Two letters between Julien C. Yonge, editor of the Florida Historical Quarterly, and Hamilton Holt, President of Rollins...

ROLLINS COLLEGE
WINTER PARK, FLORIDA
HAMILTON HOLT, PRESIDENT

OFFICE OF THE PrINIDBNT March 23, 1944








Mr. Julien C. Yonge, Editor
The Florida Historical Quarterly
1924 East Jackson Street
Pensacola, Florida

My dear Mr. Yonges

Yesterday was the first opportunity I have had to
look over the Florida Historical Quarterly for October and I was
quite surprised to see the way you treated THE ST. JOHNS by Branch
Cabell and my associate, Fred Hanna.

I am sure you will pardon my being very frank in saying
that a joint book by such a recognized writer as Branch Cabell and
such a proved historian as Fred Banna, the former a winter visitor
and the latter a native Floridian, about Florida's most famous river
deserves really a review and not a blanket condemnation. If the
book is %mart, irrelevant and inconsequential and the history garbled,
there is no reason why such a review should not state all those facts,
tho I have seen other reviews that take the opposite point of view.
In other words, I have no objection whatever to you or anyone else
damning the book if you think it deserves it, but your review is an
unsigned total condemnation of the book, which would seem to commit
the Society and all its subscribers to the judgment expressed.

Don't you think that Mr. Eanna, who has always been an
active member of the Society, and unless I am mistaken, its President
at one time, deserves a little more respectful treatment? It is evi-
dent that you do not like the book, but you have given nothing to prove
it or those who do not agree with you the chance to weigh what you say.

Perhaps you will forgive this letter but I am an old editor
myself and don't like to see a Quarterly, which of all types of maga-
zines should be ready to prove its point, treat such a book with the
same "irrelevance" that the book is charged with.

Very sincerely yours,
5 6 got-





March 28, 1944


My dear Dr. Holt
I am replying to your.letter of March RS.
As I sent a large part of many days on the manusaoript and
later the proof of the St. Jonha volume, I knew more or leaE
of its writing.
In the parts which he wrote, Mr. Cabell .made many historical
errors, ~ame auite conspicuous. I knew Frei Hanna wouaU be
held responelble for whatever in the took relates to history.
Above all, his reputation for historical aoouracy and hiatorioal
honesty must not suffer, I felt, for Mr. Cabell's faults.
Our gMftgrty reaches only a few, but those are the very ones
to whom I wanted to sWvaest k. distinctloa- between Fred Ranna 's
"new, authentic and interesting" portions, and Hr. C-bell's
"ima ;inul and garbled" irrelevancies. 'f'.ith that purpose in
mind I considered the matter, end even the wording of the note,
long and carefully.
I hnve learned that, with, some at least of those who at.tter
most historically la Florida, my purpose was carried out
sucoeeefully.

Sineerely
Dr. Ramilton Holt
Winter kark, FloridA