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with the school house perhaps three miles or
more from the home. But the famous Geor
gia pine knots were plentiful and convenient
to his home, and by their light in the long
winter evenings he would seek intellectual en
lightenment. Thus at twenty he began the
battle of life—fighting poverty with one hand
and ignorance with the other.
After working and saving some money he
entered school and remained until his means
had been exhausted. Having no time in which
to hunt an easy job, he went to work in a
blacksmith shop, pulling the bellows and
swinging a fourteen-pound sledge-hammer'
Hammering fortune and an education but of
iron was not very encouraging to the young
man, as he had little mechanical skill; so, in
1876 young Twitty bid for and secured the
contract to carry the mail on a star route be
tween Jefferson and Gainesville. He entered
Martin Institute at the first-named place for
half of each day, as he had that much time to
spend in Jefferson. Carrying his books on
the mail route, studying at night, and putting
in half of each day in the class-room, he
trained for three years. Sub-letting his mail
contract to good advantage, he entered the
University of Georgia, defraying his expenses
with the-money he had earned. He spent two
years at the University of Georgia, taking an
elective course.
lie left college still possessed of some funds,
with the intention of studying law; but his
love of farm life was so deeply rooted in his
nature that he could not shake off his first
love. He invested what cash he had in a
beautiful farm of forty-four acres, on the
suburbs of Gainesville, which he afterwards
sold at a good profit and reinvested in a fine
Jackson county farm. He now has large farm
ing interests in Jackson, Walton and Hall
counties.
In 1882 he married Miss M. E. Carithers,
the only daughter of Mrs. S. P. Carithers, of
Jefferson, Ga.
In 188 S he was elected to the legislature
from Jackson county. There were five candi
dates in the field when he entered the race,
two of them ex-representatives, and two of
them ex-Confederate captains—in fact, they
were five of the noblest and best men in the
county. Young Twitty, when the votes were
counted, was found to have secured more than
three times the number of votes necessary to
elect him. In 1890 he was re-elected by about
the same majority. In his legislative record
Mr. Twitty will always be remembered as the
author of the famous “Twitty Bill.” This
bill was founded upon the principle of right
between man and man, and proved to be far
reaching in adjusting equitably the matter
of attorneys’ fees. Thirty-six lawyers in the
House opposed the bill, led by one of the
ablest lawyers in Georgia, while Twitty, the
young farmer, led the fight in its favor. The
bill passed the House by a safe majority, and
was immediately transmitted to the Senate
and referred to a committee. There Twitty,
after a hard-fought battle, succeeded in again
securing a favorable report for the passage
of the measure. But a few days later, by re
quest, the bill was recommitted.
THE JEFFERSONIAN.
Looking over the newspaper one morning,
Twitty was astonished to discover the an
nouncement that the “Twitty Bill” would
that morning be discussed before the commit
tee with open doors, and that a delegation of
lawyers from Augusta, Macon, Savannah,
Rome, and Atlanta, would appear in oppo
sition to the measure, while the author alone
would appear in its defense. Twitty, fresh
from the fields, was pitted in that debate
against one of the finest bodies of lawyers
ever assembled in the state.
But Twitty represented the people, and he
had a great, big conviction on his side. A
favorable report was forthcoming, and the
: w
HON. J. N. TWITTY.
bill passed the Senate without the change of
a punctuation point.
Mr. Twitty has been prominent in the farm
ers’ organizations from the time of the
Grangers to the present. He represented the
Farmers’ Union of Hall county in its last
State convention, and was elected by that
body a delegate to the International Con
vention of Cotton Growers and Spinners. He
was director of the State Experiment Farm at
Griffin for eight years. He was an Alliance
man from the inception of that organization,
and he followed its banner to the last ditch.
About 1890 the Alliance National Conven
tion met at Ocala, Fla., and adopted the
“Ocala Demands,” which went by petition
to the Houses of Congress for enactment. Af
terward, they were embodied in the platform
of the People’s Party. Mr. Twitty believed
then, as he does now, that these demands were
Democratic, and he is glad to know that Mr.
Bryan predicts that the main features of the
Ocala demands and the People’s Party plat
form will be the leading issue of the Demo
cratic campaign of 1908 —equal rights, trust,
tariff and railroad control.
When the People’s Party was organized Mr.
Twitty joined, not as a disappointed office
seeker, but from honesty of conviction, and
for that act he has no apologies.
Tn 1894 he was unanimously nominated as
the People’s Party candidate for congress
from the ninth district. He made a good
fight, carried several counties, and went down
gracefully in defeat.
Since that time he has not held, or offered
for, any office, but, as he says, has stood out
in the dark valley of disappointment, on the
ragged edge of despair, but at all times he
has had the guiding starlight of truth and the
approval of a good conscience to cheer him.
Thomson, Ga. December 17, 1907.
Dear Mr. Pyle, Dallas, Texas:
President Barrett, of the Farmers’ Union,
informs me that it is rumored that I have sold
my cotton.
On the contrary, all of my cotton is in the
warehouse of Phinizy & Co., where it is wait
ing for 15 cents. Yours truly,
THOS. E. WATSON.
—National Co-operator, Dallas, Tex.
ANNOUNCEMENT.
To the Populists of the Ist Congressional
District of Alabama: I want to meet as many
of you as possible at our State Convention to
be held in the city of Birmingham on the 4th
day of March, 1908, for the purpose of making
arrangements to thoroughly organize our dis
trict for the coming campaign and to make
any other arrangements, as may seem best.
Yours very respectfully,
~ G. B. WILSON,
Chairman of Ist Dist.
A new alfalfa plant is announced from Colo
rado, which is richer in feed value than the
old plant, and is a much larger producer.
Buttons, Buttons, Buttons!
T
- ■
® -I
. ' -
HON. NEWT GRESHAM.
The National Farmers’ Union decided that
the button, with a picture of Newt Gresham
engraved thereon, should be sold by Miss Lutie
Gresham (his daughter) of Point, Texas.
The National union decided that these but
tons should be sold for twenty-five cents each.
Every member of the Farmers’ Union should
wear one of these buttons. Send your orders
direct to Miss Lutie Gresham, Point, Texas.
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