The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-12-26

| Mcdonald Lee. connected with The
Virginian Publishing Company; c. s.
Reams and w. T. Stevens on charges
OF keeping house of ill-fame, and
for maintaining a disorderly house,
the Hotel Dan"
! Incredible Ignorance.
1t is not credible that the News
Leader and its Bryan owners do not
know the character and standing of
Mr.. Jones and Mr.. Lee. They know
that both of them are business men.
of good character and men of promi-
hence in the work of the Methodist
Church. They know also that they
have been very active in favor Of pro-
hibition. 1t Is not credible that the
management of the News Leader did
not know that II any improper per-
sons had lodged at the Hotel Dan that
these prominent. Christian gentlemen
We're not in any sense a party to It.
moreover the News Leader states
that Mr.. Jones was seen by one Of
its reporters. and that Mr.. Jones said
that the first knowledge he had Of
the indictment was in a letter received
that morning from Manager Stevens
of the hotel. and furthermore that
| Mr.. Jones spoke in the highest terms
of Mr.. Stevens. and said that he was
convinced that the indictments were
returned on the strength of testimony
of persons who had been offended by
the hotel manager.
Character Good As the Bryans,
But Notwithstanding that the char
acter of Mr.. Jones and Mr.. Lee Is
just as high as that of the Bryans,
who own the News Leader; notwith-
standing that Mr., Jones and Mr.. Lee
are esteemed as highly in the Meth
odist Church as any of the organs
are in the Protestant Episcopal
Church; Notwithstanding that they
are men whose homes and families
! have just as much right to considera-
| ton and protection as the homes and
families of the organs. these things
are matters Of no Importance in the
eyes of this Bryan sheet. S. P. Jones
the abominable CD Anti Saloon
League and with the despicable (7)
Richmond Virginian. and SO they
must be put in the pillory and spat-
tered with mud and slime as far as
this Bryan sheet as able to spatter
them.
Disgraceful Record of Bryan PAPERS.
Such conduct. however. such a total
| disregard of the natural instincts, the
| ordinary amenities and courtesies
which animate Christian men Is un-
fortunately characteristic of the Bry-
! an management of newspapers. The
Times-Dispatch while under the Bry-
| an ownership slandered and villified
| prohibition workers, and the News
Leader under the Bryan ownership
has continued the same policy OF SLAM
| der and villiffcation. No paper in
Virginia has such a disgraceful rec
ord as the Bryan papers have
Reporters Expelled from Conference.
! The reporter of the Tim s- Dispatch
was expelled from the sessions Of the
! Virginia Conference in Cumberland
Street, Norfolk. some years ago on
the motion of Doctor. afterward Bish-
op, A. Coke Smith. and others. be-
cause OF the slanderous attack Of the
| Times Dispatch upon minister Of
that body
Another reporter OF the Times-Dis-
patch was expelled from the Virginia
| Conference at Centenary Church,
| Richmond. for a similar attack only
few years ago.
After the starting OF The Richmond
Virginian. the Times dispatch. while
under the control Of the Bryan in
| terests, maliciously slandered and viii
lifted the owners of The Virgnian and
prohibition workers, and the paper
| pursued that policy until 1t was sold
| by the Bryan interests to other par
ties. The News Leader has, under the
Bryan management, followed the
same policy. At one time the paper
! WAS SO liArTo" ana VICIOUS IN Ills pom
| cies that 1t would not refer by name
to some OF the leading prohibition
workers. but designated them as AN
| other person" or as IAN official" or
| by some other indefinite term.
Gentienanly Amenities Disregarded-
About eighteen months ago in utter
| disregard of the amenities among
gentlemen, it secured a copy of a pri
vate letter written by the editor of
a 70 Inn No inI
mond Virginian. The letter was Of
fered to the Evening Journal for pub
| lication, and declined by the editor
of that paper on the ground that it
was a private letter But the Bryan
sheet either did not know what COM
mon deCency requires In such cases,
or ignored its own knowledge, ana
published the letter without giving
the name OF the person to whom it
was addressed, hoping by its pub
LEGATION to cripple The Virginian.
This ungentlemanly conduct proved in
the end to be a help rather than a
hindrance to The Virginian. but no
thanks were due to the News Leader
or to the man who furnished the
letter.
/ Following the same methods. the
Bryan sheet published another pr-
waite letter from the superintendent of
the Anti-Saloon League to a member
of the General Assembly without Civ
ing any name, or indicating where
/ the letter was obtained. The gentle
man to whom 1t was written after
| wards wrote the superintendent of
the league that he never gave tho let
ter to the Bryan sheet. and did not
know how the letter was obtaine ed.
The News Leader made several refer
ences to the publication of this letter.
and did everything possible to dam
age the influence Of the Anti Saloon
League of Virginia. until the super
intendent of the league published an
extract from another letter he had
written at the same time the first
letter was written, in which second
letter he had declared that the ac-
tivities of the organs in favor of a
certain candidate had caused him to
fight shy of that candidate, as the
prohibition people of Virginia certain
ly did not want anybody in public
office who was desired and worked
for by the Bryan interests. After the
publication OF that quotation by the
superintendent Of the league, the Bry-
an sheet became exceedingly quiet,
= he ~ lot