Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1891-06-27
M'DowELL's RoTTENNEss.
A Thourough Exposure of his Arkan-
sassRecord by the Nashville
American.


Charges have been made through
newspapers of this State several
times that John II. Mcdowell, State
President of the Alliance, and Coal Oil
Inspector at Nashville under Gov.
Buchanan, affiliated with the Repub-
lican party while resident of Ar
kansas some years ago. Mcdowell
has denied these charges, and heaped
venom and abuse upon the newspa>
pers making them. Some Tennessee
papers and some prominent politi-
clans of this State have supported
Mr.. Mcdowell in his denials. To get
at the truth of the matter the Nash
vile American sent a staff cores
pondent to Desha county, Ark,
where Mcdowell resided for seven
years, and his report is given in the
American of Thursday. We reprint
from that paper brief summing up
of McDowell's record while in Ar
kansas, which is sustained by state
ments signed by large number of
the best citizens of Desha county,
who were acquainted with him, and
make the statements from personal
knowledge of the facts. Here it is:
HE Joined the Radical Loyal
League, according to the testimony
of members, and there annouced
himself to be a Republican. Meta
phorically if not literally, he was en-
braced by his new-found and sweet
scented comrades. By the ties of an
oath-bound order Mcdowell and his
dusky copartners in politics were
bound to support each other.
"In 1873 he announced himself as
a candidate for Justice of the Peace,
and sought the nomination at the
hands of his league. John M. Smi-
ley, sable member, also wanted the
plum. Both praised the quality of
their own Republicanism, and after a
warm dispute Mcdowell won the
prize. He was nominated,
'He arose in the Oak Grove
Church, near Red Fork, and thanked
his hearers for the honor they had
conferred, and, in brief, made an out
and out Republican speech
"The meeting adjourned, and
Mcdowell, with number of colored
men, repaired to the humble cabin OF
Jehazy Cole, who was a colored Re-
publican of more than local repute.
'"They all ate supper together, and
Cole, who owns the farm he lives on,
and is able to borrow money on his
credit, quotes Mcdowell as saying,
: when he seated himself in the midst
, of the negroes around the board
, Color don't make any difference; we
{ all belong to the same party He ate
with them, and in doing so impressed
: even his host that there was some
2 thing rotten in his politics.
"The canvass progressed. Mellow.
, ell ran as a Republican and was sc
r regarded by everybody whom the re-
g porter saw in his rounds. Mcdowell
l took to the woods at night in search
of the colOred vote.
S "Gallon jugs of whisky were sole
t out of the store of Maurice Quilting al
! Old Medford called for to be used by
t Mcdowell and Peterson in prescott
!. ing their canvass. 1t was said to bC
0 a frequent occurrence to see Mellow
t ell 'scooting' through the cleaning
) Thursday nights on his large six
# teen-hands brown mule Cassie Ell
o route for the Union League meetings
Mcdowell was elected. l. G
@ Bum, another Tennessean, and from
J. all accounts an illiterate and ruffian
e ly fellow, came along and joined tn,
Il league and became McDowell's Con
n stable. Their offices previous to tina
It time had yielded barely $50 year il
v fees. Mcdowell and Dunn reported
Q that they made $4,000 year out Q
them.
disturbances of most trifling nd
ture among the negroes were terrete'
out and prosecuted. If one party t
a suit had twenty-five witnesses: tn
- other would probably be advised t
s summon twenty-siX. The official
were out for the stuff, and the stu
they got.
f. "The white people lost confidenc
L in and respect for Mcdowell, and dis
e gust and loathing took their place
e The labor of the plantations was dis
a turbed to such an extent, and the cor
: sequent annoyance and expense c
the planters so great, that added t