Referring to your editorial in Sunday’s paper under the heading “Pleasing to Those Who Pay the Bills,” I beg to say I do not know what Mr. Cox said, I only know what I read he said in the Winston Journal, which I cut out and sent to him in a letter telling him there was not a word of truth in what he had to say about my trying to use politics in the location of the hard surface road from near Wentworth to Leaksville.
The fact is I am perfectly familiar with their own varied affairs with every foot of the country through which either route will pass. I am entirely disinterested as I do not own a dollar’s worth of property in Leaksville, Wentworth or in Reidsville and would suffer very little if any I inconvenience if the road was never built, and these gentlemen, who asked me to go with them and talk this over with Mr. Cox, knew this and I suppose they thought I, a disinterested party, would have more influence than those who lived along the route or had other interests. I was just getting in my car to go to my farm when they came along and asked me to go with them to High Point to see Mr. Cox. Not a word was said about politics by them or me and not a word was said about politics by me to Mr. Cox.
More than 40 years ago I ran a line from the Dan River bridge to Reidsville, hunting for a road as near the direct line as possible. I did this without pay from any one and the road was built by T.W. Field without any charge on his part, with what little money he could get by subscription, a part of which I paid. This route ran very close to the route which the parties, who asked me to go with them to see Mr. Cox, were advocating. I had this knowledge. I told Mr. Cox frankly that he was going to cross the river at the right place in my opinion, but that he could reach this point as well by the near route as be the longer and that he would save between one and two miles which would mean a saving of something like $50,000, which he admits, as reported in the Journal will be $48,000. Therefore after giving him this information, I merely suggested that he have his engineer examine both routes and report on them both and then he be governed by this report. But I never once even mentioned politics in any way. I believe, however, that Mr. Numa Reid, one of the party, did say something about voting for Mr. Cox for governor, but that was not me, yet Mr. Cox kicks me out and deliberately charges me with what never occurred, as far as I am concerned, as if he wanted to boast of the purity of his political and business virtue, which has never been questioned so far as I know but he might as well have told the truth while boasting of it. I never knew enough in my life and have always welcomed information and thought he was built the same way, but I was mistaken.
In this connection I am reminded of what Henry Shutt said to me once. We were riding along and passed a negro who was fixing his wagon and was doing it in a very clumsy way. I told him that I thought he would fix it easier and better in another way which I pointed out and he road on. After we had gone a little way Shut said to me, that is a thing I never do. I said what? He said, “Give advice that it was not asked for.” I asked him why, and he said because the wise don’t need it, and the fools won’t heed it. I am finding this to be true where I least expect it sometimes.
But in closing I must say that in all my experience this is the first time I ever knew it was a sin to discuss a public matter with a public affair, because forsooth I happen to be honored by my fellow citizens with a little official position; and more especially as I am one of those furnishing the money he is spending.
I am just in receipt of a letter from Hon. J.R. Joyce, who was one of the party referred to in which is this expression, “You will recall that you asked him to have his engineers go over the route proposed, and make a report on the same, and that he assured you that he would do this. He never had the route surveyed as he promised.” There is much more in Mr. Joyce’s letter bearing on this subject which I do not feel I have the right to publish without Mr. Joyce’s permission.
Anyway, what I have said should be enough.
--C.A. Reynolds, in Greensboro News
From the front page of The Reidsville Review, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 1922
No comments:
Post a Comment