Rensselaer Union, Volume 3, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 August 1871 — A Card. [ARTICLE]

A Card.

, .'Wter awhile, perhaps. wo shall «*i4efetand whether Mr. Pendleton n lor or against the new departure.’’ ■—THucago Republican. , i * ’ What diljbrcucq will that make io llm public? Mr. Pendleton has had his da/ ns a public man and lus opinion now is worth no more than that of any other privato individual of. equal intelligence. Tl i«_ little hamlet of Knox, in fctarhe county, in the region where Jiucklcbcmcs and roots form the principle diet of its amphibious inhabitants and where all the marriagcblc young women arc web-footed and sleep with their heads out of the windows, being emulous of metropolitan notoriety advertises through the Ledger that a case of Asiatic cholera has appeared there. One word about swindlers, such as traveling quacks, humbug lecturers, lightning Tod, and patent right inen, and agents selling Southern lands. The editors of this paper notice them just for “pure cussedness,’’ as Artcuias Ward would saj'. We expose them just for the fun of the thing—juet to sec them wince and hoar them whine. AH we can say about them does no good; nobody is deterred from biting at their baits and being caught on their hooks. These scoundrels make their living out of a class ol’ fools who fire either so ignorant they can not read a newspaper, or are 60 perverse that they will loam only by dear experience. Intelligent, sensible people who read newspapers and reflect never or seldom are taken in by such tr&nsparent humbugs. The Laportc Herald contains cards of Judge Hannah, President of the Kackakoc Talley Draining Uoaapauy, and Frank C. McCurdy, one q£ its active members, withdrawing from the organization.— Hon. J. A. Bradley, its attorney, lAs also declined to serve it any further. Mr. Lanier, the Wall street broker who was engaged to soil tine company's bonds, has written that the great opposition of the people who own lands affected by its proposed work Las made the beads unsaleable. Nearly every laud-holder assessed by the company Los filed appeals from the assessment. Just now it looks aa if the company would be compelled to abandon its project on account of the almost unanimous and exceedingly bitter opposition it receives from every quarter. There has not been sucb an excitement in the country for years qver an affair so exclusively local iu its operations, as this, organization lias produced. Kansas and Nebraska have been well advertised but it required years of time and millions of money to do it; the Kankakee Valley is to-day as extensively published 5n the United States at loss than a thousandth part of the expense. There is scarcely a paper of influence in the country that lias not made some notice of the affair. * We have received from the office •of the South Bend Register a report •of a meeting of the citizens of the several counties of the Kankakee Valley, held in the city of Laporto August 26th, 1871, called for the purpose of effecting an united resistance to the operations of the Kankakee Yalley Draining Company at which resolutions w r ere adopted; ls|* Warning the public against lending money on the credit ol its assessments or mortgage. 3Sd. That the company has no legal authority to construct the work proposed and that the assessments and mortgages levied by it are invalid and constitute no legal incumbrance or liens upon the lands therein mentioned. 3d. That they will individually and collectively resist the collection and enforcement of the assessments and mortgages. 4th. That the company ought to dissolve and surrender their pretended charter. On motion the following committee was appointed to bring suit in the Federal Courlsj if thought expedient, and in such an event to dtevia* mesas to defray the necessgjry expense: Isaac Emery, of St Joseph, S. S.. Sabin, of LapOrte, Jason Osborne, of .Porter, Alfred Thompson, of Jaejper, David Turner, of Lake, W, IL Martin, M Newton and Jacob Keller, of Starke. We are told that the meeting of the Kankakee Draining Company, at Laportc, was attended by one director, and the only business of importance ho transacted was to adjourn sine dig, J

