Article Text
LETTER FROM JAMES S. WARDEN. KANSAS CITY, Mo., June 24th, 1889. EDITOR THOMAS COUNTY CAT: Whether an editorial in your last issue relating to my alleged connection with the failure of the Hall & Martin Bank, was the result of active malice, or mere careless thoughtlessness, I now have no means of knowing; but the effect on me is the same in one case as in the other. For the reason that that editorial contains statements so false as to seriously injure me, without any benefit to any person living. I must ask that you secure and publish the facts, and say editorially, that you were in error. The facts. relating to the subject matter of the editorial, are: That no note, bond, bill, obligation, security, or chose in action of the Hall & Martin Bank ever came into my hands for re-discount, or otherwise, for which the money in full has not been paid to that bank, or to its order: that I did not, and do not now, owe that bank, nor its predecessor the First National Bank of Colby, one dollar; that no letter written by any one was ever at any time received by me in which it was claimed that I did owe to either of these banks any sum of money whatever; that I did not, nor do 1 now, hold any security of any kind of either of these banks, and that my entire and only connection with the Hall & Martin Bank, since its organization. has been as an officer of the bank in this city with which they kept their account current. I not only did not have. directly or indirectly, any censurable connection with the failure of the Hall & Martin Bank, but on the contrary thereof I labored earnestly and zealously with the directors of a bank in this city, with which I was connected as an officer, to induce them to extend to Hall & Martin such further credit as would have tided them over the temporary wave which finally caused their suspension. The officers of the Hall & Martin Bank will verify my statements as to my rela tion to and connection with that bank, while the directors of the bank here will bear witness to the fact that I did all that any man could have done to avert the unfortunate failure of the Hall & Martin Bank. If the injury done me by that editorial, was not wantonly inflicted, you will not hesitate to do me the justice of publishing this card. and an editorial retraction of the libelous matter complained of, in the next issue of your paper. Very Truly. JAMES S. ARDEN. [Portions of the article, one of which was the matter above referred to was written upon what we have since learned was misinformation, there was no malice intended and the correction of the errors in that article is cheerfully made. In this issue we do all in our power to set the matter right before the public and publish confirmatory matter of the facts as they are set out in the above letter. EDITOR.]
