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HOKE SMITH WOULD HAVE EXCLUDED
WATSON VOTERS FROM BALLOT BOX
IN APPROACHING PRIMARY ELECTION
Clark Howell Makes
Assertion in Friday’s
Joint Debate.
SAYS COMMITTEE WAS
OF SMITH'S CREATION
Charges Profits From Piedmont j
Bar Were Applied to Mortgage
on Hotel and Not to Charity.
In hi* speech In the Joint debate with
Hoke Smith at the Peachtree auditor
ium Friday night, Mr. Howell eald:
Mr. Chairman, Fellow-Citizens ami
Friends: Having recognised the fact
that In politic*, a* In all other thing*,
men mu*t differ, I am glad to addres*
vnu tonight, whether you be for me or
whether you bo agolnat, me, a* friend*
and fellow-citlien* of Atlanta.
-jtiat a few word*., fellow-citizens—
lust a few word* by way of preliminary
In malting a utatement a* to why I
miked for a Joint discussion here to
night.
-My adversary, In * peaking on every
Htutnp In this state for the pant year,
hill seen lit to attack me, to attack
my record in the general aanembly. HI*
supporters here In the city of Atlanta,
his newspaper organ, has seen lit to
attack me from time to time, to mailc-
inutile misrepresent me. On every
etutnp In the »tate of Georgia, dur
ing the past year, my adversary has
tern lit to .misrepresent me before the
people of the state of Georgia by at
tacking my record a* made In the gen
eral assembly of this state, for which
time I have served the people of my
home county: and my record as a
member of the general assembly Is an
open book for your Inspection.
Reason for Challenge.
'Gentlemen, the reason that I chal
lenged my adversary to meet me here
tonight at his own meeting Is that In
his campaign In thin state, covering a
period of a year, he has attacked my
legislative record, he nas attacked the
honesty of my purpose, and I wanted
to meet him before the people who
know him and the people who know
me, In order that, having made the at
tacks before this audience, that he haa
made In the different parts of the state,
1 might have an opportunity to answer
him before my fellow-cltlsens.
"He lias spoken, fellow-cltlsens, he
has spoken here to you for one hour,
and 1 call your attention to the fact
that here tonight, that during that en
tire hour, he has not put his fingers
upon one single vote that I ever cast in
the general ussembly of this state
showing that I have at any time ever
sacrificed the Interest of the people
who sent me there. In behalf of any
corporation.
"Ah. fellow-cltsens, what an easy
thing It Is for a man to attack an
other man's character without any
sperlflc statement, He makes a note
now, and I assume, therefore, that It
Is his purpose In his lost half hour,
when he knows that I will have no
opportunity to reply, to attack me,
when In hi* first address before this
audience he did not have the courage
to do so.
Wanted Charges Repeated.
"He has not repeated to this au
dience, my fellow-cltsens, to those who
know him, and to those who know
me. the charges that he haa made on
every other stump In the state of Geor
gia. I hnd hoped, fellow-cltlsens, that
he would do that tonight In his first
speech, so that 1 might haVe an op
portunity to reply to him here. I know
these iieopte, and these people know
me. and these people know him.
"Karly In this campaign, fellow-cit
izens, long before the primary election
In this county was held, I made the
proposition on every stump In Georgia
on which I spoke that. In order to
avoid an unseemlng local conflict here
st home between two home candidates,
that I would cheerfully leave to my
home people an arbitrament as to
which of the two should represent
them.
“I made the statement, fellow-citi
zens, that If In such a contest If I
could secure his consent, I would with
draw from the race in his favor. If I
did not carry, first, Fulton county; If
I did not carry, second, the city of
Atlanta. More than that, I made the
pro|H>sltlon that I would withdraw
from this race in hla favor If I did
not carry the own home ward In which
he lives.
Would Leave It To Bar.
"Who should know him best—who
should know him. If ft Is not the mem
bers of hla own profession, the mem-
bet* with whom he has served here
during the past thirty years? Who
should know him best. If It should not
lie the people of his own county and
his own ward?
"And yet, notwithstanding my prop
osition, repeatedly made to him
throughout the state of Georgia, what
«a* his answer to It when he first
liecame cognisant of It, In his speech at
Banders*III*, Qn.T
'".Mr. Howell wants to leave the set
tlement of this contest to the city of
Atlanta: I repudiate the suggestion.
He said: 'I repudiate the suggestion
because It Is an Insult to the balance of
the state.*
"He repudiated the suggestion to
leave It to you, his fellow cltlsens, men
* ho he knows know him. and who
know me. He repudiated the sugges
tion that the settlement of this ques
tion should be left to you, a* an Insult
to the people of this state. He did not
KENTUCKIANS GOING
HOME.
A large party of Kentuckians will
leave Atlanta tomorrow afternoon at
130 p. m. over the Southern railway
in through sleeper for Louisville to at
tend "The Home-Coming Week for
Kentuckians." This party leaving
Sunday afternoon win occupy through
sleepers Atlanta to Louisville arrang
ed for all who desire making the trip:
“Giving Louisville Monday morning
* 36. Rate from Atlanta to Louisville
and return I13.6S; sleeping car-rate
per double berth $*.60. Call at South
ern railway ticket office No. 1, Peach-
'tee street, or Terminal station for
tickets and deeping car reservations.
