Jasper County Democrat, Volume 15, Number 76, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 December 1912 — Commissioner Denham’s Duplicity. [ARTICLE]

Commissioner Denham’s Duplicity.

Concerning th e matter of the removal of Superintendent Nichols from the Jasper County poor farm, who has refused to resign at the request of the commissioners, who have now, it i e saJid ordered his removal, the Rensselaer Republican says of Commissioner Denham’s position regarding a change in superintendent, as reported recently in The Democrat, in reply to the Republican’s unwarranted attack on the democrat members of the board of commissioners:

County Commissioner Charles T. Denham of Remington, was a Rensselaer visitor today to attend the special session of the commissioners to close up the business of the year. He was asked about the action of the board in the matter of the request for the resignation of Superintendent Nichols at the county farm. and the discussion of the matter by Rensselaer newspapers. He said, “I see in The Jasper County Democrat that I have been outspoken against Nichols. This is not sb- f have had nothing to do with the proem dfeg seeking to remove him and have not said anything against his management of the county farm. There is no authority to quote me as being against him and 1 plainly said to the other commissioners, Messrs. Stackhouse ana Hcrshmau, that there was nothin;.; <o base any Opposition to him upon, I said if there were any members of the board of charities who wanted Mr. Nichols discharged they should file charges in writing and give the board authoriiy for an investigation. Their report is entirely favorable, making a suggestion fo r increased help and nothing else. I was asked to join with the other members of the board in the proceedings but refused to do so.”

This, in sobs.ance, was Mr. Denham’s statement, made in the presence of two other men. He said •more than that to refute the entirely false statement made by The Democrat to the effect that he was ‘‘outspoken’” against Nichols. * * * This should be sufficient to prove conclusively that the action is a poliitical one a<nd just as the Republican r eported it. The Republican is always overanxious to make The Democrat out a liar, and, likewise, always fails dismally in. its efforts. Personally, The Democrat never heard Commissioner Denham express himself in the matter at all, but it had the word of four reliable people who. had heard him express himself, including two members of the County Board of Charities, and on their statement based its authority.

At least one of these parties called up one of the editors of the Republican and told him that if Mr. Denham made the statements attributed to him iro that sheet he was a prevaricator of the first water; that he had openly expressed himself in the commissioners’ court room before two members of the county board’ of charities and the two democratic commissioners, and said that he had told Mr. Nichols he ought to resign. He said there was a feeling out there that could root be overcome as long as Mr. Nichols staid, and in the interests of all concerned a change should be made. • He was very outspoken in the matter at this time, and when he was called out for a few moments on some business the two members of the charity board remarked to the commissioners about it, and one of the latter, who knew Mr. Denham better than they did, said: “Yes, he is outspoken here, but when he gets with others he will be right the other way.” The Republicans idea of fairness is so warped that it makes no mention of what it had been told by this member of the charity board, for had it done so it would have shown that The Democrat's statement instead of having been “entirely false” was absolutely true.

The writer prefers to take the word of any one of the four -people who heard Mr. Denham in the commissioners' court room to that of his statement to the contrary now. and we’ve known him for over twenty years and take this fact into consideration in making the choice. All of these parties would make oath that The Democrat’s statement of Mr. Denham’s position, as he then expressed it, was corrept, no matter what he has to say now.