The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1884-10-25
TO tVie People OF. tlae First Cone
EressiOnal District OF
Tennessee.

TO tEe People OF. tlae First CODs
GressiOnal District OF
Tennessee.
For several months past the people
If this Dist. have been deeply agitated
over the choice of a nominee for con-
gress.
Early in the canvass the people
gave unmistakable evidence OF |
strong preference Of the Hon. A. A.
Taylor.
He had born the standard of the
party nobly, grandly and CALAMITY,
eight years, ago as Dist: Elector for
Hayes and Wheeler.
Two years later, although the choice
Of a large majority of the party, he was
cheated and defrauded out of the
nomination for Congress by Pettibone
and his cohorts.
Two years after this, he laid aside
every personal consideration and ac-
copied the nomination as Elector for
the State at large on the Garfield and
Arthur ticket and made one OF the
most brilliant canvasses ever made in
the history Of Tennessee, and two
years ago, as is we'll known, the party
managers such men as Judas Iscarriot
Brownlow and Ananias Reeves, and
they representing that colossal fraud
A. II. Pettibone, solemnly promised
and pledged the race to Mr., Taylor i'll
1884. Acting uponsthis Yr me-, &C.
cepting it as made in good faith Mr..
Taylor and his friends entered hcaftl-
ly into the support OF the ticket and
by their effort secured the election
Of Pettibone, which otherwise would
have been impossible for the reason
that he had secured his own election
two years prior to this by a promise
solomnly made at the Greeneyillc con
vention that he "would never agar
ask nomination at tie hands O.. -!
constituency"
Now after all this hard work ,or th'
success of the party by Mr.. Taylo
and his friends, the fruits Of Wlici
Pottibone and his friends have enjoy
ed how have they rowarde,
Mr.. Taylor? Have they KEEP
their promise? The history OF the con
test shows.
A call was made for q convention
and the Republicans met in their re
spective counties to choose delegate
to that convention and it is fact we
known that the Pettibone men dell
erately entered into conspiracy t
organize and did organize bolts in a
, of Taylor's strongest counties, thu
to carry by fraud what they could nc
:
{ do openly and fairly
In Mr.. Taylors native county, PETIT
bone was present in person to see thf
the work of injustice was done. Ia.
lor's friends numbered 604 men coun
ed by Jas. w. Orr the leading PETIT
bone man of the county and Pett
bones friends seeing that they did NJ
have half this number refused
: count, bolted and appointed asepera
list of delegates with Pettibone presel
: looking on and sanctioning this gro
outrage and injustice being dol
= Mr.. Taylor.
At Jonesboro, w. p. Brownlow al
Tom Reeves bolted with only sew
. man besides themselves out of co
a. vention numbering one hundred al
e. eleven delegates.
s. The fraud thus commenced in t
!, county conventions was continu
~ at the Jonerboro convention.
H. lot OF boilers and fraudule
70 delegates under the leadership
~ ~ Boss Brownlow, Boss Reeves a
at other Bosses Of less note orgapiz
Id in opposition to the regular conv(
IS ton.
- This action on the part OF Pettibo
an and his men we charge was the res
N. of deliberate conspiracy TO che
ell wrong and defraud A. A. Taylor {
- of the nomination for Congress a
or we have proven it to be a preconcer
nd plan by the sworn statements OF A.
els Bowman, r. NJ. K. Deakins, FAC. Pc
and others.
H.. But this was not the end of
q dark plot. Boss Brownlow went
Ply Nashville and tried to get the st
re- Committee TO set both cOnyenti
~. aside and order another convention
he Primary Election which he ini
lif- succeeded in having dono. And
mr. comes the darkest page in this fou
~ of political crimes. No sooner
he they arranged for the Primary Il
nd every offce-holder and Petty-boss