Southern Railway will also run
through sleepers Atlanta to Louisville
on afternoon Tuesday. June 12th.
Sleeping car diagrams are now open
*nd reservations being made.
accept the proposition, fellow cltlxea*.
because he knew that If he had accept
ed It. then and there, would a quietus
have been put to his campaign, by his
own people here In Fulton county, and
yet. fellow cltlsens—and yet, this Is
the man. afraid of his own people,
afraid to leave to them the settlement
of the question of hla candidacy, he has
himself gone sowing broadcast over
this state, statements about me and my
record, which he Is afraid to repeat
here to the people of my home county.
And this Is the man. fellow cltlsens.
who has charged me with sins and with
Iniquities of which he knows that he
alone Is guilty, and which he tries to
put on other shoulders In order that
they may be diverted from him.
Paid to Fight for Rate Reduetton.
"He talks about the freight rate fight
here In the city of Atlanta, and I would
thank you to recollect what I have tn
say on this subject. He preaentuhlm-
self to you tonight as the great father
of the freight rate fight here In Atlan
ta. And the fact remains that before
he ever opened his mouth one slngls
time on the subject of freight reduc
tions I had had fifty editorials on the
question of freight reductions, and he
never chirped In behalf of reduced
freight rates to the city -of Atlanta,
through the Atlanta freight bureau,
until I wont In my pocket to the or
ient of $100 anil hired him to appear
for this movement
"It Is an easy thing, fellow cltlsens,
It Is an easy thing for a man tn. come
and try to soil another man's conduct
and I charge tonight before this audi
ence. that never in one single syllable,
directly or indirectly, did he utter one
word In behalf of freight rate reduction
until, as an attorney, he was paid to do
so by. the Atlanta freight bureau, and I
went In my own pocket to the extent of
1100 to do It. Somebody called his at-'
tentlon to this fact some time ago.
and asked him what about It, and what
do you suppose was his answer? He
said: 'Why. the Atlanta freight bu
reau returned Mr. Howell's money,
and yet he did not do me the common
Justice tn say to his friends tonight In
your presence that, that money was not
returned to me until every other mem
ber of the Atlanta freight bureau was
r tld back by the guarantee fund that
engaged to pay him, as the|r attor
ney, and I was the last man that got
my money back.
Never Charged HI* People.
“I never received a dollar of railroad
money In my life. More than that, fel
low cltlsens. I never In my life, so help
me God. I,never charged the people of
my home city one single dollar for de
fending them. He has gone over this
state, fellow cltlsens, making the
charge Indirectly, and by the mean*
of alt methods of attack, the unholy
method of the highwayman,- the
attack by Innuendo, gdlng all
over this state.. making It ap
pear to the people of this state there
was soma kind of pipe line connection
between roe and the railroads of this
** "He has not made that charge to
night, because he dared not do so, and
I state, fellow cltlsens—I state, fellow
dtlsene—If that charge has been nude
on every stump In the state of Georgia,
a a reported In the columne of the At
lanta newspaper which , represents him.
If he chargee directly or Indirectly tbtt
any railroad on the face of this earth
has one particle Interest In me, or In
my candidacy, or that I am lined up
SSd obligated, directly or ‘nrilrjectly- to
any railroad on the face of this earth,
he tell* a deliberate falsehood.
Not a Railroad Stockholder.
"I never received a dollar, I never
received a fee, I never put myself In a
complication directly or Indirectly: I
never was a atockholder in any rail
road on the face of the earth, even to
one'penny’s extent, and no railroad on
the tee of this earth ever owned one
penny’s Interest In any property In
which I am now, or ever have been,
^"ilV’flrst obligation, fellow cltlsens,
from the day that I attained the age of
man, my first obligation la, and always
has been, to this great state, which I
love better than any spoi on th*
of the earth, and for which I would
dl "And yet, let ua look Into the record
nowof this man—of this man who seeks
to tie me up with the railroad* byasys-
tsm of falsehood* that he has scattered
broadcast over every part of this state
and of which he falls to sustain a sln-
gla charge tonight. Whom now, fel-
low cltlsens, I charge with having not
only been tied up with the railroads
of this state for the greater part of
the past eighteen yesre. but 1 charge
him with having frequently accepted
« from the ^Breads of this state,
with having put himself under obliga
tion to tha extent of loans from ths
railroad ow ners of this sute, and more
than that, fellow cHlsens, >-charge him
with having been the beneficiary ofthe
very thing that he atacks on this floor
tonight
That *40000 Loin From Morgan.
"Follow clttxens. In hi* address here
tonight Ha has attacked the watered
stocks of i the railroads of this state.
