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JUDGE JOHN T. PENDLETON The campaign literature of Air. Stephens, the opponent of Pon. John T. Pendleton, is so rich in misstatements of facts and improper appeals for votes that in the interest of truth, a reply has been thought proper. We regret the character of his communications. Candi dates for this high judicial office should be considered solely from the standpoint of merit. Demagogic clamor and false pretenses should find no place in such a campaign. He says “friends of Mr. Stephens prepared his folder.” Who are they? Where are his indorsements'? Why doesn’t some one besides himself say he is competent for the office? Do these “friends” have any existence in the flesh? If so, why is it the folder does not give their names? He states that Judge Pendleton was put out by a “back room caucus.” Is the man who deliberately wrote that statement, with a full knowledge of the facts, a proper man to elect to this office? What Are the Facts? Two years ago he wanted to be Judge of the Superior Court, and intimated he would make the race against Hon. George L. Bell, who had demonstrated his industry, character, ability and experience as a Judge. A petition was instantly and publicly circulated which was promptly and voluntarily signed by 95 per cent of the bar, asking Judge Bell to run, and pledging him the support of the signers. Mr. Stephens then suggested that he would make the race against Judge W. I). Ellis, who had likewise demonstrated his industry, character, ability and experience. Again 95 per cent of the total bar promptly and enthusiastically indorsed Judge Ellis, requesting him to make the race, and pledging their sup port. Recently he announced that he would likely make the race against Judge John T. Pendleton. Again there was an im mediate, active, earnest, universal protest on the part of the bar: again a petition was prepared requesting Judge Pendleton to make the race, and pledging him their active support. When it became definitely known that Mr. Stephens would run, a meeting in behalf of Judge Pendleton was called, and the call was published in The Atlanta Journal, The Atlanta Georgian and The Fulton Daily Report. A hall was obtained and an hour set. The widest possible publicity was given to the fact that the meeting would be held. It was held in an open hall where all white men friendly to the candidacy of Judge Pendleton were'invited through three daily papers to be present, At that Public Meeting, a large and representa tive body of citizens gathered for active work, and appointed an executive and general campaign committee. It was a “caucus ’ only in the sense that everv Trade, Pro fession and Business Interest in the County was enthusiastical ly represented. It was “secret” in the sense that it was ad vertised to the world. Mr. Stephens knew these facts when he wrote the folder which reiterates the charge of a “back-room caucus." And his statements are incorrect, made to the public with full knowledge of their incorrectness. and furnish ample evidence that a better man for the office can be easily selected. He says that “a few partisan lawyers interested in pend ing litigation” are supporting Judge Pendleton. All the law yers representing both sides of practically all pending cases are supporting Judge Pendleton. Has Mr. Stephens ever offered, as evidence of his ability, the written statement of a single law yer or client? lias he ever exhibited tfie written request of a single member of the Atlanta Bar that he should make the race 7 Why is it the three hundred lawyers who know how the office has been conducted are solidly supporting Judge Pendle ton? No one contends for an instant that the bar has the right Albert E Mayer. T. C. Water?. Thomas B Brown, J. W English, B. M Blount. C. T Judson. H. L. Graves. Fret! Paxon. Willis M Everett. W L. I eel, Charles T Bopkins. E. C. Stewart. J. Branch. Dr-W S. Goldsmith, Jack J. Spalding. Royal Daniel. Edward R Austin. J H Ewing. F E Radensleben, Mell Wilkinson, Ben .1. Conyers. Dr. E. L Connally, E D Thomas. Dr W. S Elkin, Jack Wilson. W. Floyd Johnson, W J. Tilson. Chas 