Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1912-05-24
GUN COMPL|CATES
NETCONG SCANDAL
CONTINUED from First Page.)

NSOnhhMucu IEOm E1EbI EdEesJ
left the room. Cook and 1 were both
too stunned at the message of the note
and its import to say much. At his re-
spelling. punctuation, false spelling-au
and initiating as closely as possible
Its chirography. This | gave TO Cook
and we both agreed that something
should be done to punch Drake. l spent
a sleepless. nerve-racking night, and on
an early morning train went to New
York and bought a revolver.
As ! remember, 1t was the very next
day that Cook came into my office and
began to talk of how money could be
got out of Drake by the note, when I
drawer wherein lay the revolver. and
said, 81 will have nothing to do with
commercializing my wlfe's chastity, that
p Dosenf To settle e sht sh fs'o afTsi9.d Is e Cook l 1 naS,
Now, don't make q mess of things"
revolver err ~dis g ! have Learned roed
having informed her, 1 had gone and
bought one. A day or SO after my wife
and children went off for the summer to
Massachusetts.
Tells Everything to His Lawyer.
The Drake affair preyed on my mind
and went to Elmer King, attorney, and
straightforward professional talk, as
sured me that no damage had been
done, hence q suit for damages was out
of the question; agreed with me that re-
porting It to the acknowledgement
would bring a swift investigation, said
that inasmuch as his senior partner was
U. s. district attorney, he ,(king) would
advised me to consult Samuel Kalish
il I wished. but advised me to forget
It" / then consulted Mr.. Kalish. only
my case stated alphabetically the solic-
ttation of a woman is a crime In New
Jersey; consult the district-attorney of
took Mr.. Kings advice and forgot
The note had been in my possession
nearly a year before I published 1t and
then only after being convinced that
Drake was trying both privately and
publicly to injure my means of liveli-
hood as a physician and to compel me
he had repeatedly made the statement
that he or they" would run me out of
town. The climax came In November.
1910. when Drake; at an official meeting
pointing of q medical inspector came up,
asked the president for a citizens privi-
lege of the floor, which being granted, he
arose and stated that 1t would not be
safe to appoint me as he had been told
by DR.. Miller that I had no license to
practice medicine. / absolutely know
who was at that time Mayor of the
town as well as postmaster) and to in
jure me by trying to sway the board
against. me. as Drake knew perfectly
well what my credentials were and 1t
was through him that | was urged to
locate in Netcong. 1 believe that cold
blooded malicious, intent to inJure me
was his motive because he could not
control me politically or in any other
way
Hadn't Spoken to Drake in Two Years.
Whenever I saw fit 1 always opposed
him. I had not spoken to him for two
years or more.
The morning following this meeting
of the Board of Education | wrote the
postmaster-general that I had charges
to make against Postmaster Abram J..
Drake, of Netcong, N. j., and request
ed him to instruct me how to proceed.
Following his directions made out
rough lead pencil drafts of the evidence
of my wife, Of myself and of a formal
letter of my charge against Mr.. Drake.
These rough drafts were submitted to
Mr.. Elmer King, attorney; After maxi
ing some alterations. revisings and sug-
gestions, he returned them to be finally
ink-written n sworn to. This was done
and, together with a certified o of
the objectionable note, the batch was
sent to the postmaster-general.
Postof1ice inspectors appeared In Feb
ruary of 1911, and then It was that the
publicity began; from which Mrs.
shrank, as stated in the beginning of my
statement, and anything printed that
was said to be from her or anything
quoted as coming from her Is false. The
any evil act,
Mrs. Thayer was bitterly opposed to
David M. Cook, president OF the Citizens
home with us. Cooks business often de-
tanned him in Netcong. n at his urgent
request that he be permitted to. take his
meals with us, as he did not feel at home
at the hotel, / insisted upon Mrs. Thayer
allowing him to do so.
Says Drake Had Cook Watched.
A. J. Drake and David M, Cook were
enemies Drake, l am told by his brother
in law. James Dell, hired Frank Boyer to
watch Cooks coming into my house for
the purpose Of getting evidence which
story that Cook had written the note
which he (Drake) had handed to Mrs.
Thayer through he p0stoface window,
and that Mrs. Thayer, Cook, myself and
others were In o conspiracy to black
mail him.
1t is true, as I have related, that when
the note came into my possession, it was
but Mrs. Thayer knew nothing of any
talk about he possibility of getting
money out of Drake; there wa absolute
and II Cook did anything with the copy
he had (and 1 nave no evidence that he
did he did 1t without my knowledge,
consent or collision. All talk of 1t end
ed SO far as l know with the revolver
episode.
Mrs. Thayer had nothing whatever to
do with the arrest of by me of Frank
Best, cashier of the bank, except that
she innocently enough called for the con-
tents of a safe deposit box rented by
me and in my name, and Frank Best
without any written or other order from
me. delivered the same to Mrs. Thayer.
There were nc letters in that box from
David NJ. Cook to Mrs. Thayer.
, AS regards the paragraph In the news
item from Netcong, printed In the New
ark News. May 8. 1912. to the effect that
postoff1ce inspectors had investigated
and exonerated Mr.. Drake of writing the
Objectionable note and handing It to
Mrs. Thayer through the postofice win
dow and that later Mrs. -Thayer did the
same and then accused Mr.. Cook OF hav-
ing given the note to Mr.. Drake to hand
devised lie to whitewash Drake and for
the invention of which lie Drake him.
self, or some of his agents Is responsible.
l also believe Though I ave no EVIL
dence) that the Newark News was in
f1uenced from the same sources to sup
press my own communication to its coll
umns denying the lie.
Note Speaks OF Itself.
There Is not n shade of a shadow Of a
doubt that A. j. Drake wrote that OBJ
j~ectionable note and handed It to Mrs.
Thayer with the intent which the con-
tents of that note clearly discloses.
The postoffice authorities have never
exonerated Drake of his act, and never
has Mrs. Thayer or myself thought for
a moment Of accusing Cook Of having
ing the note to Mrs. Thayer.
am told by Mr.. Mowder that when