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Peoples Party Paper VOLUME I. WATSON AT SPARTA. A GREAT CROWD REMAIN TO HEAR HIS DEFENSE Despite Brass Bands, Rowdyism, Bar becue and Speeches, his Speech is Delivered! [Reported Expressly for the People’s Party Paper by J. L. Driscol.] The train that left Atlanta at eight o’clock, August 25, carried your re porter to Cammack, arriving about one p. m.; at the same hour the train from Augusta to Atlanta, deposited the Hon. J. C. C. Black at the same point. From this the reader will readily infer that it required two trains to get Mr. Black and myself to the connecting point with the Ma can branch of the Georgia road, but one was sufficient to take us to Sparta. The distance, however, is not so great! The journey from Cammack to Sparta w r as quite uneventful. In deed, I was not aware that Mr. Black was on board the train until we arrived at our destination, when I was informed of his presence by a gentleman of whom I had inquired who the good looking gentleman was. This brought vividly to my mind another reception, at Thom son, two weeks and two days ago— but “comparisons are odorous.” Doubtless, Major Black will agree with me in the latter observation’ But, 1 digress. A nondescript band and about' three hundred citizens awaited (us !!) at the depot. The major, with a few friends, took possession of the linest carriage in waiting; I, with * : lw’(Hb nthree hundred Spartans, took possession of the sidewalk, taking mental notes on the way. The three hundred might be divided into three classes. 1. The kid gloved few, oc cupying seventeen vehicles of‘every kind, from the two-horse carriage to the single-seated sulky. It was evi dent that but few of these stood in need of relief, consequently they were against reform, and spurned the cries of the masses for equal rights as shams and absurdities. 2. There was the promiscuous crowd, constituting by far the greater num ber, which is always attracted by the noise of a band; and 3. A brigade of store-clothed, plug-hatted dudes who rivaled the band aforesaid in giving vent to unmusical sounds. These young men were chiefly dis tinguished by being scant in cour tesy, reckless in assertion, overbear ing in demeanor and barren in ideas. They were boastful of their intelli gence, too. Said one of them, in in answer to an observation of mine about the probable outcome of the election : “These y’ere third party ites is so ignorant they think Watson are going to give them forty acre and a mule.” The marks of ap proval with which this sage remark by this representative of intelligence was received, showed plainly that the common people of Georgia should not be trusted to manage their own affairs. The reader will pardon me for going back to throw in an incident, parenthetically. Passing Culver, a station a few miles back, a well-fed looking speci men of the genus plutocrat rushed up to the train and addressing one of the group, Mr. Ham, I think, said: “Hello! you are going to Sparta to skin them fellers to-morrow ?” “Yes,” said the gentleman addressed, “and you come along to hold them while we do the skinning.” A country man, sitting beside me, remarked: “Them fellers have been skinning us so long that they think they can al ways do it.” There was a grim de termination in his tone which boded no good for the skinners. Now I must confess a humiliating truth. lam a veteran of the Con federacy ; I marched under the stars and bars upwards of three years, and always referred to it with pride; I have three wounds upon my body, received in that service; I suffered captivity and chains; I never, yet, voted anything but a democratic ticket, and all my predelictions are d’in favor of Jeffersonian democracy— “EOqxxeil to Special to None.” of “equal rights to all men and spe cial privileges to none.” I have al ways resented the imputation of bulldozing ascnbed to Southern men f>y Northern meddlers as untruthful; I have seen men of wealth and social influence, in Atlanta, ally themselves with the republican party, and with men of the most pronounced hatred of everything Southern, treated with the utmost courtesy ; yet, as soon as my mission was known in Sparta, I was met in a spirit so arrogant, so dictatorial and so overbearing as to make it appear that I was an alien among a hostile people. I will not dwell upon this subject. It is an unpleasant theme. THE NIGHT BEFORE THE BATTLE. Messrs. Black, Ham (surnamed su gar-cure), and a gentleman whose name I did not learn, were the first on the ground. No man of the Peo ple, save your correspondent, had put in an appearance as yet, and the un terrified, as they delighted in dub bing themselves, were loud and boast ful m proclaiming forthcoming vic tory. “ I’ll tell you,” you could hear on all sides, “Watson will not show himself to-morrow; he won’t face Black,” etc. One smart Aleck came in on the porch and taid to a kindred spirit: “ I hear that there is a third party reporter here ■who is look ing for a third party man, and offer ing a quarter reward.” His friend, having a little regard for the proprie ties, introduced him to me on the spot, intending, I presume, to avoid any unpleasant reflections. I smil ingly told him that he was misin formed about my offering any re ward to-night, for to-morrow I ex pected to see them