French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1916-1919, 1918-10-24
DECLINES BIRTHS
CHALLENGE FOR JOINT CAMPAIGN

N AAO ROAANAOOp oIIOU
and international. TO this l coult
mot accede, as / felt it was my duty
to support the president and his pol1.
cies at all times, and that this would
occasion no bitterness whntsoe e.
which you stated you wist.e,t IL avoid
"You will recall, / AS stated th4,
it was my intention ID make no othei
sort Of campaign tu1l this. unless
forced to do so by attacks upon my
self, or my party.
Il will say further that this chal
lenge at this late hour could not he
due to anything / have done to pro-
woke it, as l have n9i'hec maze !,
ispeech nor sent a circular in supper:
of my candidacy. In so far as my
own campaign is concerned, . 1ta!ur-
ally would desire an opportunity tc
state to the people 2he truth in ,c-
ference to the various charges Soa
and your friends have been making
lin the district against '.,yseIf, my
friends and my party. However, the
war and its successful prosecutions
has demanded sacrifices CT all Citizens
and after mature consideration I nave
concluded that one of The sacrifices
1 should make at this tine, ami IN
the interest of my coInE,y, is 10 pre-
vent, or at least not Became a party
to anything that G.-nt divert the
energies and thoughts of the ;eople
in winning the war, whi2h il the great
task now confronting ali Of us.
Il therefore must decline TO become
"a party to any agreement Ivy which
the people of this district nla he dis
tracted from this ask by It bitter
partisan contest.
You state that there are only two
questions which You lesire to discuss
in the proposed jC nj V
First: Matters pcrTailing to The
war: My record en- he var speaks
for itself, and the people of this ris-
trict are fully advised IS I'D the STAND
i have taken on every question "nicn
has arisen in reference ID the Val
and it's successful prosecution. There
fore, this question is not 4 nii.tLcr &c
joint debate. The people are already
united and enthusiastic in their sup
nort of the president and the prose-
cution Of the war, and unless you in
tend to attack the policies of ;h' id
m~inistration, this could not be :: sut'-
ject for joint debate.
Second. The discussion of the
election OF 1916: 1t is evident th&;
you regard your personal grievance
and the defeat of your personal am
bition as an issue paramount to the
issues involved in the war l 10 nos
believe the people so regard it, a0c
certainly l do not.
st is true that Notwithstanding the
fact that both the Superior court anG
the Supreme court of North Carolina,
to which you applied, have determine
ed that your charges are false, yo2
have persistently continued YOUR 1e-
presentations in regard to this matter,
naturally it would give me q
Syreat deal of pleasure to refute, from
the record and sworn testimony
and every one OF your charges
in detail, but for the reasons aacve
stated, and in view of the present
distressed conditions of the country
however important in your mind
NAV be this alleged issue-I cannot
see that it is Of sufficient importance
and interest to the people Of this dis
trict to harass them with it through
a Joint campaign to which l vol1n~
tarily become a party, and I, thera-
fore, decline to do SC. ,
GAS to the definite specifications
which you propose to make in re-
gard to the last election. I will say
that you have made these in very
tribunal in which the question las
been tried. You have made them In
the newspapers at every opportunity.
You have made them in delivered
and are, constantly and con !
doing so now by word OF
1 feel, however, tlat the peo-
y,e of this district realize that th~~e
were falsely made = ~ne be-
and that the constant re-
thereof is either childish o.
has now become malicious and while
under other conditions 1 would be
glad of an opportunity in joint de-
bate publicly to d~isprove them again.
as 1 have repeatedly d%isproved then:
in the past, and as they were dis
proved in the courts to which yon
applied, 1 feel it my duty to devote
my energies and time to other matters
and accept whatever of personal sac
rifce a come to me in declining
your challenge for a, joint debate.