The Story of a Dark Plot; Or, Tyranny on the FrontierA.L.O.C.
History
The Story of a Dark Plot; Or, Tyranny on the Frontier
A.L.O.C.
Smith, William W.; Temperance
"Mr. Tait says I was asleep when assaulted. This I do not deny,
but he knows his operators all sleep more or less during the
night, when they understand the position of their trains. Every
railway man knows this. But why are these matters brought before
the public now? Why was I not allowed a hearing by the officers
of the Company? If a collision occurs on the line, or other
serious things occur, the parties concerned are given a chance to
clear themselves. If men get drunk and damage the Company's
property, they are given a hearing, and in many cases they resume
work. But all this was denied me. There must have been a reason
for this; it must be because Mr. Tait really understood the whole
matter thoroughly, as he says in his letter, 'This
correspondence' (referring to these later charges) 'is
insignificant,' and especially as he has said to a _Witness_
reporter, and published in the _Witness_ of July 11th: 'I have no
proof that Mr. Smith has violated the confidence of the Company.'
No, my serious offence was, as Mr. Tait states, 'the taking in
public an active part on either side of such moot questions as I
have referred to.'
"Mr. Tait also stated that this rule applies to questions of
politics. Now, if the same rule applied to temperance as applies
to politics, I would still be in my position as agent of the
Canadian Pacific Railway at Sutton Junction, for during the last
general elections the Company would have allowed me to move
heaven and earth, if possible, to elect their candidate, which we
did through their wire pulling. I don't wonder people say the
Canadian Pacific Railway runs the government, but they cannot run
the Brome County Alliance or any of the other temperance
organizations. I would like to ask Mr. Brady in connection with
these charges, why he should add insult to injury by asserting
that the temperance people could all 'go to h----l,' and he 'does
not care a G---- d----' for them all, and why was I approached in
an obscure way, and inducements made to me to resign my position
as President of the Brome County Alliance, and give up lecturing
on temperance, and retain my position as agent of the Canadian
Pacific Railway? These are some facts that more clearly reveal
the real cause for my dismissal, and the source from which
opposition to me really came, namely, the liquor traffic, exerted
through its emissaries.
"It should be borne in mind that every scrap of evidence against
me, such as it is, has been trumped up, since my dismissal. Who
before ever heard of a man being sentenced and executed and then
the evidence of his guilt hunted up?
"W. W. SMITH.
"_Sutton, December 24th, 1894._"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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