The Russellville Democrat., 1878-08-08
The Bullaozer HaIts.


 Col. Johnson's organ, the Gazette has stopped it's bulldozing career and in Saturdays issue gets practi cally down to business i'll two col umn article inafavor of it's man. Il first wraps the Little Rock Democra' for reproducing what the country press says about Col. Johnson; then it places Col. J. astride a very high horse, entirely too high to carry its rider successfully into the U. 5, Sen ate. It says that Col Johnson repre- sents no particular. section. faction or focal interest, and we may be per. mitted to add, and nothing else, ex I'cept himself and "the dynasty The organ says that it was not ex pected, considering the large nun Der of candidates in the field, that Col. Johnson should be able to com mand the support ofa majority ol the newspapers of the state, but 1t hatters itself that so many papers support Col J., despite all local in teresSs. Now, we have not beer aware of the fact that any considera ble number are supporting him ir preference to all other candidates. Again it says to .ce newspapers one of whom We are which: "Wt do not feel unkiadly toward those papers that have given their sup port to their own sectional candi dates-the claims of personal friend ship and local interests are hard te resist, and newspaper editors are but mortals." Coming from Col. Us personal organ, owned by his neph- ew and edited Tn chief by his brother this is unctuous, patronizing, kird and fatherly! It gives us courage and makes us feel that we are not en. tirely lost. Now we will look up! The organ condescends to give each of the other candidates little earnest local strength, within the cir ! cumscribed limits of his own immedi- 1 ate bailiwick, but none elsewhere while it assumes that Col. J. has pos itive strength within the territory o all the other candidates. Right here we are strongly impressed that the organ makes fatal mistake. If we read and interpret the indications aright there is a very general feeling akin to that attributed by the Ga zette to tue Little Rock Democrat, "any body to beat Bob Johnson Times are not "what they used to was." The people now do consider able thinking for themselves, and cannot be bought, bullied or cajoled into the support of defunct political or family hacks.
 The organ refers to the thirty years record and public services o1 Col. Johnson, as being without blot or blemish. That is doubtless all true; we never heard of anything dishonorable being charged against him; but to come down to practica! tests, what he has done during those thirty years that stamps upon him pre-emincnt greatness? It is true he was instrumental in getting valuable land grants for the Cairo x Folton and Little Rock & Fort Smith rail ways. and the establishment of a branch of the U. s. district court for the western district of Arkansas but could not any other man of good ordinary common sense, placed in the same position, have done it as well? These land grants were given at time when ongress was making lavish donations to aid in the build ing of railroads in many of the states. e 8
 In conclusion we assert that the Gazette has said nothing in regard to the honesty and integrity of Col. Johnson, that will not apply with equal force to J. D. Walker, or eith- CT of the other aspirants, and If Mir. Walker does not take 6 higher posi- tion in the United States Senate one that will reflect more honor and distinction upon the state, during his first six years term, than Bob Johnson did in his thirty years serv- ice, then we will be in favor of apply ing to him Gov. Baxter's one term platform.-Fayettevillc Democrat.