Let me call'your attention to the fact
that the only people on the fae of
the earth who could have been tl e
beneficiary from the watered stocks of
the railroads of the state were the
stockholders themselves. I never had
one penny's stock In any railroad, and
1 defy hlin In his remarks Itr conclus
ion tonight—I defy him to deny that
he became a large stockholder In the
speculative market of the Southern
railway, that he negotiated hts *40,000
loan from Mr. J. Plerpont Morgan. Ah,
fellow cltlsens, I do not blame him for
having gone to Wall street to borrow
*40,000 from the owner of the Southern
und the Central Railroads, at th* very
time that the columns of the newspa
per he then owned were being leveled
against these railroads operated In the
state, hut I do charge that frmr the
day that they loaned this amount—and
I defy him to produce tonight one sin
gle line during the entire pendency of
that loan, covering a period of nearly
two years—I defy him to produce a sin
gle line In the columns of his news
paper where any time during the whole
two year* he ever attacked Mr. Mor
gan or Mr. Spencer In ’ the state of
Georgia.
Atlanta Journal 8tock.
"He tells you that he put up the
stock of his paper. The Atlanta Journal,
as collateral at that time, he owning
three-fourts In said newspaper then,
and yet go back to the' tax records of
Fulton county and you will find that
the collateral that was put up as secur
ity for the (40,000 loan, which Mr. Tom
Loyless, of The Chronicle of Augusta,
declares at ths time he put hts con
victions In soak In Wall street, that
the stock of the paper that he put up
as collateral was sworn here In Fulton
county as being only worth *20,000, and
three-quarters Interest for the entire
loan.
"Somebody n moment ago made the
statement, ‘What about free passes?'
In nil probability, fellow cltlsens, the
man was addressing Mr. Smith, and
not me, because he knows more about
free passes and private cars than I do.
(Voice from the audience, 'Tell us
where you stand.')
Favors Anti-Pass Bill.
, "I will' tell you where I stand;
somebody asks me where I 'stand. Give
me a minute, and listen to me while I
reply. I am In favor of the passage of
the bill known as the antl-free pas*
bill now pending before the legislature
of the state and which will pass dur
ing the summer session, but I do say,
fellow cltlsens, I oo say, that If 1 had
ridden all over this country on. free
passes; If I had had private cars at
my command whenever t wanted them;
If I could get a private car at any time
1 wanted It, merely .by touching a bell
and having It hitched on 40 some train
to carry me from Washington city to
Yellowstone Park, I would be the last
man In the state of Georgia to turn to
another man and'say, 'Sir,.you are a
dishonest man, a rascal for doing the
same thing I have been doing all my
life.' I dare him no*', fellow cltlasna;
1 dare him now—listen tn this and list
en to his answer—1 dare him now In
hla concluding remarks to deny that
he has used free passe* over the rail
roads, and I dare him to deny that
when In Washington Id tha Interior de
partment, when It. was hla duty to
pas* In Judgment upon the title to mll-
ilons of acres of government lands In
the west; I dare him. to deny that when
he went out there, he went there In a
well-equipped private car over the rail
road system along whose very line he
was called upon to act; and, fellow
cltlsens, If he docs deny.lt; If he does
deny II, I will. If he asfca me to do to,
produce the proofs, and If I cannot pro-
dilce the proofs I will get out of the
race for governor.
“Th# Hop# of tho 8tato."
"Fellow cltlsens, some man In the au
dience—I like to get questions from
the audience—some man In the audi
ence says, 'What about the hope of the
state?* I assume you refer to the ne
gro question. Now, Just listen a mo
ment, and I will tell you where I aland
on the negro situation. Tou know
where Mr. Hmlth stands now; you
know where he atod live yean ago, but
I defy any man tn the state of Georgia
tn tell where he will stand on this or
any other proposition live years from
now.
"I stand on this proposition Just
where I stood live years ago, at th*
very time Mr. Smith and I stood hand
In hand together before th* general as
sembly of your state, urging them to
derest the very measure that ha stands
before you tonight, with unblushing ef
frontery, and tell you that It ought to
he passed. Why, why— (voice from
the audience, ‘But he has changed hie
mind.') Oh, yea, he has changed hla
mind; he haa changed his mind, but h*
never did It until he became a candi
date for governor.
“Again, fellow cttlsens, I am opposed
to this disfranchisement legislation for
the very reason that Mr. Smith and I
opposed It live year* ago, because I
know that the disfranchisement legis
lation that !'<■ proposed tonight In «lie
Idea that It l» a vote-catcher, will dls-
franchtae nnlold thousands of unodu-
entsd white men In th# state of Geor
gia, ami that It will put the ballot In
the hands of untold thousands of edu
cated negroes In this state.
Smith's Nsgro Appointments.
"How does he propose, how- does my
adversary propose to dlsfranchlsq the
negro? I call attention to the official
record of the Interior department under
his -administration. In which it Is
shown that more negroes wsr# ap
pointed to office from th* city of Atlan
ta tlmn nny other Democratic ad
ministration had ever made since the
civil war. (Vole# from the audience,
‘He wanted them to wait on him.’)
