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SOME PAGES EROM Ml SCRAP KOOK | COLONEL JOHN B. BROWNLOW ADVISES PRESIDENT ROOSE VELT TO CORRECT HIS ERRO NEOUS STATEMENTS ABOUT LEADING SOUTHERNERS. In the interest of that “square deal” which President Roosevelt has so volubly advocated with tongue and pen, but which he hasi done so little to promote by his acts, I wish to say a good word for the president. When a young man of 28 he wrote a book in which, in substance, he de scribed Andrew Jackson as about the most unworthy man who had ever oc cupied the presidential office. Ac cording to Historian Roosevelt the occupancy of the white house by such a man as the “hero of New Or can government. That Ido not state this too strongly, I could prove by such copious extracts from his “Life of Thomas H. Benton” that it would require more of your space to insert than I could ask you to grant me. But I gladly acknowledge that in hi# speech at Nashville on Jackson, Mr. Roosevelt made the amende honor able. He told the truth about our great Tennesseean as he had learned it since he wrote that book, twenty two years ago, when he was in the roasting ear age of his life, and for so doing he has elevated himself in the estimation of Tennesseeans. His last words on Andrew Jackson have been worthy of the great office he holds. His Attack on Davis. Many years ago when Mr. Roose velt was still a young man, he wrote for a northern magazine an article on Jefferson Davis, in which he charged that “Mr. Davis in 1851 had advo cated the repudiation of Mississippi’s state debt, and not only was he a repudiator of public debts, but that he had repudiated his private debts.” In other words, that Jefferson Davis was dishonest in his private business life. When this article appeared the venerable widow of the Confederate president wrote Mr. Roosevelt a po lite letter, telling him that he had, unwittingly, she supposed, done her deceased husband injustice, that he had never approved of the repudia tion by Mississippi of its debt, and that never before had any one charged that her husband had repudiated or attempted to repudiate, or failed to pay his private debts, and she con cluded her letter by respectfully re questing him to give her his authority for the charges he had made. Instead of courteously replying, giving her the name of his author, Mr. Roosevelt wrote her: “Mr. Theo dore Roosevelt declines to have any correspondence with Mrs. Jefferson Davis. ’ ’ I will here add that within a few years after the close of the civil war, when all manner of lies were pub lished about Mr. Davis, such for ex ample that “when captured he was dressed in female attire,” it was pub lished in a Northern newspaper or magazine that he had advocated the rcpudiatioa of kia State’s debt in 1850-1851. Promptly Mr. Davis re plied, through the North American Review, that “the charge that he had ever favored the repudiation of his State’s debt was false, and he chal lenged proof to the contrary.” This put a quietus on the charge. Whatever Mr. Davis’ faults, the greed for money was not among them, nor was peisonal dishonesty a trait of his character. His reputation for personal integrity was unblem ished. Prior to the civil war, though not rich, “like the thrifty New York Roosevelts,” he was in comfortable financial circumstances and, being a man of unostentatious and economic al manner of living, and of high sense of honor, neither necessity nor in clination prompted him to swindle his creditors. “Who steals my purse, steals trash, ’tis something, nothing; ’Twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands. But he that filches from me my good name, Robs me of that which not enriches him And makes me poor indeed.” For many years after the close of the civil war i spent every winter in Washington, where I personally met Sumner, Wade, Chandler, Cameron, Chase, Stevens and other Republic ans who were contemporaries of Da vis, and had served with him in both the Senate and House. I heard them discuss his character. They disliked him as a politician, considered him as the chief of political sinners, but said not a word in derogation of his private character or personal integ rity. Ben Butler’s Opinions. After the war General Benjamin F. Butler, of Massachusetts, made a speech in the House of Representa tives in which he said that “Davis, as the leader of the Confederate move ment, ought to have been hanged.” Hon. Samuel S. Cox, in reply, twitted the doughty general, who never won a battle, with having voted in the Democratic national convention at Charleston in 1860 for Jefferson Da vis fifty-seven times as a presidential candidate. I asked Butler why he had so ardently supported Davis, and if he was not embarrassed by what Cox had said. Os course, it was a foolish question for me to ask Butler if anything could embarrass him, but I did. He replied: “No sir; lam not embarrassed; I am proud of having voted as I did. Subsequent events have vindicated my judgment. I be lieved that Mr. Davis would be the strongest, most available candidate the Democratic party could run, and if nominated he would defeat the Re publican candidate. He could unite the democracy North and South. 