Yazoo City herald. [volume] (Yazoo City, Miss.) 1878-1976, 1914-09-04
REPLY TO CAPT. SYKES.

AIumnae Club Replies to Capt. E. T
Sykes, Calls Attention to the r.
relevancy of His Argument,
and Officially Endorses Miss
PEBBLES Reply to Govern.
or Brewer.
Editor Yazoo City Herald:
From a letter of Captain E. 7.
Sykes, published in the Commercial
Appeal and in the Jackson Evening
News Of August twenty-seeond, we
have summarized the following points
which we wish to answer, solely by
an appeal to truth, leaving innuendo,
vituperation and false charges to
the, wep hope, small number of men
in Mississippi who are willing to en-
ploy these weapons in an unprovoked
war upon women.
We summarize below our replies
to each of Captain Sykes eight
points, which, as we gather them, are
1. That charges were brought
by teachers against President Cooke.
This statement is without founda-
ton in fact. No charges were ever
brought against President Cooke by
the teachers. They made no express
sion whatever until tic meeting Of
the Board of Trustees, st which time
they joined in a written defense of
themselves from the charge that they
had anything to do with the action of
the alumnae and students. This de-
Tense contained no attack upon the
President and 10 criticism of him
except such as was necessary to
show that he and not the faculty was
responsibS for the appeal of the
students to the Board of Trustees.
1t was not presented until the teach
ers were called upon by
the Board of Trustees to ex-
plain the situation at thu college and
their connection with it. It was
never made public end was heard only
by4fhe Board of Trustees.
21d Thai the Columbus Dispatch
~ the organ of the disaffected
@his statement is also without foun-
6atiSl in fact. The teachers had no
part'in press discussions of this mat
ter, they noticed no charges except
in their official and joint statement
to the board, and appealed to no or
pan. Entire publicity then would
have set completely at rest such mis-
conceptions and distortions of fact
as are now being dragged forth to
perplex the present perfectly plain
moral issue.
3rd. That the "origin and control
ling cause, or motive" in the trouble
of 1890, was INSTRUMENTATION in the
faculty; and that the present contro-
versy is a result of that trouble.
The findings Of the Board in 1890,
and their election Of Miss Galloway as
Acting President, prove that there
was no INSTRUMENTATION in the, fac
ulty in 1S90-in fact, there was no
charge of insubordination. Captain
Sykes will find it impossible to
prove his statements, if he confines
himself to the official record of the
college and the sworn testimony of
witnesses. Information drawn from
his private reservoir of secret history
will not be accepted when it clashes
with documentary evidence and with
the personal knowledge of many
high-minded women now living who
had part in TIE matters under discus
sion.
The second part of this statement,
affirming a connection between af-
fairs in 1890 and at present, has no
foundation in fact except in so far
as distorted private "reminiscences and
Misrepresentation are being used to
discredit innocent people and to per-
pick the present issue
4th. That Miss PEBBLES account of
early history at the I. I. & c. is par
tial and contains half truths.
Careful and impartial sitting of
the facts viii prove Miss PEBBLES ac-
count absolutely irrefutable. The
trustees did sustain the students
they did exonerate the faculty From
any connection with the trouble be-
tween the student body and the
president; they dis alect Miss "a
way acting-pfesident ali
was of Ire majortS .'eugn
whose resasal 49, q me faeuit,
nsoar - - sign 20 irrelevan
&C been 50 greatly mis-
tistsetesss Thew did .e@S,,+