a drug on the market. “ But,” says he, “ what kind of men will they be ? ” I respect fully suggested that perhaps the tai lor, the shoemaker, the barber and bootblack might not have done so much for them as for the cohorts of plutocracy, but they would doubtless be good representative Georgians— the men, or their descendants, who followed the lead of Lee and Jack son. He smiled and let me alone. Genial Bob Lewis was the next friend I met among the enemy. He told me, in a confidential tone, that there was not a respectable white man in Han cock county belonging to the third party. “ But,” said he, “ I will mod ify that; I will say, not an intelligent man.” That put me to thinking, and the more I thought the more I was convinced that these much despised farmers, with whom I came in con tact, had a more inteiligent concep tion of the situation than the average merchant or clerk in the city. When will men learn the difference between intelligence and fine clothes ? The midnight train brought in Governor Northen, Hon. Joe James and Mr. Moses. The hour was too late for further ebbulitionjof party confidence, so all retired to recuperate for the impending conflict. The first man I met on coming down stairs next morning was Mr. Ellington. Our forces at the hotel were doubled, and I began to pick up courage. After breakfast the streets were transformed from the every day ap pearance which they had the day be fore to that of a county fair in its glory. You could hear a spasmodic cheer here and there for Black, but every cheer provoked half a dozen for Watson. The climax was reached, however, when Mr. Watson was driven into town about half past eight o’clock a. m. Nothing more dis tinctly showed the difference between the hold on popular affections by the patriot and the partisan. Partisans stand off in open-mothed admiration of the partisan; patriots throw the arms of their affection around the patriot, even as the mother clasps her first-born to her bosom. “ Sink or swim, survive or perish,” the true lover of humanity, the champion of the people, the patriot, retires to the bosom of his family with the consol ing consciousness of duty well per formed that the mere lover of power can never feel. Although arrangements for a joint debate had been fixed for a later date, yet when Mr. Watson heard of the boastings of the numerous speak ers in attendance on the other side, he immediately issued a challenge, which was promptly declined. The GA., FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1892. pu. ~ the report below. The Democrat .d fitted up a platform and arranged tables for a barbecue in a beautiful grove about an eighth of a mile south of the town. Mr. Watson spoke from the court house steps. It is dangerous to at tempt an estimate of the number present, but I do not think there were less than twenty-five hundred listening to Mr. Watson after the gang that tried to break up his meet ing (an account of which appears in the body of the speech) withdrew. Having commenced earlier than the enemy, the People’s meeting closed much sooner; that followed as a natural consequence, as it had not so many speakers. About half an hour after Mr. Watson’s meeting was dis missed, and many of his audience were there, attracted by the barbe cue, I went down and found about eight hundred present, or say one third as many as attended the Peo ple’s party meeting. A great many tried to belittle the meeting by saying that Mr. Watson had more negroes. Well, that is true, but then he had more whites also. “ Oh, but,” they say, “ the white men were from the adjoining counties.” I have no doubt but they will sav when a meeting is held in the adjoining counties, that they are mostly from Hancock. The crowd was so densely packed around the steps that it was difficult to get order, more difficult for your reporter to get seated, and still more difficult to write with the mass of surging humanity swaying back and forth like the billows of the ocean. Without any formal introduction— indeed, there was no man there who stood so little in need of an introduc tion as he—Mr. Watson advanced and spoke as follows : My Fellow-Citizen^ —The night I got home from Washington City I made au appointment to speak to the people of Hancock county, here in Sparta. The democrats, as I be lieve, got up a counter appointment to disturb my meeting, and then in vited here their most distinguished speakers. [Cries of “Let ’em come, Tom, you can get away with them all.”] I am here to keep my own ap pointment. I have no dead sheep, I have no dead calves, I have no dead pigs to feed anybody on. [Great laughter and applause.] I have got no money to spend in this campaign, and I trust there is no where that I could spend it to de bauch voters, but I have got a will ingness to spend all my strength in this campaign. [Several voices— “ Bless the Lord, we’s with you.”] I have the willingness and the de termination to talk with you day by day and night- by night as far as you will listen to me, and the thing that is farthest from my thoughts is to run away, no matter where the enemy comes from. [Great cheer ing, and cries of “Hit ’em, Tom. Hear how dat man will skin ’em,” followed by a confused roar of voices on the outskirts of the crowd and playing by the band.] Mr. 