The Reason. (Savannah, GA.) 1908-19??, May 16, 1908, Page 4, Image 4

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4 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,