1' McKinney, •lease M. Wood, J 1* Mayaon. K Eugene Dickey, D W. Thomas, C L. Pettigrew, E A Angier. Eugene M Mitchell, C. J. Simmons. Peter F Smith, H. L Culberson, R. E Church. Gordon F Mitchell, Herbert .1 Haas. J. V. Poole. Charles W Smith. .1 Howell Green. Harvey Hatcher, , Felix Camp. Mark Bolding. E. V. Carter. Jr . Aldine Chambers. A A. Mover. W II Terrell. Walter <> Marshburn H A. Alexander. J A Watson. Jr. A C Broom. W A James, Leonard Haas, Walter McElreath, C. A. Stokes. Earl Sims R S Saffold/ Shelby Smith. George S Lowndes, J L Sunn. T. G. Russel. H E Stockbridge, ■1 B McConnell. Chas F Barnwell. ■I R Nutting. It L Hope. Floyd W Mcßae. John S Spalding, •I I. Murphv. Henry Hillver. Ross Sims. Thus .1 F Day. ' J L Edmondson, Clarence Hell. Frompton E Ellis, Edward T. Brown, Hawkins Randolph. Uobt S. Parker. Hugh M Scott. n, R. I Guinn. Fted .1 Paxon, Stiles Hopkins. C T. Unison. A \ Meyer. Walter A Sims. B F Burdette. Arthur Thurman. Asa W Candler, Fred Schrlmper. J A Hunt. John S Spalding, Laniir Hill, to elect the .Judge; no one pretends that the voters are bound by their indorsement. But it is contended that they have a right to bear testimony to the public with reference to the fitness of one and the unfitness of the other, and that this evidence should be considered by the public for what it is worth. Is the testimony of a locomotive engineer, who has spent his life in that work, worth nothing when it comes to the qualifications of another engineer? Is the testimony of a reputable, competent surgeon worth nothing upon the question of whether another surgeon is a competent and an efficient operator? Are merchants not competent to testify as to the quality of the goods they deal in? 5 on are asked to consider the testimony of these lawvers in precisely the same way you would consider the testimony of other men about things connected with their own trades or business. Speaking of Testimony as to Competency W hat evidence does Mr. Stephens offer that he is qualified to fill this office? kludge Pendleton was Recorder, Assistant City Attorney, and general practitioner for many years. He was one of the most consistently active and successful legal advocates the At lanta Bar ever knew. He had plenty of rases, big cases—he had eases all the time and not some of the time—because—he was honest, industrious, able, skillful, signally competent—because —he knew what to do, knew how to do it and did it intelligently and forcefully. What About the Legal Experience of Mr. Alex. W. Stephens? He says he has practiced law for “fifteen years.” Did you ever see him in the Court House? Did you ever, as partv, wit ness, juror, or spectator, see him try any case? Did you ever hear of his having a case? An examination of the last ten volumes of the Supreme Court Reports discloses his name in but two cases. One was a criminal case iu which his client was promptly found guilty and promptly hung. The other was a civil case involving about $150.00, which he promptly lost in the lower Court and promptly lost again in the Supreme Court. Four points were made in the bill of exceptions. The Court declined to consider two of them because they were not made in the manner the law required. Has he had any judicial experience? He was appointed Auditor in the case of Noles vs. Jones Mercantile Company, now pending in Pulton Superior Court. He took the Auditor’s oath on March 21st, 1911. He tried the case as Judge in April, 1911. The case involved $684.20. On April 12, 1912. just one year after the trial was concluded, the plaintiff filed a rule against him asking the Superior Court to force him to decide the case. A rule was issued bv Judge George L. Bell calling on him to show cause whv he had not decided the case. He filed an answer which stated, in part, that the questions involved were difficult for him to determine and asked to be released of his appointment as auditor. What do you think of that? Did you over, in your life, hear of a rule being issued to make a Judge decide a case? If he couldn't reach a conclusion in twelve months in one ease involving $684.20, when would he be able to decide the numerous