Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1915-08-03

hSoo VI youi oluICiiCiI 90 W lildl
circumstance, further than to say
that not until now did I know what
you said in reply to my last remark,
because after you had told me that
nothing would be submitted" and I
had commented thereon, I considered
the incident closed, in so far as I was
concerned, and started away
1t seemed to me that such reply as
might be warranted because Of the
statement I made in my editorial of
last Friday, would more properly
have come from ]. c. Wilborn, the
mayor, A. T. Hart, the clerk of the
town council, or w. ". Lewis, the
town attorney, but since o have
volunteered or been put forward, I
cannot decline to give your communi-
cation such consideration as 1t seems
to require. And surely you are not
expecting me to do this without exer-
cising my right Of reply.
In the first place, let me say, 1t Is
hardly worth while for me to call the
attention Of the people Of the town to
the significance of the picture you
draw of coming across the street to
me from a conference with Mr.. j. c.
Wilborn and Mr.. w. B. Moore, es-
pecially the latter, to talk to me about
a matter involving the surrender Of
editorial control of The Enquirer tu
interests engaged in the publication
Of an opposing and competing news
paper.
OF course you were not surprised at
Mr.. Wilborn's generous cooperation
sentiment; but for fear the public
might be misled, l will inform you that
neither Mr.. Wilborn nor Mr.. Moore, is
a subscriber to The Enquirer, and If
either eve reads other han borrowed
/ no nnrc L y mot uya rn nf tho font oh
yes, they are pull together gentlemen,
all right.
I feel that I must apologize to the
public for the blank" credited to me
in your statement, and l hereby do so;
but as the public is always willing to
accept sufficient p~rovocation by way
Of at least part extenuation, I will
plead Sufficient ~provocation" and go
on to confess that If I a known
that it was a part Of the plan that I
was to be told in effect that unless I
to those who seek to ruin me Inc The
Enquirer, I wa to get no part Of the
money the people Of the town were
to be asked to contribute for honest
advertising" I would have had two
blanks to apologize for, instead of
only one.
Now please take note. Of the fact
that although you told me there was
nothing to submit" something
must have been submitted" else
where did the other editors get the
their columns? I do not say that I
would have printed it if it had been
Submitted to me; but the fact Is
that 1t was not submitted to me, and
was submitted to other papers, and
the only way I had of getting it, un-
der the circumstances, "a from their
columns.
Yes, it is true hat The Enquirer
has a reporter who Is constantly
making the rounds gathering up news
from the Board of Trade and else
where; but it will be conceded, I
think that he has not been swallow
body wants to feed to him. On the
contrary, everything that has been
printed about the Board of Trade has
been in the nature of real news as has
been evidenced by the bowls that have
followed it's publication. Some cases
in point. The public will remember
what Mr.. Wilborn said about the
location Of the courthouse, and how
after it was published Mr.. Wilborn
tried to unsay it. You remember all
that hullabaloo that was raised in
December about wanting a man post
master, how the Board Of Trade took
the position that If a woman was to
be appointed it preferred the then in
cumbent, and how it never said a
single word about the sure-enough
man who had been duly endorsed by
a majority of the business interests
of the town, by a majority Of the
patrons of the delivery and by all
the county officials, save one? You
remember how our efforts to get the
facts to which the public was duly
entitled in this matter, brought on our
devoted head hat terrible anathema,
based on the text, "Who shall deliver
me from the body Of this death?"
Our reporter. directed by all the
skill and experience of which The
Enquirer is possessed, made every
effort in his power to get from Mr..
Wilborn, the then president Of the
Board Of Trade, and Mr.. A. T. Hart,
the then secretary, all the information
in this matter that could be Of in
terest to the public as fast as it
developed. We got the information
all right, but from unofficial sources.
All official information was held back
on one preteXt or another until after
it could be published in the competing
and opposing newspaper in which
they were more interested, financial
ly and otherwise.
And this meeting Of the Executive
committee" about which you have
been talking; why were we not noti-
fled about it beforehand, so we could
send a reporter to see and hear?
In no case where I have been notified
Of a meeting of the Board Of Trade
or its executive committee in advance,
have 1 I'VE failed to give a full and
| nnno ahanc iNa onnn1nf nf Sl1nh moot
ing. Surely you do not expect us
to send for news prepared by our
opponents. according to their W
notion and published by them in
advance of us. We do not think this
would be fair to our readers or our
selves. and we are unable to reconcile
ourselves to the idea, however strong
ly it might be argued that "our duty
to the community so requires" We
are willing to make any sacrifice for
the community; but we are willing
to make no sacrifice whatever for our
competitors, because we are unable to
feel that our duty to the community
demands such sacrifice.
/ appreciate what you say about
not desiring to have any personal
controversy with me. / assure you
that I am not seeking such a con
troversy either with you or with
those with whom you are associated.
The weather is too hot, and the
combination against MI is too strong
and too shrewdly directed. Also
there is no good to be accomplished
for the chautauqua or home coming
by such controversy. However, If you
want to come again, either or your
own account, or as the mouthpiece
of the others or if they want to come
in their own proper m whether
one at a time or altogether, / can only
promise to take care of any or all Of
you as best I can and that I promise
to do.
In conclusion, I beg leave to assure
you hat I have not the slightest
feeling of ill-will against you or any
Of the others, and although it may
be necessary to say some pretty hard
things before the thing Is over. I do
not expect to develop any such feel
ing.
Very respectfully,
w. D. Grist,
Editor Yorkville Enquirer.