'Watson. [Resuming after quiet was restored, in partial de gree]. The very first thing I did when I got into town this morning was to challenge Mr. Black to meet me here at my appointment with any one or two of his friends; and if you Democrats want to see some fun, why all you have to do is to trot Black and Northen both into the ring, and I will fight them both. [Wild and prolonged cheering, and a voice, “Yes; let ’em trot out their bosses and see them run;” and, “they are on the run now.”] [A voice, “We have a barbecue down in the grove, and everybody is invited to hear good Democratic doctrine and partake of the feast prepared. Everybody invited.”] Nir. Watson. They may have the grove; they may have hired both groves; but there is enough of God Almighty’s land for you all to stand on to-day! [Great applause, and cries “That’s so, Tom, old boy; we’re with you! Good-bye, Jim mie !”] You may have the trees [the speaker (Erecting his address to the point near the hotel, where the.other speakers were domiciled], but we have got the men; and these men are not going to be enticed away from this free, fair discussion of these great public questions by any amount of green pork; by any amount of barbecued beef; by any amount of uncooked mutton down here in the grove! These men who have come out to hear the truth can get their dinners when the speaking is over. [Cries of “We have got our dinners right here! Hurrah for Watson!”] Fellow-citizens, there have been the most flagrant attacks made upon me personally, as well as upon your platform generally. I want to' an swer these first, although they do not properly belong to a general debate. It will take me an hour or two to get rid of them, and they can have that hour or two to decide whether to fight or not. Let any Democrat who is hungering to see the neatest fight of the com paign, while I am discussing the Peek bill, and the Anthony Wilson contest, and all that sort of thing, go down to Democratic headquarters and find out how anxious Governor Northen and Major Black are to meet me, and carry my challenge to these gentlemen to meet me, and assure them that they can have fighting to their hearts’s content. [lnterruptions from the outside of the audience which yere answered by auditors around the stand; a gen eral swaying of the crowd, and cries of “Hurrah for our Tom ! Hit ’em again! Good-bye, Jimmie Black!”] ’ My friends, you please do your talking after I leave, and give me the opportunity now. Those fellows out there are just trying to irritate you, and that interferes with me. They will tell a half-bushel basket full of lies about this speech when I get away. You save your lungs for them to-morrow, and I will attend to those little fellows to-day. [Cries of “Order! Order, bovs ! It’s com ing now!” Have any of you seen that [hold ing a paper aloft] ? It is a picture of Col. Peek and myself putting the white people and the black people in slavery—putting the poor white and the poor black people in slavery— and underneath the picture is the heading, “Peek’s Slavery Bill.” Now, 1 have discussed this bill at every one of my appointments, ex plaining it in every . detail, but the fair, truthful(?) newspapers have been so carefully careless that they have not reported it. They have reported everything I said that they could put to a bad use, but wherever I discussed the press, or put a black tye or a blue spot on ihe Democratic party, they have been careful not to say a word about it. There has never been a campaign in the State of Georgia that depended so much on deliberate and tenacious telling of lies. They have told you the tangle foot lie, and the straight-legged lie; the sway-back lie, and the snaggle tooth lie [laughter]; the hump shouldered lie, and snub-nosed lie [increased laughter]; the lie gen eral, and the lie special [roars of laughter] ; the lie definite, and the lie indefinite [another outburst]; the lie malicious, and the lie amusing [A voice, “’Fore de Lord, Boss, dis mg gah bust, sho’!”], but if there is any lie that will take the cake in this varied list of lies, it is the Sindey Lewis he. [The climax reached.] More falsehoods ’have never been thrown into any canvass; it has been almost impossible for them to tell the truth, and as I said about this last kind of a lie,.it does seem that it de fies mendacious ingenuity, even in one who has given the whole venom of his nature up to this campaign. [Great cheering and expostulations on the part- of the well-behaved colored with a few unruly members of their own color.] Boys, lot those black men alone; they have no bet ter sense. [Addressing a white hatted young blackguard, who was trying to create confusion.] Make yourself useful, young man ; trot your men up here and 1 will attend to them. [Pointing to a group of sys tematic disturbers.] They do not amount to a row of pins; they do not amount to a needle in a hay stack. I say this, fellow-citizens, that the infamous falsehoods that have been attempted to be practiced on me and on you in this campaign are without a parallel, and more especially by the little man that runs the paper down the street, whose mind is so malig nant that if the contents of his heart were turned into his stomach he would die of the black vomit. [A colored brother, “’Fo’ the Lord; how he hits him!” Another, “Umph ; I’d sooner be