"Fellow cltlsens, he proposed to dis
franchise the negro in the state of
Oeoririn by Riving him omce. Some
frlehd In the audience suggests that
w hile he was In Washington he wanted
negroes to wilt upon him thsre, and I
call your attention to the official re
cord* of that department In which
Henry P. Turner, of Atlanta, the son
of Bishop Henry M. Turner, was pro
moted by him to an office which paid
him In salary and sxpenses *2,000 a
year. Ills duty being to examine white
penilon applicants. Says the full record
of these appointments, these salaries
ranged from $710 to 22,000 a year, and
he does not deny It; he admits that he
made these appointments, and what
do you suppose his excuse was? He
says he made these appointments bs-
cause It was necessary to make them
In order to get the negro vote In some
of the states out West. And yet In th*
state of Georgia, fellow cltlsens, why
should h* appoint negroes to get doubt
ful states In the West?
“End Justifies ths Mssns.”
“Gentlemen, you have heard the story
ct a campaign shibbolath, which la
playing a considerable part In the cam
paign, and that la the shibboleth that
the end Justl.'et the means, and It
looks like tonlgot a* If Mr. Smith's
friend* believe It, for they do not want
to hear the truth.
"It Is anything to get votes—any
thing to get votes; go over thin state
traducing and deliberately lying about
me from one end of the state to the
other, and yet when he stands before a
home audience he dares not tell you
the truth, so you can hear him. I
thank God that I do not believe In that
unholy motto, that the end Justifies the
means, and It seams to me most
strange that a candidate who began
his campaign nine months ago, on the
statement that he was divinely called,
should. In so short a time, have to
change hi* motto for that unholy dec
laration that any end Justifies any
means, and that he has gotten It over
Ms audience and hla hearers here to
night.
"Nov/, fellow citizens, I believe that
nine-tenths of the people here tonight
wont to hear arguments on this cam
paign discussed; we are her* tonight
for the purpose of entering Into a legit
imate discussion of these iM'ie* and of
telling the truth concerning these Is
sues. I charge that my adversary In
not a single charge that he has made
against me from the beginning to the
end, has done me the fairness to tell
th? truth abput It, and I will add that
his campaign from beginning to end Is
based upon deceit and mlarepreaenta-
tlon. This campaign of deceit gnd mis
representation began more than a year
ago, and a glaring esample of It was
In the answer made to my friend Rufe
Hutchins, down here In Tallapoosa, Oa.,
when he Interrupted Mr. Bmlth with
the question,. apropos of what he was
saying at the time, 'Mr. Smith, don't
you own an Interest In the Piedmont
hotel bar In Atlanta?' (Noise and In
terruptions from the audience.)
"Ladles and geStlemen, It wns un
derstood here tonight Hint I was Invited
ns the guest of Mr. Smith und his
friends. When the statement wns made
that they would be entirely responsible
for order being kept at the meeting I
did not think for a moment It would be
necessary for m* to ask that my friends
should be given at least half of the
representation of those who were to
keep order; I had full confidence that
when an Invitation came to me to ad
dress thla meeting that I would be
treated with at taast th* same consid
eration that my friends extended lo the
gentleman who gave the Invitation to
Asks to bs Heard Out.
"Gettemen, thla I* a long story, and
I am going to tell It; understand that
every moment's Interruption Is tnksn
out of my tlms, but I am litre for ths
purpose of making this atat- ment, and
I am going to do It. and I trust you
will do m* the kindness to listen to me.
"When Mr. Smith was asked In th*
town of Tallapoosa by Mr. Rur* Hutch
ins If he did .not own a third Interest In
the Piedmont bar In Atlanta, he very
promptly replied yet, he owned a third
Interest In the Plsdmont bar, but, he
says, I do not touch on* dollar's In
terest of that unholy and that dirty
money. I have nothing to do with It;
my partner has gotten me Into this
Iniquitous business .without my knowl
edge or consent.
8mlth’s Bar AeeounL
"Now, fellow cltlsens, I havs got some
very Interesting records tonight. to
■how now. Thla la a small thing, per
haps Mr. Smith may, think, but let’s
see the truth of the Piedmont bar busi
ness, sind - If he misrepresent* that Is
sue why Isn't It likely that he haa
misrepresented ev?ry- other campaign
statement that he has made. He stated
that he had only a third Int-rest In
th* Piedmont bar, but he had nothing
whatever to do with It; that ha would
give that money to charity; non- let’s
see what became of this one-third In
terest In these profits; now there are
th* facta and here are the figures, and
I charge that not on* single dollar of
hi* one-third Interest In the Piedmont
hotel bar has gont to any other pur-
poee on the face of th* earth except
to pay hi* mortgage Indebtedness on
th* loan which he negotiated for the
building of the Piedmont hotel. More
than that, I produce her* tonight an
exact transcript from the ledger of the
Piedmont hotel. (A vole*: 'It makes
no difference where It went.’) (Mr.
Howell: That's right. It makes no
dlffersnct where It went, hut It didn't
go to charity.) But here. la a tran
script front the ledger of the Piedmont
hotel. I would not have a single man
In this audience think I am a salat,
because I am not; yet you know It,
and I know It, and th* only difference
between Mr. Smith and myself Is that
he thinks he Is a saint, and you don't
think so.
