The Palatka news and advertiser., 1915-07-09
A BLAWSTED BRITISH
CRITIC, DON'T YER KNAW
Has Been Spreading I'm
truths about the Land
that Succored Him.

Last Sundays Times Union con-
tained an editorial under the caption
'An Untruthful Critic" which con-
Germs the people of Putnam county
only in the fact that the "critic" re-
sides within our borders and has long
oeen posing among mis- neighbors as
an author and dilettante, when in re-
atty he is nothing more than an i'm
pecunions blot on the body polite.
The following is the Times Union
editorial referred to-:
"In the London Daily News, which
that it has the largest net
sale in the United Kingdom, we fine
the following item from Kingston:
IN response to an appeal in a
local paper for field glasses for
the use of officers, Mr.. Gordon
Forbes, of Surbiton-hill, has re-
ceived a pair from the backwoods
of Florida. U. S. A., from Mr.. Ar
thur H. Englebach, author of An
ecdotes of Pulpit and Parish, and
Anecdotes of Bench and Bar, who
is farming in that country. MIR.
Engelbach writes: 81 was asked
the other day if Hungaria had
gone to war yet. And many
many here believe that England
and Germany are the allies. But
perhaps this is not surprising in
a state where lynching, public ex-
ecutions, and burning Of farms
because of personal quarrels are
of frequent occurrence.
"As the author of Anecdotes Of
Pulpit and Parish and Anecdotes q
Bench and Bar has such a poor opin
ion Of Florida the wonder is why ht
stays here. Even if he We're run ou
of England it seems that he mign
have gone to some country where
they do not have frequent lynchings
ard public hangings and burnings Of
farms to wound his delicate sensibiI
itise. We cannot understand whj
any man who is not a criminal in hid
ing should remain in any place ht
does not like.
"Lynchings have occurred in Flor
ida, public hangings have been seer
here, though when the body was GU
down it was never buried in the mid
die of a road with a stake drives
through it. 1t may be that some
bOdy's home or outbuildings have
been burned in Florida by an enemy
though we know of no such case. But
when this author of anecdotes speaks
Of such occurrence as frequent he
makes a statement that is wilfully
untrue.
"The war in Europe is not our wal
but we believe that the average Flor.
idian knows as much about it as the
average Englishman-and that isn't
much. The average Floridian knows
much more about it than the average
would know about a wal
fought on this side of the ocean il
England were not concerned in it, The
English know as much as the average
but not as much about
current events as the average Flor.
idian or "the paper with the largest
net sale in a city Of five million in
habitants would be more than half us
large as the Times Union"
Mr.. George E. Gay, the welI-known
merchant of this city, and who has
reason to remember this "blawsted
perhaps better than most
Of us, saw the editorial and set down
and penned the follow
ing note to the Times-Union:
THE writer recalls that this gen
tleman on the occasion of the last eX-
ecution here made a personal appeal
to secure from our sheriff PERMISSION
to be present in the Jail yard, and on
that occasion walked in from his res
Idence at Satsuma Hights to Palatka
a distance of twelve miles to attend;
evidently the revenue from the books
he claims to have published is not
very great, as he probably did not
have the price of railroad fare.
Our citizens here on many occa-
5ions Aave helped this man with food
and in other substantial ways, and to
say the least, his mistatements re
conditions in Florida are not
n the best of taste.
eve have many English residents
here who are in every way desirable
and valuable citizens to our communi-
Ey. l believe in justice to these good
people. Engelbach's S a EN- IN s
should not be in any way concidered
seriously"
Engelbacl, has also posed as 4 lee
5urer and humorist, and perhaps this
is one of his English jokes, and, like
others of the same nationality, is de-
void of point
He lectured in one of our towns re
Gently and tie fact that the janitor
neglected to dust the sitings really
made no difference-they were not
used. One man who heard him on
his occasion remarked to the editor
the lecturer. "thot hn w"
a sort of harmless damphool." That
expresses the cCnsent;ent
opinion of him here. rs Intelligent
as one could in few weil-undar-