The weekly Panola star. [volume] (Panola, Miss.) 1857-1881, 1869-07-03

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tune q, meet with tIrfI,ul af m.
boyhood. etGuyernor Robert VI
Patton, If AIalwul anIh, 'hrhN
THE reminds me- that tllt Awimeis
lhad short skctch Of thr Governor
during bi Iay 10 Nwruis. 100
which Il bad tho uatlo somewhat
twisted us ~ bis history ] have
/ known him intimately since ls}i,
and cay right here, that with aIl bis
faults ho is one of the purcst mind
ed christian gentlemen that The
\ Good Ono ever made, and ] hold
myself responsible for the dcclaa-
tiou that he has done more TO build
up Alabama and develop her fc.
sources than any man in it and his
labors have not been altogether con
fined to Alabama. Memphis owes
him n big dJbt, for Sam Tate will
tell you, and if Governor Jones
could speak would say, that he
assisted largely in building the Mem
phis and Charleston Railroad Gov
ernor Patton was the son of an
Irishman, William Patton, an old,
respected and worthy merchant of
/ Huntsville, Alabama, who came to
that place in 1912. Governor Pat
ton moved to Florence, Alabama, in
1929, and commenced on his account
the business of merchant, to which
he had been raised lie at once
commenced an active business, not
alone with the yard stick, measur.
ing calico and tape, but with a big
and stout heart looked around as tc
how he could best invest his means
He associated with him f. b. Mar
tin, who very recently died in Chi
cago, said to be worth a million o.
so, They established a line o
packets to Orleans, and they ha(
boats that were boats, carrying ol
each two to three hundred bales o
cotton at Il trip. The Governor wa
instrumental largely in building tn
Florence river bridge across tn
Tennesse; was a leading director il
the Decatur bank, and about tn
year 1885, pitched into politics, ''red
eyed" But, by way of amusemen
he kept up large mercantile hous'
of which he was the head, a lare
plantation which he paid such a
tention as made it a success, and
you ever want to feel glad all owe
and good away down in your boot
only call upon him at his residen'
at Sweet Water, and you will ha'
the bill filled. He at the same tin
had and owned large bodies of Ian
to which he gave such attention
made them profitable. ! now g
M back to the commencement of h
political life. He was beaten Il
first time he ran for the State Sena
by Hon. s. c. Posey, who recent
died near Florence. Patton as
Wing and Posey as a Democr
nothing else was expected in c
E Lauderdalc, one of the "Democra "
avalanche counties of North A
bama," And, by the by, didn't y
get your name from that idea!"
you didn't, where did you get
Wing as he was, he was elected af
that every time he ran for any off
in the gift of the people; was ms
President of the Senate--in We
was all the people wanted him to
a good, honest, faithful, hard wo
) ing and never firing servant.
s1s you saw at the convention, the G
ernor is not "much on the spea
O0 ! but "bully on old fashioned, ha
,urb horse sense" I think you said
your notice of him that he WI
Provisional Governor; thisis, ! thi
mistake, he was elected by
~ people. lie was in the convent
in 1865, to revise the Constitut
and / think by that convention
n, suggested to the people as a pre-
person for Governor. When
took his seat as Governor he 70
the State bankrupt--not dollt
the treasury and no State CIR
On his own credit he borro
s175,OOo Or 100000, put the WI
t. of government in motion, bull
e. the nenitentiary, set the Unive