Transeript From Hotel Ledger.
"Now, fellow cltlsens, her* le the rec
ord of the Piedmont hotel bar, taken
from the ledger of th# Piedmont hotel;
he would not hare the dirty money, but
he would give his third to charity.
Here I* an Itemised account from the
Piedmont hotel books, showing thet
from the second day of February, I M2,
to the following November, Mr. Smith
patronised the Piedmont hotel bar on
hla own personal acconut, charged to
him here, to the estent of about *IM.
and on every dollar's worth of Inter
est in the liquor that he bought from
the Piedmont hotel he got one-third
owner's discount. Just wait a minute.
I want to give you ail th# facts; I am
net dealing In glittering generalities. I
pledge you I make no statement about
Mr. Smith tonight or any man In tha
state of Georgia that le not borne out
hr hi* own record* or by th# sworn
testimony or the official records which
he hltnaelf Kill have to admit.
Reads Items From Ledger.
“Listen to this: Mr. Hoke Smith,
the ledger account of the Piedmont
hotel, a transcript of bills made to Mr.
Hoke Smith—thla candidate with the
divine call.
"•February 20, two bottles Somerset
liquor, 24.BO.* Now, listen to this—1
know the friends of Mr. Smith don't
want to hear It, but they have got to
If they have to stay here all night:
•April 17, Mr. Hoke Smith, one quart
sherry, **.**.’ On* quart sherry, tt.SO;
why, what terribly expensive sherry
Mr. Smith must have been drinking!
••'April 27, one bar account, 87.80:
20th of May, 21.' Listen tn (his, fellow
rltlxen*. 'December 14 (nearly Christ
mas time), Somerset whisky, **, and
water, 40 cents.’
"Now, wilt a minute, and let’s have
thla atory out: now hear It all; 1 want
you tn hear It all; about Christmas
time,,(» worth of liquor and 40 cents'
worth of water. He didn't take but
mighty little water with the liquor.
Now, listen, 'April 21 (and this In red
Ink, now),' one bottle of specially fine
liquor, *>.''
"Now, listen to this: Here Is where
the rebate question-come* In—I wonder
If this went to charity?
"December 16, again—all happened
about Christmas time—here Is the re
bate question, here In red. Ink, figures
approximating about (26, one-third
owner’a • rebates—not for charlfy, but
for the owner.
(A voice: ' What about the freight
rater' Mr. llowell: “I will tell you
about the freight rat*.").'
"So, you see, fellow-ettlxen*, that he
waa the nbject ot charity to which he
made reference In Tallapoosa.
Th* Freight Rata Question.
"Now 1 will (ell you about the freight
rate question. I am going to give you
a very plain statement, about the
frotght rate question. That la what Is
wanted,: but will you do .me the kind
ness to see that 1 have the opportunity
to make a statement on It?, I hold,
fellow-cltlsens. that as far aa my Ilf*
as a citizen of the town Is concerned,
that aa for as my record In th# city of
Atlanta I* concerned, raised aa I was
to love this city and serve tta Inter
ests—1 wish to say that my life, as
lived In this city, should be sufficient
pledge to you to know that no Interest
ever, begun and no movement ever
started In this city for the welfare of
thla city could have other than my
undying davotlon and fny every effort,
and aa far as this freight rate ques
tion Is concerned, I will let Mr. Smith
and no other man on tha face of the
earth make any Issue with me on the
freight rate qusetlon.
"I will allow no man to go further
than 1 will go In the statement that no
movement ever Instituted by thla town
to reduce freight rates. If your freight
rates are tod high, and they are, If you
have been discriminated against, and
you have, In some Instances, 1 will
state that no man In th* city of At'
lanta has gone further, dr .will gi
further, than I will go to protect you
against any unjust discrimination.
Favored Freight Rat* Fight.
"When the business men of this city,
through the Atlanta freight bureau,
undertook this movement In behalf of
lower freight rat**. Its committee came
to me for a subscription to hslp.carry
on this work, and I cheerfully re
sponded. I make the statement now;
I repeat now what I said before, that
I had numerous editorials on this sub
ject. Fellow-etUaens, as to the freight
rate question, I say thsre Is not a man
In thla audience who knows me. .there
Is not a member of the Atlanta freight
bureau today who knows me, but who
knows that my heart Is In the work. It
has always been (here.
"I have co-operated with them from
the beginning t» the eml of It, and I
repeat pow the statement that I made
In the beginning of these remark*, that
I was engaged In this fight long before
Mr. Stnllh ever opened hi* mouth on
the subject, and thnt he did not appear
on the scene of action until I paid
him to do It. He ran not engage me
In a discussion before this audience
by making It appear to you that I am
here to defend high freight ratps, while
he I* here to maintain low freight
rates; nothing could be further from
the truth.
Howell Heavy Freight Payer.
