James R. Osgood & Company to Walt Whitman, 10 April 1882
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JAMES R. OSGOOD & CO., Publishers.
211 Tremont Street. Boston, April 10 1882 Walt Whitman Esq Dear Sir:
We have laid before the District Attorney the alterations proposed by you. They are not satisfactory.
The argument is as follows; if there is a case against the book in its existing form it is not removed or weakened by the changes you propose. If there is no case there is no need of making these changes.
We do not attempt
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to express an opinion on the point of whether there is a case against the original book. But we certainly do
think that if there is such a case it would lie with
almost equal force
against the book after the modifications proposed by you have been made.
As we said at the outset we do not wish to go into court in connection with this case.
Therefore as your views seem to be irreconcilable
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with those of the official
authorities there seems no alternative for us but to decline to further circulate
the book. We should be open to any reasonable arrangement for turning the plates over to
you.
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Notes
- 1. Whitman renumbered these pages in blue pencil. [back]