cases in Eulton Superior Court involving from ten to twenty millions each year? The Superior Court can force an Auditor to decide a case. But there is no Court which can force a Superior Court Judge to do so, and if he was on the Superior Court Bench he would be beyond the reach of corrective relief. If Mr. Stephens has had sufficient judicial experience— If Mr. Stephens has had sufficient legal experience— CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE Harry Silverman, Dowry Arnold. J Carroll Payne. Marion Jackson. B W Tye. E R Black. Winfield P. Jones, E A Neely. Ren .1 Phillips. Virlyn B Moore, Alex W Smith. R A Friedson, E S Croft. T .1 Riplev. W H la>wis, Samuel D Hewlett. P H Alston. E Zachery Arnold. Harrison Jones, lames W Mason. W. 1 Brantley, Jr.. Harold Hirseh. 1. F McClelland. John V Smith. lb nderson Hallman. John W Moore, I A Dodgen, W E Suttles. James 1. Kev . Carl N Guess. John F Methvtn, l ljsses Smith, Jx . ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS. John Clay Smith, M. Herzberg. Clifford L Anderson. D. W. Rountree. James L. Anderson. F A Hooper, .1 M Terrell. H I. Luttrell. 1 'avid Eichberg. Edward I. Mover. John A Boykin. E. L Douglas. E V Carter, H W Dent, H B Troutman, lames T Wright. Thomas L Bishop. Frank L Haralson, T. B Felder. C G Wilson. B. A Lovvorn. F E Calloway, W W Visanska, c B Reynolds, Ernest Kontz. C W t'nderwood. Alvin L Richards. John A Hynds. W R Hammond, Paul E Johnson. Samuel A Booretin, Geo. B Rush. H C. Holbrook. . Hudson Moore. W. W. Hood. R. H. Harris. Courtland s Winn. W. D. Ellis. Jr.. Charles B Shelton. John K. McDonald. Jr . Roy Dorsey. M F Goldstein. Julian S Ciiambeis, A E Wilson. E W. Born. Alex W Smith, Jr. William A Wimbish, lames L. Mayson, Marion Smith. Thomas ■ ; Lew is, I A Fisher. E D. Thomas. Marion M Jackson. C B. Rosser, Jr . C H. Cox, H I. Parry. Morris Macks, lames I Ragan. W alter R Dale) Robert C Alston. W 1> Thompson, Shepatd Bryan. George Gordan, C. P. Goree. E. O. Horton, M. C. Horton, D. K. Johnson. Robert H. Jones. Jr., M I’. McWhorter, George M Napier, W. F. Phillips. A C Riley. Jr., E. A. Stephens. Ily, George W. Stephens. , J. B. Stuart. E Marvin Cnderwiaxi, George P. Whitman. George Westmoreland, C M Yeates. Arthur Heyman, T C Battle. G. H. Cornwell. S. C Crane. F A. Quillian. J W Bachman, H W Jones. J H. Porter. John W Cox. A C Corbett. Charles .1 Moore. James E. Warren, Paul Donehoo, G A K Slavens, W. P. Bloodworth, John S. Candler, Herbert A. Sage, A. M Brand, J. E. McClelland. .1 R Burress, R R. Shropshire. Howell C Erwin, I, Nalley. Paul L. Lindsay, Alonzo Field. Lowndes C Connall Tinney W. Rucker. J. L. Moore, John D. Little. J J. Barge. VanA. Bachelor. T B. Higdon. Roger Boyd, Nathan Copelan. Elliott Cheatham, Lowndes Calhoun. R. W Crenshaw. A H Davis. W C Davis, W S Dillon, Harry Dodd, E H Frazer. \\ W Gaines. R. F Gilliam. George H Gillen, Then Where Did He Get It? He says Judge Pendleton is a “chronic office seeker.” It is true he was City Recorder. Incidentally, he made a very fine officer. It is true he was City Attorney. Incidentally, he made one of the best legal advisers the city ever had. It is true he was appointed Judge of the Superior Court, Without solicitation upon his part, when Judge Lumpkin was placed on the Supreme Court. Incidentally, he is one of the best trial Judges in Georgia. It is further true he has been twice indorsed, since then, by the people. The people appear to be as well satisfied with his admin istration as the lawyers. But, Air. Stephens, what about your record as a “chronic office seeker?” You ran for Justice of the Peace. You ran for City Recorder. 5 on ran for Solicitor of the Criminal Court of Atlanta. 5 on ran for the Legislature from this County. V\ ere you ever elected to any office ? Isn t your appetite for office both varied and voracious? Indorses a Negro On December 2. 