The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-03-01
PEOPLES FORUM
Monument for jackson Bolton.
edmond Yirginian

Editor Richmond Yirginian:
Dear Sir,-please allow space in your
paper for q few lines In defense Of "A man
who In the face OF continued and unjust criti-
eisin has been driven to his death.
Too much cannot be said against those who
are responsible for the death of good and
faithful and true man. a with a record
of forty years of faithfulness. man who was
every inch man. courteous kindly and true
man ready without a murmur to serve tho
city he loved / say IT is an everlasting shame
and disgrace upon our city that Mr.. Jackson
Bolton should. Mr.. Mccarthy has rightly
said, be bounded to his death by his In
feriors." Let those who would accuse him of
incompetency stand forth and prove their COM
petence to Judge. | say II IL everlasting
shame. 1t Is shameful that newspapers
should be the mouthpiece of such infamous
and false criticisms drought about unaues
uCnaoiy by reason of political favoritism) to
condemn and damn Just and good man, and
to blaze out his name in great headlines as
being unreliable and incompetent. Is It pos
sible that after forty years of service. under
almost a half dozen competent city engineer
that In all this time II should be at this late
day found that he is inaccurate and incompe-
tent. / knew Mr.. Bolton for number of
years. only in business way and ne has al
ways impressed being one among the
few in the engineering office who ever
diligent, ever ready to assist In helping one
out of difficulties In connection with the vast
sewer system OF our city, and who seemed SO
we'll informed this subject--in, fact he
seemed to have the entire system as his finger
tips. and was among the very few who could
give you any real Information on this su btect
displayed
in the office. 1t seems terribly wrong that
! a man with forty years OF faithful service to
his credit should be so unjustly criticized and
held up to ridicule without even chance to
defend himself, and 1t looks very much as If
| he has been used scapegoat. because of
his advancing age and because he could have.
! at best, been of but few years Of SER
vice to his city. lie was a man very greatly
I ererwerked,- and II he made errors it was
doubtless due to an overtaxed body as we'll
as brain. He may have lacked something In
theory possessed by those who have been held
up as his superiors but believe that in prac-
/ tice. as compared with him. they were pig
mics. 1t seems unjust that an interruptions
reporter should hand in to his paper dis
/ torted and blasphemous criticism OF such a
good man and they in turn. without consider
ing the feelings of the man (they Were COM
/ PEELED to know the man, because we all knew
! him after forty years of service) will blaze
out his name in great headlines before his
! people as being incompetent of the work en-
trusted to his care, even though he faithfully
and unquestionably performed this same kind
of work for almost half century and 1t is
notable fact that the ones who judged him,
incompetent prepared the way In generous and
1 kindly tones for the favorites who they would
4 have succeed him. dis indeed was loves labor
! lost and he is indeed a martyr. Had the &C
! complishments of Jackson Bolton been given
| one hundredth part of the notoriety In the
I columns OF our newspapers that given some
of the doings of certain Office holders in our
/ city we would have been at this time com
4 PEELED by our people to have recognized his
merit, and to have given him just dues, and to
e.! have rewarded him in keeping with services
performed. instead of driving him to his death
No, Mr. Bolton did not hand out to the news
papers every achievement OF his only those
who were nearest to him and his God knew
of his achievements. He had grown grxzled
\ and gray In his service to his city. Neyerthe-
i less. he has numerous friends and am one of
them who would love to contribute In a limited
way to build monument to one who was faith
full and true to the end, for Napoleon has
said, My God how scarce men are" and when
j Mr. Bolton died, one, of those few and scarce
j men dled: .,. -.,...e.- II. y, FRANCIS -