1 knew if Mr. Lincoln were elected we would have secession and war, and that I wished to avoid. That he was stronger in the South than anybody else was later shown by his election as chief of the Confederacy. His ir reproachable private life, his unblees- W AYSON’S WEEKLY JEFFERSONIAN, ished character for personal integrity and his brilliant record as a soldie pl would have made him a strong candi I I date in the North.” Continuing, Mi ’ I Butler said: “While secretary of wai f between 1853 and 1857, Mr. Davis made a tour of New England, speak ing eloquently of the preservation of the Union, and the constitution, and receiving everywhere most enthusias tic ovations.” As an illustration of Davis’ high sense of honor, Butler related to me the following: He said, “Massachu setts had a claim for several hun dred thousand dollars against the United {States government which was nearly as old as the government it self; that for more than a generation congress had refused to pay it be cause of the scarcity of money in the treasury, and after that had refused because of the age of L he claim. Finally, when it was referred to a committee in the Lnited States Sen ate, of -.vh'ch Mr. Davis was chair man, the latter made a thorcugi? in vestigaii n and a bu and made a speeca win a forced cht Sen ate to pus it. Mr. Davis insisted that the claim was just, and sail that no lapse of time should he made a bar to the payment by the govern ment of a just claim, as nef l?onox able man would seek to avoid pay ment of a private lebt by pleading the statute of limitations. Suca was the character of Jefferson Davis for integrity.” While recently in Mississippi Mr. Roosevelt favorably mentioned Mr. Davis for his gallantry at Buena Vis ta. It did not need Mr. Roosevelt’s testimony to establish that General Zachary Taylor, commander-in-chief, and every other officer and soldier in that battle, freely acknowledged that Davis, as colonel of the First Missis sippi Rifles did more to win. that bat tle, which made Taylor president of the United States, than did any other officer. And when the conqueror of Napoleon, the Duke of Wellington, read how four thousand volunteers and five hundred regulars had routed at Buena Vista an army of twenty two thousand well-armed and drilled men under experienced officers, he said: “It was one of the most won derful victories in all history.” What He Was Advised to Do. I advised Mr. Roosevelt to make the amende honorable nearly three years ago when my attention was first called to the matter. This is w’hat General Jackson and General Grant would have done, hard fighters and stubborn men as they were. The first officer to scale the Indian forti fication at the battle of the Horse Shoe was Col. William King, of Sul livan county, Tennessee. In his of ficial report of the battle Gen. Jack son did not do full justice to Col. King. The latter, a hot-headed and intrepidly brave man, challenged Jackson to a duel because he had not done his regiment and himself jus tice. “Old Hickory” replied he would net accept the challenge; he “he thought his courage was suf ■ iciently established to make it un | lecessary he should fight a duel when llhere was no necessity for it, and ’he knew Col. King’s was. He admit ted that in the pressure of business he had not done justice to Col. King and his regiment, but said it was an inadvertence, and he would remedy the omission in a subsequent report,” and he did. And many years there after, when he became president, he had the magnanimity to appoint Col. King governor of the territory of Florida. Gen. Grant, while president, decid ed adversely to the petition of Gen. Fitz John Porter for restoration to the regular army, from which he had been cashiered during the civil war by a court-martial influenced by par tisan considerations. Subsequently he frankly acknowledged he had erred from lack of information, and on hia earnest recommendation congress passed a bill restoring Gen. Porter to the army. Mr. Roosevelt makes the mistake of supposing that the people of the United States will place a lower es timate on him if he frankly acknowl edged that he had erred. On the contrary, the people know that he is not infallible, and if he would acknowledge in a manly way where he has done palpable injustice they would have more respect both for his judgment and honesty. JNO. B. BROWNLOW. Knoxville, Nov. 1, 1907. The Dixie Business College [THE SCHOOL FOR THOROUGHNESS Only Thorough Course in Office Routine am Touch Typewriting offered in the South< aster States. Most Comprehensive, up-to-date Boe) keeping, Shorthand, Typewriting, Banking an Penmanship Courses in Atlanta. Write for alog and Special Summer Rates. H. L. BRIDGES & BERNARD C. ANSTED Preprlew>rs. I National \j Union Farmer | HOMER L. HIGGS, Editor and Proprietor j GREENFIELD, TENNESSEE ] (J A Farmers Union pa per strictly, lias the unanimous support of the officials of the Tennessee Farmers Union. Circulation growing rapidly.... Sample Copies Sent Upon Application WAKEFIELD Poultry Yards has a fv more Barred Plymouth Rock an White Wyandotte cockerels for sale * $1.56. Send in your order now so yo| can get eggs early in the season. UM barred Rocks are almost perfect 11 color. All orders filled from now unt 1 February 1 at |1 for 13; after the! $1.50. Order now, will ship when y* | want thorn. W. A. LILES, Prop., Walt field, X. C |m| PAGE THREE