1904, Mr. Stephens indorsed a negro poli tician for admission to the bar. He had a legal right to do this if it met his personal tastes and inclinations, just as Mr. Wick ersham had the right to indorse the negro Lewis for member ship in the American Bar Association. But a negro lawyer is distasteful to ninety-nine per cent of all jurors, parties, witnesses and lawyers. Mr. Stephens was either so constituted as to be ignorant of this fact, or knowing it, was indifferent ay to the feelings of the people. A Judge of the Superior Court ought to both know and be keenly alive to the results of his acts. His exercise of a legal right to indorse a negro for admis sion was an act not calculated to facilitate the even, efficient operation of the legal machinery. Air. Stephens stated at the East Point meeting that Judge Pendleton, as Administrator of the Collier estate, had brought a suit in the Superior ..Court against certain parties when this case should have been brought in the City Court, the intimation being that Judge Pendleton was seeking the influence of the Superior Court in the decision. I his statement reflects no credit upon Air. Stephens. Judge Pendleton was named by the Collier heirs as Administrator of their estate, and appointed Administrator before he was se lected as Judge of the Superior Court. This estate has never been wound up, and Judge Pendleton is still the Administrator and no right to sue exists in behalf of any one except Judge Pendleton as Administrator. The suit was one which required equitable relief. Il could be brought only in the Superior Court. The suit was filed and the process issued in the name of one of the other Judges. Judge Pendleton is not qualified to try that case, and no one with the slightest intelligence would ever in timate that he did propose to try the case. Either Air. Stephens made the statement to produce an entirely improper impression, or he did not know that a peti tion seeking equitable relief had to be filed exclusively in the Superior Court. Is he, in either event, the best man for this position? The selection of a Judge for this office is far away and be yond all partisan politics. This Judgeship is of more importance than the ambitions of any one man. It affects home, property, liberty, life. It is important to go slow, consider carefully—and get the right man. J. D. Kilpatrick. Chairman. L. Z. Rosser, Jr. P. H. Brew’ster, William S. Thomson, W. C. Munday, Edmund W. Martin., Joseph W. Humphries, W. Cousins. W. W Tindall. H A. Ethridge. John D. Humphries, J H. Dodgen. William H Withers. Malvern Hill. Lucien Harris, Tull C Waters. R R. Arnold. Carlos H. Mason, lames L Key. Hudson Moore. C J. Sullivftn. J A. Noyes, E E Pomeroy. James W Austin. Paul S Etheridge, W O Wilson. Philip W either. Joseph D. Greene. Cam D, Dorsey. E H Barnett. A E. Ramseur. Robert P Jones, Spencer R Atkinson, W. E. Suttles, R. J. Jordan, J. J. Hastings. Ronald Ransom. James K. Hines, , Stiles Hopkins. S. C. Williams. J. S McClelland. T. O. Hathcock. Frank 1. Neufville. Albert Boylston. Daniel McDougal. T. J. Buchanan. Morris Brandon. H. M. Patty. Walter G. Cooper, .1 11. Gilbert. Edgar Watkins, Flovd Mcßae. P C. McDuffie, A D Adair. M A Hale. J A Fisher. V A. Kreigshaber. William A Fuller, G If. Fansee, S N Evins. Tom Egleston, I. C. Hopkins. S B Turman. A H Bancker. George M Brown, J. S. Slicer, Charles Nunnally, J. McSwain Wood, E. P. Mcßurney. Walter T. Colquitt, John Eagan. L. Z Rosser. Sig Pappenheimer. ■I F. Westbrook, W. 11. Harrison. Hughes Spalding. Thomas J. Lewis, Albert Thornton. W. G. Whisehunt. Alex C King. D. M. G. Campbell. R. B. Blackburn, J. M. Hollowell. Ebb P ( pshaw. Emile Breitenbucher, c. .1. Sullivan. Reuben H. Arnold. Gordon N. Hurtel, Harvey Hill. Arminlus Wright. John L. Tye. Sanders McDaniel. H <’ Peeples, S J Sheffield, Charles R Clark, Jr, Lee M Jordan, T P Westmoreland, John M Slaton, Eb T. Williams, Claude c. Smith, J. I‘. Golightlv, Burton Smith. John W. Moore. Harrison Jones, George c Middlebrooks, E. R. Black. ’p 1 ”! L Edmondson, h M. Patterson. Harvey Johnson, Joseph H Leavitt. J Goldsmith, < lyde Haynes. \ v rCarlinger. “ ,7, Weniphlll, Smith & Tompkins. George Adair, G V- Brandon. M Levin. B r , I ’ r Bat es Block, J* red Patterson, . 8. Byck, John .1 Woodside. < larence Havertv ■lohn F McWaters. '' H Atkins. Marcellus Anderson, r. ’ Crichton, Marcus Bneb. IL C. Black. W N T N'elmg, James L. Dickey. J