THANKS FOR THE COMPLIMENT ANYWAY
February 3, 1948
The Honorable Frank M. Martin
Spencer, Indiana
My dear Frank: . . . You have made it hard to refuse your kind and thoughtful offer to make the after-dinner talk in March. There are many, many reasons why I should not, among them being I am totally out of practice, and my experience with false teeth has been fearful- -and unexpected.
Frank, I want you to realize I am sincerely obliged for your thoughtfulness in asking me down. Invitations of that character are coming fewer and farther between. As a matter of cold fact, however, I am oratorically about where old Anthony Battle, an ex- slave, was financially a long time ago when Uncle Bob Black operated a horse and mule sale barn here. Needing some change, he turned to Anthony and asked him if he had change for a $10 bill. "No suh", said Uncle Anthony, "but ah thanks you fo' th' compl'ment jes th' same." As Ever,