Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1894-08-29
81 A YEAR In ADVANCE

VI II Dhh lN hDf hNOU
him for few words of comfort. And
Bob said in very determined voice ::
I'll run against Pettibone can beat
him" Ais friends there present
pledged him their support. This was
no doubt Bob Taylor's first announce.
ment as candidate for Congress, and
from this feeble beginning his boom
began to spread, and his Democratic
friends here also began to spread
themselves" in his behalf. 1t was a
case of "a tide in the affairs of men.
which takenat the flood leads on to for
tune. A happy combination of cir
cumstances growing outof Republican
factlonal fight, and a determination of
one faction to down the other. So
when the Democrats met a week later
to hold their convention, they found
the Alf Taylor Republicans sitting,
like Tam O'Shanter's sulky, sullen
danes, gathering their brows, like
gathering storms, nursing their wrath
to keep it warm" and still willing to
pledge their votes to Bob Taylor, if the
convention would nominate him.
The convention met and Bob Tay-
lor S name, along with many others,
was placed before it; but his vote was
rather small at first, but it grew by
slow degrees. 1t was no easy matter
to.induce that body to pass by such tried
veterans as Mcfarland, las Vance, as In
gersoll and Kirkpatrick, and nominate
so young and untried q man as Bob
Taylor at that day. Bob Taylor's friends
stuck to him and Judge Kirkpatrick not
only refused to allow his own name
to be considered by the convention, but
urged the committee to nominate Bob
Taylor,pointing outal his strong quail
ties as candidate. The balloting still
went on fell and about midnight the
choice on Boil Taylor. But the nomi-
nation was not given him as a "huge
joke" The convention meant business
and went home feeling that they had
named the right man. Bob soon went
back to Carter County, his home, and
there under the training of his father,
Hon. N. G. Taylor, he prepared for the
coming conflict. Alf would make red
hot Republican speech-the strongest
he could make-and Bob would answer
him from Democratic standpoint, so
that when the time for meeting Petit
bone arrived he was all ready for tn Q
fray, 1t was during the fair at Bristol
in September, and they spoke in the
Opera house. Pettibone led off with
very good speech. When Bob came on
the stand he was greeted with perfect
storm of applause, and he too made an
excellent speech, interspersing it with
some of his unlimited stories which
made the crowd roar and made Petit
bone mad as hornet; but the madder
ne got the more the people laughed,
until he bounced around like lump
ing jack" Pettibone made no votes,
in fact the vote he receives is always
in inverse ratio to the number of
speeches he makes. Bob Taylor wore
good clothes during this canvass and
his manners were those of born gentle
man. He never appeared on the stand
during that or any other canvass with
an old fiddle; neither did he ride an
old mule; nor did he walk over the
district. He travelled in q buggy be-
hind two horses driven by Capt. Dan
Ellis, OF Carter County, and as to
money he had all he needed to pay his
bills, without calling on the Republi-
cans for help.
East Tennesseans, as q class, have
ever been noted for their bravery and
independence and loyalty to principle
and to country. Her sons have re-
sponded to their country's call in every
crisis in her history, and she has great
reason to be proud of their h heroic deeds
on the decisive fields of Point Pleas.
ant, King 3 Mountain and New Orleans.
Then as to her orators, time and space
will not permit more than the mention
of such names as Taylor, Haynes,
Nelson, johnson, Maynard, Brownlow,
Netherland, etc.
But while we are proud of our sec
tion with its grand mountains, proud
of our fame and our history, proud of
our heroes, our statesmen and our ora
tors, we are even prouder still of the
fact that no one has ever yet dared to
call the people of East Tennessee either
fools OF towards. s.-Chattanooga Times.