The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-10-23

OTHER WITNES IS


publication in the Richmond Virgin
ian OF what he saw at the State fair
caused the board of FIRE commission
ers to call for an investigation OF the
/ statement that fremen drank at the
bar at the fair while in full uniform,
has sent the following letter to the
chairman OF the board:
Richmond. Va, Oct FL, 1912.
Capt Charles r. Taylor
Richmond, Va:
nication you have given to the press.
in which you express your purpose
to summon me before the fire depart
ment to pick out the six men / saw
drinking at the State fair.
In reply TO this, / desire to say,
. first Of all. 1t Is not my business TO
prosecute firemen who violate the
/ rules, or TO see that they obey them.
| presume you are competent to, do
that or YOU would not hold the posi-
/ ton you do.
! | desire to say further, it has not
! been. is not now, nor shall 1t ever
/ be, my purpose to persecute or in
| jure men who are led into tempta-
ton ! do not desire to do anything
that will cause these men 10 lose
their position or to suffer AT my hands.
+ ] honor the f1remen. In their service
to the people they are second to none.
Many of them, doubtless the most OF
them. are men of high moral charac-
ter. and some of them are my warm
personal friends. ! am not after re-
fecting on them or the fire depart
ment I am not after prosecuting
any man l saw drinking at the fair.
/ am after showing what II vile and
inquitous temptation the Fair asso-
citation put under the noses OF the
fremen you send to the fair IN serve
the city. l have sympathy for them
and all who face the temptation. but
II have none for the men who for dol
lars put this temptation In their way
and thrust this disgrace on them.
The facts are these, Rev. G.. T.
Forester. pastor OF Decatur Street
Methodist church and myself went
to the fair TO see II the liquor bust
ness would be run on the high plane
We had hen assured IL would be run
on. Among the things We saw and
then and there recorded IN our note
books was the fact of some fremen
in full uniform drinking at the bar.
1t is nlanifestfy unfair TO try to load
II on the car men who We're busy
grounds They were not car men. po-
iicemen or railroad men, nor were
they members OF a brass band. They
were hremen.s We remarked on their
boidness and carefully noted the
| uniforms, We recorded this as a
fac, of the way the liquor business
was run and not for the purpose Of
prosecuting them.
j Since sou have publicly expressed
~ nay HI FRA iv,f
matter. / can produce evidence from
TWO ladies to prove that at least one
firemen was not only drinking. but
drunk at the w. T. l. A. booth. Also,
AIR. n. r. Pace. of this city. on We'd
nesday saw several drinking and one
almost down. When these persons
saw your communication they came
to me with this information and Of
fered TO give it at any time you called
as. Rev. @. T. Forester will sub
staniiate what have published,
could produce others, but this 1t
seems 10 me. will convince the pub
lie | am not talking down the wind.
Again let me say ! am not draw
ing any salary 10 run the fire depart
met, and am not trying to do il. but
am merry trying to show you ard the
public the evils pat in the way of your
i men. and | again repeat, ! do not
| desire lo w NiS ~ iH5o'' Sih~
gle man in the department
of course. you feel sure | will be
confused and uncertain and will he
unable TO point out the men. This
IT'S the reason YOU propose ii. No
fair-fninded person would expect me
TO do such thing. To see strange
men I had never seen before in uni
forsas and identify them month
later would be a rare achievement,
Ny failure To Identify them would not
make me liar when | say, along
with several citizens whose word no
one can doubt. that fremen We're
drinking II you visited the poultry
exhibit at the fair you might have
noticed some rose-comb White Leg
horns. You might go to poultry
pen today and pick out some rose
; comb White Leghorns. but YOU would
be slow 10 swear they were the ones
tyou saw at the fair. You could iden-
tify the uniform and the rose comb,
hut not the, chicken
/ While / think l could recognize
some of the men. would surely give
them the benefit OF the doubt. and
would not say they were the cnes
saw. We didn't want to know who
they were: we didn't want to observe
them We were not there to detect
. firemen: that is your business. We
were there to observe the result OF
: whiskey selling at the fair,
!. Yfiasfs1sIch as your Interview was
published in two r 'chmond papers
I shall hand this to them. request
| ing that 1t be published.
]. N. ROWLAND.
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