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130TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1996 " Local issues fought on newspaper pages Continued From Page 5 competition for public fa- vour, he deserves only the contempt of every honest man and should not be shielded through false del- icacy from the just indig- nation and scorn of the public". In the same edition of the paper was a report of the Prince Albert Infantry Company on duty in Toronto. Their assignment was to guard certain buildings, including banks. Their main duty was to guard the Toronto Jail where a number of cap- tured Fenians were being held. The article stated that the Fenians were "... the most God forsaken and fiendish looking beings I ever saw or heard tell... They were certainly in the shape of men, in some re- spects but a mere glance will at once convince the beholder that the latent or mental faculties which constitute the principal of a man, have no existence in their heterogeneous composition...the whole are a good sample of bar- room loafers of the lowest class..." In the next issue, the Company's return home to Prince Albert, was given extensive coverage. Cap- tain Forman lined up his company and marched them into the village where they were given a flattering address by the Captain and then by busi- nessman George Currie. Afterwards they were dis- missed and dispersed into the huge crowd of admir- ing family members and well-wishers. Later a ban- quet was held in their hon- our, a commemorative medal was struck and Captain Forman was pro- moted to the rank of Ma- Jor. . The on-going debate be- tween the respective fol- lowers of Wright and Adam Gordon continued through all this time of concern and celebration. Wright was supported by letters and affadavits from Richard Bray. Bray ran a tannery beside Bea- ver Creek on the north side of the Prince Albert road immediately to the west of Wright. He was also supported by Charles Payne and Henry Spring. Gordon received letters of support from A.W. Ew- ers who owned and farmed the 80 acre parcel which stretched from the north of Manchester all the way to the 6th concession. Payne stated that he was at the Township Council meeting when Abel W. Ewers promised "...to repair the road east of Manchester and either repair the bridge or build a new one." Adam Gordon respond- ed to Wright's "foul and cantankerous abuse" by offering a fifty dollar re- ward, to be paid to the Reach council through Wright's "...proving my statements at variance" with the facts..." By July the debate in the letters to the editor continued but with a gen- eral deterioration in tone. The writers had resorted to a level of name calling Scugog Chamber of Commerce extends congratulations to the Port Perry Star as they celebrate their 130th year of publication! The Scugog Chamber of Commerce has been proud to serve the area for 40 years and participate in many of the community activities. Its involvement has included the construction of the tennis courts, ball diamonds, Scugog Arena, Scugog Memorial Library. the Hospital Fund, Festival Days, Western Days, Canada Day celebrations, Santa Claus parade, circus, business seminars, weed control on Lake Scugog, post cards, township beautification and promoting tourism. Become a chamber member today! We need your support to make good things happen in Scugog! Call 985-4971 or visit the Chamber office, 269 Queen Street, Port Perry. which today would be con- sidered libelous and slan- derous. Gordon called Wright "...a species of moral pole- cat..." Wright responded by saying; "He (Gordon) may prate about an hones- ty he does not possess and a sense of honour to which heis a stranger..." He then goes on to comment on the "vanity, egotism, conceit and cox-combry" of Gor- don. In the July 12 issue of the Observer, A. Springre- ferred to Gordon and his supporters as the "Man- chester Jackals" and to Ewers as the "Stump eradi- cator dnd late Post Master of Manchester... bar room Orator and chief sucker of the community." : On August 9, The Ob- server printed a paid ad- vertisement from E. Mundy. The advertise- ment was the prospectus of the Port Perry Stan- dard. In it Mundy stated that, "The Stan- dard...whilst non- political, will be made to subserve the various and useful purposes of a family newspaper." It also stated "As an ad- vocate of all that is calcu- lated to advance the inter- ests of Port Perry and vi- cinity, the Standard will identify with every meas- ure and every individual earnestly devoted to the same... In this connection, correspondence on any question affecting the ad- vancement and progress of this locality will be fa- vourably attended to." With this statement it was clear that a liberal policy with regards to"Letters to the Editor" would be ap- plied. Unfortunately Wright versus Gordon is- sue came to an abrupt end in the Observer. The Council moved on to the more pressing matter of raising funds to help fi- nance the railroad and to argue the merits of the various routes proposed for it. The Confederation at the fed- eral level and the on-going concern over the Fenian menace aided in taking the interests of the editor and the readers away from the issue of name calling. Or, maybe the editor had just decided that the issue had gone on for too long. Henry Gordon's Port Perry business partner, Thomas Shaw died on Sep- tember 12. He was only 22 years old. But the citizens of Reach could now look for- ward to an era of two clear- ly defined and usually op- posing points of view to be expressed through the pages of the two rival newspapers. the prospects of = (© ne com MEMO HOSPITAL sl wecare & Tickers: $25.00 & 50 We at D] Taylor Insurance are proud to have been pro line of general insurance t of area residents It is most gratifying to k our valued clients well in the forward to maintaining this & ~~ oe A special thank you DJ TAY INSURANCE BROKER!