“I am Just as much In favor of low
freight rate* for the city of Atlanta
aa he Is—a thousand tlmea more than
he. For where, fellow-cltsens, he pay*
one dollar freight to bring hla gooda
Into the city of Atlanta, I pay on*
thousand dollar*. There I* not a man
on thla stage, there Is not a man In
thla town, that love# this beloved city
of mine greater tl\gn I do. There Is
not a man In thla audience tonight
who would do more for the city of At
lanta, or who haa tried to do more,
than I have done, and there la not a
man here but who know* that there
haa not been a time when the call for
good cltsens to com# out In defense
of the business Interests of the city
came that 1 have not always cheerfully
and gladly responded by effort and
by subscription.
"How do 1 stand on freight rate*,
you say? Thsre Is my record In my,
newspaper, where t have fought for
reduced freight rates ever since 1
hare been old enough to write a line.
I challenge him tonight to take on*
■Ingle line that aver appeared In th*
editorial columns of The Constitution
and allow wherein I waa not Juat as
earnest In behalf of freight rate re
duction a* he has been, and without
charging the. city of Atlanta one sin
gle dollar for my servlca*.
That Reprinted Editorial.
"He has pdraded before thla audience
tonight something •.hat ha aaya appear
ed In th* column* of The Constitution
aa reproduced from the columns of
The Macon Telegraph. Why, fellow-
cMKena, do you suppoef..does he sup-
poee, that I am responsible for every
reproduction that Appears In th* col
umns of my' newspaper ■froip some
other paper?/ No more, fellow-cltlaene,
than th# editor of hi* newspaper or
gan la responsible for whatever may
appear In the column* of that news
paper as coming from another news
paper, and In reference to the special
Item lo which he refers, I never even
saw It In The Constitution until he
read It on thla platform tonight.
"So wa will make no laau* about tha
railroad quastion, or about the matter
of railroad rates, because I tell you
that I «fh Juat as earnestly In favor
of It. and I will do Just sa much as
be has done, or Juat as much as h*
can do. to bring thsm about.
Credit for Reduction of Ratos.
“He tells you la his remarks tonight
that the railroad commission In re
sponse to some statement* of mine In
which I made the statement that the
railroad commission during th* past
yaar had reduced rate#, he tells you
It waa not so, that the railroad com
mission had not ksducad rat#*; and
then In the yery nest breath he admits.
In the same seatence almost, that
freight rates have been materially r#-|
dured In the efty of Atlanta during the
t year, lust aa 1 claimed they had
Jt reduced. He says then that th*
railroad commission had reduced
freight rates—but he says that tha
railroad commission deserves no credit
whatever for having done so, because
they did so at th* request of (he Al
lan! freight bureau, and that be com
pliments ths Atlanta freight bureau
for Its work. In which ha la eminently
AMERICAN DENTAL PARLORS
19J Peachtree Street, AtlallTa, Ga.
OVER tCHAUL A MAT.
Dr. G. C. NEEDHAM, Prop.
Rubber Plates P A c[|
22-K Gold Crown.... V #i0U
Porcelain Crown ^ I
Brldgework, per tooth 1
PAINLESS EXTRACTING r n C C |
TEETH CLEANED » n L L.
Hours, 8 am. till 8 p. m.
Sunday, 9 a. m. till 4 i
WE TAKE IMPRESSION AND PUT IN YOUR TEETH SAME DAY.
sens, that freight rates have been re
duced and through the Instrumentality
of the Atlanta freight bureau, which
I* true. It Is a noble organisation.
Nothing In this world can be done
without organisation. There never was
n better organisation In the city of At
lanta, and I never contributed to a
work more cheerfully In my life, and I
am here tonight to add testimony to
the fact that the admirable army of
figures which they presented to tho
railroad commission did contribute
largely to the action of the commission
In reducing railroad rates, ami they
did good work for It, nnd the attorneys
who were engaged In that service,
and for which we paid out of our owa
pockets did good work also, but I re
spectfully submit that they did not do
the whole business.
Defense of Stats Offiolsls.
“Now, fellow cltlsens, this campaign,
begun nearly a year ago, haa been
based upon the principle thnt there
were only a few honest men In Geor
gia, and that the officials of thla state,
as a general thing, your courts, your
legislature, and your ronnty officials
itow nnd for the past twenty-five years,
have been more or less corrupt. Now,
1 am sufficiently optimistic, fellow clt
lsens, to look upon tho bright sldo of
things, and to believe that this old
world of ours I* not so bad as some
people would picture It.
"I believe in the honesty of man
kind. I would rather believe that any
man,on thla earth Is an honest man,
unless It can be proved by absolute
specification that he Is a dishonest man.
