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AT LAST! AT LAST! TOM AND HOKE COME TO BLOWS-NOW
HONEST COUNTRY AWAY! AWAY! OUR WOES!
By E. LAMAR PARKER.
The Hon. Thomas E. Watson of Thomson. Ga., is
all wrong about the source of our information con
cerning his opposition to Governor Smith. Neither
Smith nor any of his friends ever told us that the
refusal of the governor to commute the death sen
tence of Arthur Glover cost him Watson’s support;
BIT A LITTLE BIRD DID.
Air. Watson is badly in error as to this, just as he
is badly in error on many another public question;
to which proper consideration will be given later
on, whether he insist on it or not.
THE REASON IS NOT A SUPPORTER OF
GOVERNOR SAIITH.
If I here is any statement we would make em
phatic it is this.
THE FRIENDS OF AIR. SMITH ARE NOT
OCR FRIENDS.
Another statement, unequivocally and irrevoc
ably true that we would have made as emphatic as
language can make it.
The editor of 'Pho Reason and Hoke Smith fell
out OVER POLITICS two years ago and our dif
ferences. instead of being reconciled, have become
more pronounced every day since the governor took
the oath, of office.
Fact is, Hoke Smith and The Reason don’t say
as much as “good mornin’ ” or “good evenin’ ” —as
the case may be—on passing in the street.
We insist that Mr. Watson quit misrepresenting
us by charging that we are being “doped” by Hoke
Smith and his allies. We repeat that it was A LIT
TLE BIRD, and not Smith or any of his hired men,
that told us all about the split between the Pop and
the Demo—l)emagogue.
We don't think—we know that we touched Tom
Watson's sore-spot when we said personal malice in
spired by the refusal of commutation of the Glover
sent(mre was responsible for Tom Watson’s position
in this campaign. There's not enough who doesn’t
believe with us to send us a quarter, so we’ll leave
that off.
.Mindful of the fact that the little bird does some
times fail to tell the truth, as is evidenced by the
many lies he has often carried to Tom Watson, we
set out last week to have his testimony corroborated.
This was abundantly done. In future we shall be
lieve—not prefer to believe—that the little fellow
only lies to the evil-minded and those of ill-condi
tioned soul, who play upon the weakness of ignor
ant witnesses and put words in their mouths that
they never dreamed of, much less give utterance to.
Does not the very fact that Mr. "Watson went
back on his promise to Seab. Wright to play “Hands
off” in this campaign only after The Reason made the
statement that he was frightening Hoke Smith over
the Glover transaction, prove beyond the shadow
of a doubt that we hit the nail on the head? That
Mr. Watson remembers his dead friend with added
force since there is a newspaper in the State not
afraid to speak out in meetin’?
THE REASON
When asked whether he would support Brown
or Smith, he replied, the next day after his con
ference with Seab, that the weekly Jeffersonian
would tell all he had to say. That was before our
expose appeared. And what did the weekly say?
Why , it said, “We are all hands off in this fight.”
Since then, however, —not strange to say—but just
since then and however, Mr. Watson has read a copy
of The Reason and in it he found what he didn’t
want to find—an expose of the personal malice be
hind his opposition to the governor; with the result
that he has turned completely ’round and jumped
on Smith with both feet. There are a few copies of
this edition left, which anybody may have for 5
cents, anybody except Air. "Watson—he can have
one FREE.
It is well enough for Hoke that this mighty Pop.
should go back on ’em. We never did believe in
unequals tying up, ’least we never did expect to live
to see the union turn out happy. Old Easops fable
of the two urns is respectfully referred to the earn
est consideration of the two gentlemen at outs.
We did think that when Tom hooked up with old
man .Mann that he had hit it for once, but bless your
soul, he didn't gee three months nor get along
worth a cent. The success of his expedition to New
York with hammer and tongs and old Mann thrown
in for good measure was about as short lived as
old Dowie’s. In nine months he was back —that is,
what of him that .Mann couldn’t steal, and please
God, on the stump for Hoke Smith, a Cleveland
gold bug, a \\ all street railroad stock manipulator
and mid-night bond seller!
When we saw that spectacle we said verily it is
true that politics does make strange bed fellows.
But for the life of us we couldn't see how either of
them could sleep. If anybody had said such vile
things of us as Watson had said of Smith and Smith
had said of Watson we wouldn’t feel safe dead and
ten feet under ground.
The stored up animus in the hearts of the two
men for one another has been held in check longer
than anybody knowing them expected it to be. Now
that it’s broke loose, hell’s to play; and hell it’ll be.
Watch and see.
Air. A\ atson is already talking like this: “If you
want to be a champion prohibitionist, just hang on
to your interest in a profitable bar until it is shut
up by a law which you opposed.
“Flop to Prohibition when you see that the Pro
hibition bill has already secured a sufficient num
ber of votes to override a gubernatorial veto;
A\ rite a dispatch for the Associated Press
■which , alter all erasures, interlineations and loop
holes are eliminated, favors a law which would per
mit the use of Might wines and beer,’ as food;
Loudly declare that unless you are kept in
office the Prohibition law, which was passed in spite
of a on, v ill in some mysterious manner, be scooped,