Rensselaer, Ind., Aug. 28, 1371. Mum. James it Hkai.ky: Editors Rensselaer Union: Gentlemen; —Will you have the kindness to permit mo through the medium of your columns to notice a charge made against a certain county officer of Jasper county by the Kentiand Gazette in its issue of 10th inst. alleging that a certain officer ha«l received a large per cent, op all the ordurs lie gave for blank books and stationery, that said per cent, was paid by the firm Die blank books, tfcc., were purchased of, and that said firm charged said per cent, back again in their bills to the county, thereby swindling the county to the amount of the large per cent, that he mentioned (he did not, however, givo the figures). Ido not know' the object of the Gazette in preferring that charge unless it was political, and deeming it political it is hut natural for me to arrive at the conclusion that the article teas meant for a drive at me. lie is as well aware of the political views of all the county officers of this county as are the editors of the Rensselaer Union, or as he is of the political view s of his own county officers. lie knows that all the officers of this county are republican save one and that ouc is the subject of his charge as a matter of course ho (the Gazette man) being intensely “loii”, and as republicans arc not iu the habit of making war on each other, neither are they first to cry out swindle, if the party perpetrating the swindle happens to be one who trains in the radical ranks. The Gazette mentioned no names in its charge, simply said “a certain county officer,” “a certain stationery firm,” &c. W e were desiroua of knowing to a certainty who those certain individuals were and for the purpose of .gaining that information we addressed the following letter signed by all the principle officers of this county, to Mr, Conner, the editor of the Gazette: Auditor's Office Jasper County, RENSSELAER, lNj»., Aug. 12th, 1871. Mr. J. B. Conner, Esq: Editor Kentund Gazette: Sir:— la your Issue of August 10th, 1871, you ■ publish an article wherein you charge a certain county officer of this county with having received a large per cent, on all the orders he gave for blank books and stationery furnished our county. That said large per cent, was received from a stationery house iu Indiana, and that said house charged this per cent, back to the county in their bills. Now will you have the kindness to inform us where you got your Information? And we are particularly desirous of knowing who that certain county officer is that has received that per cent, and swindled the county thereby. The citizens of this county do not know anything about the matter and we have oo doubt they would feel grateful, indeed, if you will give them in your next issue, the information we request of you. We have other reasons also for making the request which will be matte known in due season. Respectfully yours, Ira W. Yeomau, Aud. J. Co. E. L. Clark, Recorder “ “ • Charles Platt, Treas. “ “ Marion L. Bpitler, Cl’k ** “ A. J. Yeoman, Sheriff “ “ How much of the desired information we received from Mr. Conner in reply to the above letter will bo indicated in the following communication received a few days later ~— rz r * ‘ Kkntland, Ind., Ang. 18th, 1871. Messrs. I. W. Yeoman, & others, Rensselaer, Ind.

Gentlemen: Yours of the lltli inat. came duly to hand, asking the source of my information regarding the allegation that a county officer in your county had received a per cent, on the purchase of county supplies in books ahd stationery for Jasper county as alluded to in the Gazette of last week. The source of my Information was the remark, in my nearing, of a blank book and stationery man, wlio said he had furnished your county with these articles. He specially mentioned no names. The purpose of the remark was to Induce another party to engage in a similar contract. If required to mention the name of' that party, of course I should do so.— In that case, however, as to whether the allegation is true, his evidence would be better and more admissible. Respectfully yours, John B. Conner, ( That is to the point and satisfactory, with a vengeance, is it not? Quite, refreshing, indeed. Well, he says if required td mention the name of that party, of course he should do so, and for that purpose I addressed the following letter to him: Auditor’s Office Jasper Co., I Rensselaer, Ind., Aug. 19, 1871. Mr. J. B. Conner, E6q., Editor Kentland Gazette, Kentland, Ind. Dear Sir: Your favor of lStk inst. Is at hand and in reply we beg leave to call your attention to the fact that you have failed entirely to answer any of those questions which were propounded iu a former communication to you—questions that are pertinent to tho subject under investigation. Those questions were put iu a 'friendly manner, and now, in the aaine spirit* w« wilL repeat, them— or three of them —let. We demand the name pf ypur informant. 2nd. The house iu Indiana (or any other State) that we received a per cent, from on our orders for blank books, Ac. 3rd. We demaiui Die name of the county Officer hero that received that per cent. This we ask in the name of all the county officers of this county. Respectfully yours. Ira w. Yeoman, Auditor.

Now let us see how well ho told us the party’s nntno who first infogmed him of our corruption In office and how well ho nuswacpd the other questions. Jt wiilfbo shown liy r.cflding the following communication; Kknti.'a.xd, Ixn. Aug. 22, 1871. Mu. Ij( a W. Yeoman, Rensselaer, Ind. Dear Sir: Yours of the 10th’ inst. lias lust come to hand. I wrote you] on the 18th iqst. in reply to yours, very \ frankly all tlint l deemed of importance) to write, ami I regrt't thut you appear so much Interested regarding the facts concerning a matter with which you Impliedly disclaimed all personal con- j nection. Allow me to again refer you to my letter of tho 18th inst. for further reply. Respectfully yours, JpiiN B. Conner. llow is that for more light on the subject? I fail to see the name of his informant yet, yet ho said he would give it if we desire it. I declare I am beginning to lose faith in Mr. Conner’s veracity. Jf he failed to speak the truth in this case couldn’t he as easily caqsc printer’s ink to deviate from the path of truthfulness? A path, we presume, that is not traveled much in the vicinity of the Gazette office, and consequently dim, which fact wc presume ought to go as far as it will towards palliating punishment for Mr. Conner’s misdemeanors. Mr. Conner should be careful to make charges hereafter that he nun substantiate or'make none at all, or if he does persist in making statements that he knows nothing about it would be honorable and gentlemanly for him to retract his false statements (and they are many), and give equal publicity to retractions that he does to his charges butiu this instance does he do it? No, he makes the charge and when he finds the matter is about to undergo an investigation he writes private letters to tho injured party and makes half way acknowledgments of his falsehood, leaving the matter rest in the mipds of the people as when Le first jilib-lisbedtbe-etatemen tv My object in addressing this article to your paper is to set the matter right, as nearly as possible, in the minds of the people, and to indicate to them the character of the mail who controls this Kentland Gazette. Respectfully yours, Ira W. Yeoman.