1 call your attention now to tha fact
that In thla entire campaign of tra
duction, covering a period of a year,
that In not one single Instance could
tills man put Ifla finger upon one single
dnllnr of the state's money gone wrong
nor a single piece of maladministration
during all this time, and we are enjoy
ing today a greater degree of prosper
ity than this great old state has ever
known, and I nubiqlt thnt these honest
public servants of Georgia during the
past twenty-five yenrs deserve at least
their mite of prnlse In bringing this
..bout, rather than that they should bo
hamstrung without having hnd sub
mitted to them one single specification
of wrong doing that they might nn-
H-ver. Not only 1ms the good name
of your stale been traduced, been held
up before tho world as an object of
contempt nnd ridicule; not only thnt,
but your Democratic executive com
mittee today has been held up before
the contempt of tho people of this state
for Its action a few weeks ago. If you
will fin me the kindness to hear me out
wo will sen who Is responsible for It.
Th# Ysomsns Committe*.
“Your committee, tho organised com
mittee of your party. In simply de
claring that thla should bn a Democrat
ic primary. In which only Democrat*
should vole, without regard to past
political ntllllntlons whatever, every
white mnn In the stale of Georgia was
Invited to rome In, whether Populist
or Democrat or whatnot In tho past—
the gates were thrown wldo open to
Democrats nnd all Invited to partici
pate with the simple statement thnt
they are Democrats. Now, having
taken thnt notion, Mr. Smlth'n paper
tins denounced thnt committee ns hav
ing exceeded Its authority. Mr. Bmlth
himself tonight has attacked his pnfty
organisation, It having been this action
Which he says has shut out a great
many Populism In the state of Georgia.
"Listen to wlint I nn. going to tell
you, nnd I want every man In this au
dience to hear It, nnd I want him to
hear It. This egecullvn committee was
elected two years ngn. Ho says that
Mr. Yeomans, who Is Its chairman, ap
pointed some corporation representa
tives on the committee, leaving the In
ference that the whole committee was
appointed by the chairman. Tho truth
of the matter wns that thirty-right
members of this committee were elect
ed by the state convention nnd only
four from the state at large were ap
pointed by the -chairman and the
thirty-eight men elected by the state
convention were elected by the state
convention which wa* absolutely dom
inated by Mr. Hmlth when he Instruct
ed the convention for Judge Pucker.
Wanted to Block Watson’s Game.
"We have not got to the'Interesting
part of this proiaisltlon ykt. Here Is
the whole story now, I have Just begun
It; This convention elected this com
mittee; nl thnt time th* present state
administration, Ihe governor and oth
ers, were strongly ngnlnst Instructions
of that committee to Its delegation to
go to the Ht. louts convention, prefer
ring that they be sent unlnstrucled. It
happens about that time Mr. Watson
wns strongly supporting Mr. Henrst,
and Governor Terrell and others were
In favor of Hearst nnd ail unlnstrucled
delegation. Mr. Hmlth presided over
the raueus that met at the Kimball
house and the word went out that no
one hut Parker men should go. Mr.
Griggs waa defeated, the vote to In
struct the delegation was carried, and
among Ihe first to revolt was Mr. Wat-
Watson Attacked “Smith Ring.”
Mr. Watson a few days after that In
a speech here In the city of Atlanta at
tacked the ring headed by Mr. Smith,
who was responsible for suppressing
the vote of the people. It transpired
then that Mr. Hmlth dominated the
Democratic ring In the state of Geor
gia, which had suppressed the vok-e of
the people and forced upon the people
an Instructed Parker delegation and
Mr. Watson, In this very rlty, made a
speech In which he lambasted Mr.
Hmlth from, top to bottom as being
Ihe head of the machine. Now, let's
see how the story developed. Mr. Wat
son. dissatisfied with the action of the
national Democratic convention In
nominating Judge Parker. Immediately
announced himself as a candidate for
president against Judge Parker and as
the Populist nominee for president. Mr.
Hmlth took th* platform In Georgia In
liehaW of Judge Parker, for whom he
had had this delegation Instruetifd.
"He himself spoke In the city of Au
gusta. In Which he charged Mr. Wataon
with being the Instrument of the Re-
publican campaign committee to divide
th* Democratic party.
Wanted “Pops" Birred.
He comta back Ml the city of Atlan
ta and tha Aral thing he doe« when i ■ .
he get* back here now, fellow cltlsens, J ernor today offered a pswi
and I defy him now to deny one single ! for tho • rr< * t °f John u
charge that I am going to make—I well-known white citizen ,>f
want Hoke to hear this—I charge that who Is charged with the nvi
he cam* back to th* city of Atlanta, » II* Jones, a n*gr.
goes to the telegraph office, sen-l-
telegram to Mr. Yeomans, the ■ hair
man of the state Democrat I r>.-.
live committee, then aa he Is today, f
the same chairman eleoted by Mr.
Smith's convention, the same chairman
that Mr. Hmlth I* now denouncing -
and telegraphs Mr. Yeomans to pic,-a
eomo to Atlanta tomorrow. I am anx
ious to see you. Mr. Y< a m- h?
chairman, comes. He haa a confer
ence with Mr. Hmlth at the piedmont
hoiel, and now what do you su; a
Mr. Hlnlth telle him; what do you -op
pose he want* with him? He says:
“ ‘Mr. Yeomans, f hare sent r
to ask you to call the state
committee together Immediately.'
"What for?' aaya Mr. Yeomans.