a nigger than dat white man, sho’!” [At this point the young men com posing the Democratic club seemed to scatter themselves, as if by pre concerted action, and commenced vociferous volleys of “’Rah for Black! ’Rah for Black!” and tried to urge the colored men of the town to take part.] Mr. Watson [pointing his finger in scorn at them]. Oh, look at the kindergarten! Look at the silk hatters ! Listen to the dude! Listen to the nursery prattle ! Why, they have even robbed the cradle for claqueurs to come here and claque for Black. [Uproarious ap plause.] [Addressing the goslings in a serious tone.] You put your candidate in an absurd attitude, young fellows, when you cannot trust him to come and do his own talking, but you must come here and the attempt out of your empty heads. [Renewed interrup tions, which your reporter could not hear on account of the dense crowd around him.] We are going to have a Democrat bring m a baby directly. That young fellow [pointing] up there -seems to be as near an approach to a baby as he can well be not to be in a cradle. Now, colored men, let us come back to the slavery bill. It is a bad bill, undoubtedly, [Now a chorus of voices, scattered here and there, cut loose and pande monium reigned supreme for about ten minutes. Mr. Watson’s friends, who were in the street, crowded in on the steps of the court house and up ou the portico, in order to get a better view of the movements further out. The reporter was virtually in a sweat-box, and it was fortunate for him that the speaker was compelled to speak slowly while he was so re tarded in his work, else the words of the speaker would be unrecorded. At this time “ a change came o’er the spirit of their dreams.” The band struck up again aud added to the confusion.] Mr. Watson (making himself heard above the din) : That shows who are the cowards, don’t it? They look like people who are not afraid of the truth! The infamous cowards are not willing to hear the truth. Oh, yes! You are a nice set of fellows to talk about me being afraid to meet your candidate, when I came here to face the music and meet you face to face and foot to foot, and hilt to hilt, you try to drown my voice without a hearing; but from your infamous cowardice I appeal to the brave hearts and strong arms of the people, and I have no doubt where they stand. [Great cheering and voices iu every direction: “You have the crowd, Tom. They are on the run.”] Mr. Wateon: They know that I have something to say about this pa per, and the infamous liars that pub lish it do not want you to hear it; but you shall hear it, my friends. I came here to-day to tell you, and the infamous slanderers cannot prevent me from making the truth known to you. [A voice: “That’s what’s the matter with Hannah.”] [After a vain endeavor to break up the meeting, presumably at the command from the leaders, the band was headed for the grove where the “’cue” was prepared and the mob followed after.] Mr. C. E. McGregor, of Warren ton, then advanced and said: “ The clouds have passed away; the brazen trumpeters of democracy have disap peared, and I have this to say: Let you patriots of Hancock county re main quiet for a few moments, until Mr. Watson is ready to resume, and hear how this great leader of the democrats of the Tenth district an swered in thunder tones the chal lenge of your champion. Now, give me the utmost quiet and your undi vided attention. [A voice : “ Hurrah for Black.] My friend, you will not halloo that after November. [Look ing defiantly toward some disturb ers to the right.] I have this to say : ‘My foot is on my native' heath. [A voice : ‘And your name it]is Me-’ Gregor* Great cheering.] Yes, and we are on top, and will be there in November. Now, I have a few words to say to you Democrats over there ; a little medicine to aminister; I know that it is a nauseous dose, but you have to take it. I will now read you a letter in reply to a letter of Mr. Baxter, dated August 18, noti fying Nir. Harrison that the Young Men’s Democratic club would have public speaking and barbecue at Sparta on the 25th, and inviting the speakers of the People’s party to join them as debaters. Here is the letter, which speaks for itself, [Reads.] Linton, Ga., August 24. Hon. R. B. Baxter, Chairman Young Men’s Democratic Club: Dear Sir —Inasmuch as Hon. T. E. Watson, the People’s candidate for Congress from this, the Tenth Congres sional District had, as early as the I2th instant, announced and publicly pub lished an appointment at Sparta for Thursday, the 25th instant, I was as tonished that your Democratic club had, as late as the 18th instant, selected the same day and place for your free barbecue and rally. Regarding your invitation for our speakers and party to join you as debaters and guests, per mit me to say that The Atlanta Con stitution of this date contains this in formation : “Mr. Biack will speak at Sparta, and Mr. Watson will not meet him.” As Mr. Watson has challenged Mr. Black for eleven joint discussions, and Mr. Black having accepted live and de clined six, Mr. Watson respectfully offers to divide time with him at this appointment, after Mr. W r atson has oc cupied one hour in giving an account of his stewardship and replying to per sonal assaults. Yours respectfully, J. M. Harrison, Chairman Ex. Com. People’s Party. The