. Sometime in 1890 he appointed a
clerk in the Revenue Collectors Office in Atlanta
six years before I elected to Congress, and he
has remained in this office until In July,
1897, President Mckinley appointed H. A. Ruck-
er, Collector, and Dr. King was appointed Deputy
Collector. I had nothing whatever to do with the
first or any subsequent appointment of DR.. King.
| have never requested Henry Rucker to retain
promote the Doctor in his office. [ have never
requested Senator Bacon or Senator Clay any
member of the Georgia delegation in Congress to
make any request of Rucker in behalf of DR..
King to make any request of any President or
other officer of the Government in behalf either
of Dr. King or of Rucker have I made any
such request of any President Federal officer.
l was never under any personal political obl-
cation to Henry Rucker, was he ever under
any kind of obligation to me-
[ have never discussed with either Senator or
any member of Congress DR.. Kings service in the
Collectors Office Neither Senator or any Repre-
sentative has done, or refraned from doing any
thing with respect to Fuckers holding the office
of Collector in consequence of any act or word of
mine. Dr. King has remained in the service
through his efforts and merits and unaded
by me or either Senator or any Representative
from the State.
You have made other charges against me dur
ing the last few months of disloyalty to the Demo-
cratic party, but conscious as I am that the Rec
ords of Congress and the caucus will not sustain
your criticisms, I have been content to answer
them before the people of the district and demon
strate that they are without foundation in fact.
But your charge that because of family rela-
tionship have used my official position to con-
strain both Senators and my colleagues from do
ing, what you assume, they could and would 9th
erwise have done as public duty is mean talse
and malicious, and I demand that you publish
this letter of denial and make the retraction COM
mon 3ecency demands.
Very truly yours, VIM M. HOWARD.
Washington, D. c., March 10, 1910.
ANSWER.
When a Southern man has betrayed his own
people, and delivered them to New England
robbers, qCho eut0rt from them the most out
r0geouS prices for the accessories of life, it is
not surprising that, when attention is called
to HIS POLITICAL CRIME, he should
lose his temper and refer to the charges
against him as "mean, false and malicious.
Not qooyd that I haze said against Bill
Hoqoard can be taken back. Everything that
| have said against him aoiz be repeated.
Having nothing in the world against him
personally, wish to God I could publish a
''retraction", but the facts won't let me.
Had it not been that Bill Towards father
in-law is snugly berthed under this insolent
negro, III. A. Rucker, the Internal Revenue
Collector for Georgia-serving, as [ am told,
practically as private secretary taking per
sonal orders from him, as an official inferior,
for the sake of 81 800 per year-the Georgia
delegation would have done just what Till
man did, in South Carolina. They would
have made war upon the continuance in office
of the cozored man acho came so near causing