"Smith aaya:
"■Fwant the state'executive commit
tee to meet here and act on Watson s
announcement that he Is going to run
for president aa th* Popuilst nomine-
agalnst Judge Parker.'
".Mr. Yeomans says:
" 'What do you want It to do?"
"Smith repllea:
Smith's “Anti-Pops" Resolution. ; ‘l
"‘I want It to pass a resolution de
claring that every man who rote? for
Thomas K. Wataon shall not vote In the
Democratic primary to be held In the
year 1*04!' , ,
"Mr. Yeomans, th* chairman of tha
committee, told hlpi that the Demo
cratic party In th* state of Georgia had
never taken any retroactive atepalook
ing to the binding of a vote by retro
active measures. He eald, we hate,
got a perfect right to say that a man
cannot vote unlesa he votes tho Demo-,
cratlc ticket now. Mr. Hmlth suys, we
must suppress this Popuilst vote, if a
man votes for Wataon we must put him
on notice that he cannot vote In our;
primary next year. Mr. Yeomans goes,
to Governor Terrell and tells him what
Mr. Bmlth had said, and he asked tho 1
governor what hs thought about it.i
The governor aaya, 'You cannot do It;
It will be unjust.' lie then goc* to
Warner Hill, Mr. Hill wa* tho . hair-
man, I believe, of the committee on
resolution* of the state convention. He
naked Mr. Hill about It, nnd Mr. Mill
tells him Ihe eame thing that the gov
ernor has, and then he goee to Jack
Spalding, who on this stage hm been
criticised by Mr. Hmlth tonight ns be
ing In the employ of n corporatloa and
yet waa made th# Vico chairman of
the state executive committee by Mr.
Hmlth himself, and Mr. Smith was In
caucus with Mr. Hpaldlng before ho
wa* made the vice chairman.
Took Part In Caucus.
"Mr. Hmlth wa* In the Parker raucua
the night before Mr. Hpaldlng won
mode vice chairman. Mr. Hmlth and
Mr. Grady were In caucus with him
and he was made vice chairman next
day, and Mr. Bmlth now Jump- on a
man that he made vice chairman, llo
goes to Hpaldlng with the eame propo
sition, and he says;
"•Mr. Hpaldlng, you are a Parker
man like Mr. Hmlth, what do you think
of Mr. Smith's proposition?*
'"It won’t do,’,said Mr. Hpaldlng. ««
can't do It. You would have no right
to take this step," and Hmlth wan noti
fied by Mr. Yoemana that he would
not call the executive committee to
gether.
"Now, fellow rltlxen*. In coni luslon,
let me say 1 shall not detain you much
longer. Let me say that the first fenson
that I ever learned In the city of At
lanta waa the lesson that I learned to
love my city and love my state. The
best advice that I ever got tn my life
eame to me In a letter written on th*
day that I achieved the age of man
hood, 21 year* of age, when dear old
Henry Grady, the man thnt I loved bet
ter than nny man that ever lived on the,
fare of this earth aside from my own
Immediate family, when on that day.
writing me congratulating me upon
having attained tha estate of manhood^
he made use of this expression:
Grady's Advise to Howell.
"‘You do svhat you ran to build up
your city: do what you can to bond up
your state; remember, alway
there are plenty of men In
who can be depended upon to
that!
orgl*|
•> all!
-ary.
(Great applause.)
"And so, from that day
whether or not I have always
to the spirit of that suggestion,
I have always don* my best to 0„
there Is one thing that I can say. and
that le, that from that day to thla
never have I eald anything ag:
honor or Ihe good name of m
state. As old again today as i »««
the day that thatletter waa written. Its
golden aentlmsnla burned Itself deep
llnto my soul, and fired every Impulse
of my manhood with a spirit of sternal
idevotlun to my mother state- Geor-
fill,
"( have trod thee# hill# and these
vales when as an Infant refugee In my
mother's arms, not knowing whether
my father was alive or d-.ul on tho
battlefield# around this very tow n -I
was bom to love my state; 1 wns horn
to love my city. I love the old Demo
cratic party. It haa done more for
the protection and salratlon nl iur
people than all other Instrumentalities
put together, end so with every Impulse
of my soul, with every breath ■< my
body. I shall defend my state, and t
w ill defend my party so long as I may
live. . .1
"They tell u* the time ha* com.- for
the Democratic party to die. 1 do not
believe It, nnd now la th# time when
we must alt rally to the party and
stand by the party aa wa have In the
* "The time haa not com# for II to
die, and It will not die. neither b> sui
cide nor by
TWO MORE CONVICTS
ESCAPE FROM CAMP
Special lo The Georgian.
Rising Fawn, Ga.. June I.—Two more
convicts escaped from the furnace
camp a few day* since. This runs tha
number up to five In the past thr-e
years. ,
Two have been apprehended and re
turned to the penitentiary.
REWARD IS OFFERED
FOR ALLEGED MURDERER
Special to The Georgian.
Montgomery, Ala . June • Th,- gov-
,f lie#
'■'.nt*
of LU-