Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-06-10
The Charge Of Bribery Repealed
by A. q. Sharpe. |
The Plans and Intrigues the
COnspiratOrs. .s !
Sugar HamlltOn's Small Experl-
ment for Governor.
Searching InterrOgat0ries TO
Gen. Stokes.
To the Editors of the Union and American

| ana tunes q long letter from w. L
Stokes, under flaming head lines, accus
ing me of attempting bribery etc.
Under ordinary circumstances l woult
not notice the slanderous accusation, con-
ing it does, from man who is acknoWledg
ed to be one Of the,worst liars in the eoun
try, and the fact Of his being the autho
of it being satisfactory evidence TO hon
est men that it is false; but the position
which he now couples as Congressman
(and hope God will forgive me for help
ing to placs him in that positiOn), and thu
fact Of his having the impotence to try
to force himself upon the people Of thu
State of Tennessee as Governor, justifes
me in making the cOndescension which q
gentleman has to make to answer the at
tacks OF this foul-mouthed REPTILE
| If NJ. Stokes wished to ruin my char
acter for truth and Veracity, so that the
| people would not believe what l have
before written about the conspiracy, he
should not have written his last letter to
me, acknowledging his completely in the
matter, and branding A. M. Cate as a
liar. As that matter now stands, he
must break down his own character for
trust as well as mine, or else deny hav-
ing written the letter. Take your choice,
Mr.. Stokes. | have your letter, and
think that it will be nip and tuck between
you and Cate which Of the two is the
biggest liar.
The facts are Mr.. Stokes entered into
foul conspiracy with that willing tool,
that degenerated abortion, a. NJ. Cate,
to politically ruin Dewitt C. Senter,
that over Senter's political grave Mr..
Stokes might walk into the gubernato-
rial chair, and finally into the United
States Senate. His man Friday, Mr..
Cate, was to pick up the offices as Mr..
Stokes let them fall and sped on to
greater conquests. Mr.. Cate was to be
elected Senator from this district, then
Speaker of the Senate, and in 1871,
when Stokes was elected to the United
States Senate, Mr.. Cate would constitu-
tionalIy slip into the gubernatoriaI chair,
a fine little piece of maneuvering, but it
puts me much in mind of reading Don
Quixote. What large castle those two
built together, but alasl only in air, for
in the first place, Stokes will net be
Governor, and III the Second place ALI.
Cate cannot get majority Of votes in
any precinct in his senatorial district for
any Office from constable up. / have
heard it minated that the great Mems
phis sugarsthief, Hamilton, has private
understanding with Mr. Stokes that he
is to be Stokes successor as Governor,
and with that understanding, Mr.. Ham
ilton, who is an aspirant for the nomina-
ton of Governor, withdrew his name
and threw his immense influence OF
Mr.. Stokes in the convention. There
must have been considerable sugar or
molasses used in this bargain making,
for | distinctly remember being told by
Mr.. Stokes that Mr.. Hamilton was very
odious to him, and that he was the most
obnoxious man he ever met.
presume they have learned each other
better now, and having discovered that
they are so nearly alike have resolved
themselves into mutual aid and admira-
ton society. / will do Hamilton the
Justice to say that consider Stokes NOR g
like Hamilton than Hamilton like Stokes.
How many more Mr.. Stokes has bar
gained with to succeed him as Governor,
the Lord only knows, and care not; but
am satisfied that Stokes will never
have to break the pledge made to any Of
them, for the men who wait to succeed
Stokes as Governor Of Tennessee had
better fold up their tents and steal away
to some new field of action or their child
rem wilnl never have the honor of calling
them Governor. But Mr.. Stokes accuses
me of attempting to bride him. Now for
the facts: On the 9th Of October last /
started from Chattanooga in company
with Mr.. Stokes to fill list Of his ap-
pointments. Our conveyance was a
buggy, there being no railroads in that
section of the country. We were gone
nine days; while we were riding through
| the country Mr.. Stokes asked me if |
did not want the postolIiee at Chatta-
noOga; | said emphatically no. He then
asked me who | wanted appointed. /
told him wanted A. A. Pearson ap-
I pointed, that he was an old man, had lost
heavily during the war, had been sent to
Southern prison, that he had stood up
manfully at all times for the Union and
worked untiringly for the party, and that
| would rather he had the Office than
have it myself . -.r"
Stokes said it was very generous in me.
Stokes then and there promised me upon
his honor as man, that Pearson should
have the postOfice at Chattanooga or he
would tear up very hell trying. Il use
his own language) He said | need give
myself no uneasiness about it, and think
ing him to be a gentleman / supposed
the matter all understood. So confident
and satisfied were Pearson and myself
about the matter that Pearson never
wrote a word to Stokes or even spoke s
word to him upon the subject. Now
ask what necessity was there for my at
tempting to bribe Mr.. Stokes, when
had his most solemn pledge, and my only
object in writing that which he so aptlJ
CONSTITUTES into bribery was to show that
with the postoffice salary Pearson would
be better able to spend money for the
party, and the latter part of the sentence
so shows, and Stokes well knows tina
was intended, and his cry about bribery
on my part is only to cover up something
else. .
| No indeed, Mr.. Stokes is mistaken
he thought that l was fool enough e
doffer 81 900 brides to such cattle as him
for too well | knew with my limited
knowledge of the, CT aracter of the maj
even when | wrote that letter that h
would grab at it like a speckled trout a
a fly and pocket it as quick. One would
believe from reading Mr.. Stokes lettel
that che had holy horror Of bribery
Now l verify believe that the trutl
of this whole matter is that Pearson
failed to get the Postofice because
he did not offer Stokes q direc
money consideration to shove into nj
pocket, and that the conglomerattd
cowardly cur who got the appointment
against the wishes of nine men of ever.
ten in the city, did give him money o
its equivalent. How can Stokes s
strongly ally himself with Mr.. Hamilton
who, he told me, offered the ChattanOo
, ga paper 81 600 to support him but
seems the editor had prior and bette
bid, and Stokes name appeared at th
head of the paper, and the editor wa
/ appointed postmaster. That looks a III
, tie like there was something rotten
/. Denmark. If Mr.. Stokes has under
gone such wonderful change as to nj
want people to spend money in his cam
1 paign for him since last travelled wit
!. him, | hope he will do as the conscienC