Atlanta Constitution says: “ Mr. Black will speak at Sparta, and Mr. Watson is afraid to meet him.” It does not look that way to a man up a tree, does it? [Loud laughter. A voice : “ That is the lie unblush- colored man: “’Fore God, iu a hole; he’s treed, sho.”] NUMBER 49 Mr. Now listen to the reply of the man who wants so badly to fight. I want to show yon what sort of a war uniform they dress Gen Black in. [Laughter and ap plause. Reads.] Sparta, Ga., August 25th. Mr. J. M. Harrison, Chairman : Dear Sir—Yours of the 25th was not received until a moment ago. I wrote you on the 18th instant, proposing a joint meeting and discussion here to day, and you delayed your reply, which I have received only a few moments ago. You are mistaken in the state ment that Mr. Black declined six of the joint discussions to which Mr. Watson invited him. Mr. Watson having indi cated that his duties would call him out of the District after the 15th inst., and that he only wished to devote the time up to that date to a joint discus sion, the arrangements proposed by Mr. Black did not go beyond that date, he signifying his willingness to ar range other joint debates as might be mutually agreed on. You delay your reply to mine of the 18th instant until it has just reached me, and after we havejarranged another programme for the day,and then propose an unequal and unfair di vision of time, is so mani festly so that we cannot accept it. R. B. Baxter, Chairman. [To show the desperate straits in which this correspondence placed the would-be masters of the people, I must throw in an incident paren thetically. At the hotel, after the meetings were over, I got in conver sation with "one E. S. Jervey. He proclaimed that Mr. Watson had declined to meet Mr. Black—this to me by the way of information. I re spectfully informed him that I had correspondence in my pocket that enlightened me more than he possi bly could—at the same time showing him the above letters. He stepped into the office and almost immedi ately returned with a gentleman whom I afterwards learned was Mr. Baxter. Mr. Baxter, in an insulting tone, demanded to see the letters which I had in my pocket. I replied that while there was nothing of a secret character in the letters—for they would be published-—yet I de clined to yield to what was put in the form of a command. By this time Mr. Ham and Mr. James joined the group, and Mr. Baxter again made the demand, saying that one of the letters he thought was his personal property. I replied that it made no difference whose property it was, it was correspondence of a public char acter, read at a public meeting, placed in my possession, and nothing but brute force would get it. It was then suggested, in the form of a command, that I let Mr. Baxter read the letters. That I declined, telling them that if they thought they had a man they could bulldoze, they were mistaken ; that I had carried a gun on my shoul der in defense of Southern rights when some of them were lolling in the innocent inertia of puling baby hood, and if they wanted the letters, to take them if they could. Mr. Ham disclaimed any idea of bulldozing, and asked why, as a matter of court esy, I refused to show what was to be published. I replied that in that light I did not mind showing them to him and Mr. James, if they would give me their words of honor to re turn them—for they were gentle manly all through—but I would not let Baxter or Jervey see anything. I will say, in justice to Mr. James and Mr. Ham, and other gentlemen, that there was nothing of an insulting na ture indulged in by any person pres ent, save Baxter and Jervey; but still I was surrounded by men who were willing to torture everything in their favor.—J. L. D.] Mr. Watson : Now, fellow-citizens, I put it to you as fair-minded men— [Noisy demonstrations on the outside of the crowd, and angry retorts from within —the people evidently losing patience with|the blackguards.]" Now, my fellow-citizens, I have come here to discuss public issues with you, and do you think it fair, as fair men, as honest men, as brave men, that a squad of half a dozen should stand over there and try to keep me from speaking ? [Cries of “No !jNo ! No!”] Don’t you think that they put their candidate in a contemptible attitude when they stand there and say, by their noisy interruptions, that they are afraid for him to meet me and talk to you? (Angry mutterings around the speaker’s stand.) Now, if you will keep quiet (addressing those around the stand who showed their indignation) we will get rid of this riff-raff out there—those empty headed boys who have neither the in stinct nor training of gentlemen. No gentleman would behave in that way, no brave man would behave in that way, no fair-minded man would at tempt to drown the voice of reason when a man has come here to ’ meet his enemies foot to foot and face to face; nobody but a contemptible coward would attempt a thing like that. (Long continued cheering.) I will soon have these pusillanimous fellows running through the streets with their tails between thejr leers. (A voice : “ He’ll do it, sho.”) Now, fellow citizens, let us come 7 to tlmdiscussion of the “Peek Slav-/ eryßW.” They say that this gave the rich landlord the righfl&jg' take up his poor tenant, the take up his cropper or the right**’ to