- Transcription
IVIE, TROTTER & JOHNSTON
ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW
YANCEYVILLE, N.C.
7/17/1918.
Governor T. W. Bickett,
Raleigh,
N.C.
Honerable Sir:
I have been informed of the fact that you have received a letter from some or one patriotic citizen of this county relative to me as being a slacker. I as Cahairman of the Legal Advisory Board have found from reading instructions gotton out by the goverment that no letter would be recognized unless it was sworn to, and I am writing to you at this time to ask of you if this letter or affidavi was sworn to? Governor you have no doubt after reading same that the facts stated in same are based upon prejudice, facts which were told him as he says and without foundation, and for political purposes And in justice to myself I am also asking you to please find out from some one who is acquainted with the writer as to how much time he has given to his country, how many goverment bonds he has purchase and how many patriotic talks he has made over the county, whether or not he ever was a canidate for office and was defeated for nomination last but not least whether he would be believed on oath.
It is not my purpose to set my side of the case before you for it has been made out in the way of affidavits by five or six of our most substancial citizens of the county, some of whom now hold our county offices, they are people who know the facts and did not make their affiadvits on what they have heard and as to my not spending my time in some patriotic duty I beg to say that I as a member of the advisory board have given lots and lots of my time towards filling out questionaires and drawing affidavits as Mr. B. T. W Wilson and my self are the only two attorneys in the town beside the Goverment Appeal Attorney and consequently we had the burden to bearin this line, you can also find out what I have contributed in th way of buying Liberty Loan Bonds by writing here to the bank, and as to my farms that I look after, they are here to showw for themselves. I can be substanciated when I say that I grow more wheat than any man in the draft age in the county and I dare say that there is not more that a half dozen men out of the draft age in the county that will produce more wheat or corn than I do. I give almost my entire attention to my agricultural interests. I have spent in the las six months in the way of farm impliments something arround $1250.00 to $1500.00 this machinery being in the nature of labor saving kind I have never been engaged in any thing else in my life but farm work during the summer months with the exception of the summers of 1914-5 In 1915 I spent the summer at Wake Forest College in law school the summer before I was engaged in the Rail Road business in Georgia. The winter months of those years I was in school. The wheat crop that has just been harvested I cut some 10 to 12 acres of same my self. And owing to our farming interests over the county it is necessary that I go about to see the farms and in going to see them I have A Ford car for that use.
In conclusion I would like to have the name of the party that wrote the letter, that it was written for a motive baced on prejudic and without inquiring as to the facts, and when written the party knew that he was mistating the facts the reason that he wishes to play behind closed doors.
Now Governor please pardon me for writing all of this to you but I feel it my duty to do so, and for further information in the case you can get it from any reliable man arround here who will make affidavit to same and will be glad to do it in my behalf because they know the circumstances. I have a widowed mother and six brothers and sisters under the age of twenty one years old one brother and the oldest brother is not but 19 years of age and is now engaged in construction work at a camp located at or near Williamsburg, Va. and was engaged in same kind of work last year at Camp Lea, Va. He has not yet finished the high school here and is totally unfit to attent to the managment of money or farming interest. The only other brother is only 7 years of age now.
I suppose no man at this stage of citizenship will be tried and convicted upon such evidence as has been reported to you in regard to my case.
With best wishes, I remain,
Most respectively,
P. S. I welcome an investigation by you of the case at any time.
