Resignation

Now I was faced with a number of problems. I had missed the weekend National Guard drill and I could not drive to meetings, or anywhere else.

On Sunday, after my escapade Friday night and subsequent release from jail Saturday, I had my roommate take me to the Ashland camp site and asked for a meeting with the battalion commander.

I told him what had happened and said that for my best interests, and that of the Guard, I would like to resign my commission. He agreed and subsequently the papers were processed to that effect. I was required to stay in the inactive reserve until my time was up.

Finals were underway at school and I got through them somehow. I think I flunked Con Law and just barely got by in Legislation. The other courses were a little better but it didn’t really matter since I had already agreed to take over the paper in Stanton and would not be coming back to law school.

My contract with Jim and Bette Cornwell had a morality clause in it so I was faced with the possibility they might invoke it in light of my conduct.

After discussing it with them, they decided not to pursue that contract clause, but my position was certainly weakened. I was disappointed to find out later Jim had called a friend on the Lincoln papers in an attempt to kill the court report on me. He would not take that kind of action for anyone with regard to his own paper, so I was amazed he would attempt it with a metropolitan daily. I suppose some word of my indiscretion got back to Stanton but I was never confronted with it.