The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-06-27
ASKED CATLlN FOR $500 AS
 A GOOD JOKE Declares Boards Clerk Memory Is of the
 Worst ROBINSON REPLIES TO LEEDS sTATEII l5 Says. Letter Written Bg Commissioner Is Full Of
 Misstatements
Says. Letter Written BV


 Scandals in the Republican toEa committee were further aired today by two letters made public. One ig written by City Clerk q Alsxam4 eE town committee, in reply to the lstteF of Norman Leeds. president of the board of contract and supply. de- manding a retraction of g. charge former letter written by A1r Honsn- son. Tn the other letter James A- Turner of the finance comutttse cE the RepubIican organization endesF- ors to explain the cfiarSaa madc George Iss Catl1n, depoaed cIarE o1 1e board.
 AIr- Turner in his letter to cfe Clerk Robinson admits going to IIr. Catlin and returning the lattsrs cheek for s15 He further adnaits having told MT. Ca1lin that a $100 clecN would be more apFrpprfabe than the cheek he rsturned at the tizae. 9dr- CatHn asked hifn what he tlou he shou16 1trsout 1
 t1eaEs tIEs whole u1atEes fn a 5oeuiaf vein. While he does not state that he didn't mean that the finance conn1ft- tee demanded the S100 contrdo1il tor.4 e declares that he spoke Of it in a 5ee- ing manner, a bit Of spoodng. donft cher know.
 Throughout his letter he endeavara to place Adr. eatlin in a rtdieussHs light. He begins by declaring t he had known MT. Catlin for twenty years and never before realized that Mr. CsatIinss imagination was so good and his memory so poor
 MT. Catlin today stated that he had nothing further to say at the preeenv. having set forth the actual facts eor- rounding the request for the contibu- ton.
 He intimated that some aotioa might be taken as soon az he had time to peruse the Turner and f3obin- son letters issued today
 Tn his latest epistle, City C1e Rob inson endeavors to treat the situation in JocuIar manner F1e declarss MT. Leeds communication is full of misstatements.
 MT Robinson said he did not feel that MT. Leeds was the one to receive retraction. Tn his own mind he aafd he felt as though he, and not 1Gr Further than this he cared to Bay nothing
 Akr Leeds today stated that he did not care to make a public stateEneut until he had received Mir. Robinscn'H letter which he understood wa8 iu tifs mail. He said that he had not chanTEd his stand, and that he and Mo Cat lin would stand back of every statee rnent made by them in their letters.
 Prank Ballard this morning stated  lowing his refusal to contribute an heavily as requested to the Eepubli- can campaign fund. was not a Doltt teal one. He declared tlat he woul1 like 4, to have Mr. Catiin make pub1la this interview. MT. Ballard declaa fceho1ders to contribute for tae go1d of the party. He iutimsted that ah MT. Catlin was a single man. and alEd a member of the Broolsiawn clmo, ha could easily contribute 1aHser amount than fifteen dollars.
 Roblnson's Reply
 Following is the letter written bg City Clerk J. Alexander Fl. Roblnnori chairman of the Republican iowa committee, to President Norman Leeds of the board Of contract and supply in answer to the one written by MT. Leeds demanding a retractou.
 "Replying to your letter of the 26Eh nst, dated at Bridgeport, Conn., post marked Bridgeport, Conn, written upoh plain paper and received by the writer at g a. m. on the date of June 27, 1914:
 'eFIrstly, I note by the tone of the opening paragraph, that you perhapn think that it was not courteous of mo to write you a letter and give same to the public press before you had received your copy. l would very likely feel called upon to apologize to you for tais, were 1t not for the fact that you reciprocated ID like and so on that point I think we are even.
 T have no desire Mir Leeds, to go into any further controversy with you in this matter, and would not re- ply now, except for the fact oG the continued advertisements that find m your letter, and in the letter of tTr Catlin to yourself, a copy of which you enclose for my perusual think l c0pv of the letter ' have Fec1@fGnH .oday from MT. Turner, who was a- member of the finance committee covers the matter so far as the com in question is concerned and pears out the statement made to you.
 ''FSurther than that, you say bu4 nevertheless, you sent MT. Frank Eal-
 fconfinuad nn Pare I'M