The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1916-07-27
Col. Sharp Explains.
Butler, Mo, July "a, 1916.

In as much as / am q candi
date to succeed myself as Rep
resentative of Bates County to ths
Forty-ninth General Assembly
and it is being circulated over The
County that the story have told
to the citizens of our county, 10
the effect that there was an at.
tempt during the session of the
Forty-eighth assembly-of which
l was member-to saddle some.
thing like 100000 a year on us as
"benefit assessment for road
purposes, to be paid into the
drainage fund, and that it was
purposcd to collect this amount
for several years backs all =
trumped up campaign story. |
deem it my duty to not only de-
fend myself from such an imputa.
ton. but to let the people of this
County know just what was at
tempted, not, by asking them to
take my word for it, but by pub
fishing the following correspond
cnce which took place after some
members of the drainage board,
(Which has taken over the drain
age proposition of this county
about a year before) along with
their attorney. had appeared,
without letting ME know about it,
before the "Committee on Swamp
Lands and where, after had
found it out from another source,
| met their attorney and had sue
ceeded in convincing said commit
tee that the move was an unjust
one. and it had turned them
down.
The following are excerpts from
a letter received from j. f, Kern,
secretary and treasurer of the
Drainage Board, relative to the
question at issue.
Butler. Missouri. Feb. "A. 1915.
Jas. \. Sharp. ESQ.
jefferson City, Mo.
My Dear Mr.. Sharp:
We regret the position you
have taken relative to some rem
edial legislation we are asking OF
| the Swamp Land Committee. and
believe if YOU were entirely in
formed in the matter, you would
feel differently about it s'"@
appeal TO your sense Of COM
mereial honor to help this matter
along. not some other way. hut
the way our attorney has suggest
ed. That is the remedy and We
are entitled to it. sss All We
are asking is a remedy and we are
entitled to it. we feel that We are
entitled to Your support in this
matter.
Most respectfully,
J. F. Kern.
Z. Ayers,
F. II. Steuck.
J. s. Bell Jr.
! The following letter shows MY
position at that time.
Jefferson City, Mo-.
Feb. 9th. 1915,
J. F. Kern. Esq.
! Butler. Missouri
| My dear Mr. Kern:
Yours of the oath inst. to hand.
in which you say. *We regret the
position You have taken relative
to some remedial legislation we
are asking of the Swamp Land
Committee. You further say,
All we are asking is remedy.
| We are entitled to it and we feel
we are entitled to your support in
this matter"
Now. Mr.. Kern, being a repre-
sentative of Bates County down
here it would appear as if the lat,
ter quotation l have given above
would be we'll taken but for this
peculiar fact: that you. knowing
me to be in such a position here.
should come here and send Your
agents here to appear before the
said committee and all the time
keep me in the dark. This would
indicate that even though you
might be entitled to my support in
this matter. YOU did not at least
ask it, even if it does not indicate
further that you are seeking to
) evade ME altogether. It does ap-
pear to me. Mr.. Kern, that if this
. remedy which you have asked is
a just one, that l would have been
the first une you would have come
to in order to get it through the
Legislature, but the facts are 9TH
erwise and / reason that there is
something wrong with PROPOSE
, tion that Won would seek tn faSten