Albuquerque evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1911-1914, 1913-12-29
Mr.. WARD PAYS HIS
COMPLIMENTS TO
KNOCKER
Whispering Variety and An
onymous Correspondent Al
so Touched Upon by Indig-
nant District Attorney.

Some time since gentleman named
Crabtree and his wife were so unwisc
az 80 So insane In Los Vegas. result
Ing ia violent tempest in tea
samovar charges being made that Las
VEGAS and citizens and persons there
OF proceeded 90 sohk the visitors 20
the fullest extent of the Jaw, these
charges IN turn being as violently de-
MED The latest disturbance on the
subject Is letter by District Attor-
ney q. w @. ward. addressed 10 the
local morning paper but published IN
the Las Vegas Optic, IN which letter
Mr.. Ward pays his respects 20 whis-
pering Knockers, anonymous cores
pondeuts and other undesirable fauna
and nora. The letter Is as follows.
Las Vegas, Dec. %. 't3.
To the Albuquerque Morning Journal:
/ have read an editorial article IN
| your paper Of December p, dealing
with tho amentobie Crabtree incident.
The indignant defense OF your action
| leads me 90 assume that your tender
Newspaper conscience is troubling
you. and that you do not feel salts
fed that you have, in your method OF
dealing with the matter, acted fairly.
charitahly and as great newspaper
| should. You must realize where you
have gone wrong whom you admit
your original treatment OF the case
was based on communication from
| TWO Of the most responsible citizens of
Las Vegas, inclosng "A clipping from
| the Kansas city Journal.
/ Won enu furfhar fhuf tsf.ftr rnrYEu-
pondents gave the names Of the
/ physicians who had been paid tho
! largest amount and asked the Journal
90 expose the whole matter because
that is the only way We can get under
the hides of these men, unless "a mass
meeting should be- called, az nothing
can hoe hoped for from the excuse Of
! 81 daily paper published here"
Now, In an fairness should YOU
| have published such charge us YOU
| did few days ago rejecting upon
] the doctors or upon anyone else upon
/ no better basis than the attempt OF
| some sneaking coward 90 crafty his
/ petty personal spite anonymously hy
/ shielding himself behind the skirts ot
% powerful newspaper You HnoW as
/ Well as ! do that your coWardly cor-
4 respondents could secure publication
| of anything they had the nerve aud
, dCccncy 90 sign their own names to
in the local paper as long as % wasu't
! Abvious True, SOU uid not publish
/ thc names of the doctors except
/ through uy report made on the case,
/ bon 30 would have been better bad you
/ don, 500. Nothing hurts like iurucndo
ana once you nsinuatc au evil at AN
| unknown individual ana no one is
goiug Geo rest until be- finds out who
tho oharltably rhieldcd individual .s.
Ny report, while not attempting Go
/ ilN blame. sought ,u as stringent Ian
| suare as ] could use Co bring out all
| the faCts lul 90 elicit explanations
! whore such We're necessary, IL 0as
had. for the most part the desired
effect ana people are iu "a position
| 60 decide th, matter OF blame Tor
] themselves
/ but ] backed my statements with
my namo and accepted FUN rCspous.-
hHity However, nothing have said
! on can say Will. ] fccl certain, elicit
! the names of those responsible citl-
| z,ns" OF Las Vegas who furnished the
| basis for the Journals articles Re
/ sponsible citizens. or others less re-
! sponsiblc. have been doing IN Lac
| Vegas much the same sort OF knocking
/ COS the journ4Is correspondents Those
! have not been lacking 90 whisper
| about the city all sorts of exaggerated
| statements about the incident. The
! whispering knocker and the anony
NOUS newspaper correspondent should
not bc encouraged. Years Of news
paper work gave me the utmost an
! upathy for the latter. and In my pres
| eut work / am frequently the recipi-
ont of anonymous letters, or what is
just us bad letters from people who
| write I'm confidence but who protest
that under no conditions must their
names be- used such letters arc al
ways ignored
Your consure has been the most
part hcapod upon the doctors. but IN
view OF the fact that one doctor spent
practically AN Of his time for -four
days ana another large part OF his
time witch the TWO patients and that
the doctors bills were sent to tine rcl'
ativcs for approval with the state
mcut that uo charge would hoe made u
tho family WAS needy. your cenuur,
appears Co have been unfairly be-
slowed
70 is true that no ono had ans
legal right Co take any money from
the Crabtroos while they were insane
until upon application 90 the court ,
committee OF the estate had been tp
pointed. But % has been found Go Do
true that the most of the Las Vega
people who made charges TO Tho crab
trees charged them ns people able %
uuy having neither knowledge %
their financial conditions nor of th
fact the charges mado were Illegal
Yol have bitterly criticised the ac
, ton of the Las Vegas Optic, bat can
dor compcls me to state that to m
the action Of the local paper in con
| noction with the sad nnair appear
60 have been wiser and luster tina
, your own The optic sought to go @
( ! the bottom OF the aualr and % dio
/ os ] boliove. brlng out an The facts
/ Also h succeeded in placing The %
, | sponsibnity whore 90 belonged -upo
I ne Santa Fc Railway company ~
Stunning that tho santa 20 agent her
: was unfamiliar with the laws an
with his duties. Nill % must be ad
: mltted that had ne acted properly. o