The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1895-07-03
/ SEVERE TONGUE LASaING.
prVINISGENCE OF ALEXANDER
II. STEPHENS.
A. Incident of the Eimes When the Lines
,yers Sharply Drawn in Georgia Be-
tween the wings and Dem

The wear 1851 will be remembered by
4be older Ge0rgians, who were Interested
in the political events Of that time, as
onein which there was a sharply drawn
line and a distinctly made issue between
the wings and the democrats; between
the representations of the old federal par.
~. With internal mprovemcnts," a pro.
tecttve tariff and the American policy OF
Mr. Clay on the one hand, and the Jeffer.
sonian, Andrew Jackson, free trade.
states rights democracy ON the other.
It was the last great effort of the whig
marty to obtain possession of the national
government, and the leaders of that par
ty we're looking to Georgia and to Ten
nes,ee with great show of confidence for
votes in the ecctoral college.
Under the mastery leadership of the
great triumvirate, Calhoun, Clay and
Webster, the debate in congress on these
issues had furnished to an army of polit
ical orators and ''stump speakers" all
over the country, all the necessary points
for argumentative pleadings on the sub
iects If the Missouri compromise, the
fugitive slave law, and on other subjects,
the collaterals of Mr.. Ciay's celebrated
"Omnibus Bill" while the expedition of
Lopez to cuba had made the conquest
of the "Gem of the Antilles" and it's an
nexaton 70 the United States, quite as
interesting, and much more a matter of
politics than the same subject has be-
come in this day.
The democrats and wings both declar-
ed in favor of the "Omnibus Bill" while
the free soil party" the republican of
today, was Outspoken against it.
Franklin Pierce was the candidate of
the democrats for the presidency, and
General Wingtield Scott, with all the
prestige of his military achievements,
and chaplet of laurels fresh from the
grove Of Mexico, was the whig candi-
date.
On the side Of the democrats in Geor-
gia were Herscnel V. Johnson, Howell
Cobb and Robert Toombs as leaders.
The fall season had arrived and the
8 time Or barbecues and the orators had
arrived. A special appointment had
been made for Mr.. Alexander H. Steph-
ems to address the people of north Geor-
gia at Calhoun, Gordon county.
As the great Ajax of the wings, his
coming to north Georgia was regarded as
certain presage of triumph for the
wings by the enthusiastic partisans of
that party. The managers were careful
10 their arrangements for the occasion
toin7ite no other speaker, so that there
could be no answer to his speech, and
u thus allow the full force of his logic and
#eloquence to remain unbroken, to echo
and re-echo through this lovely region
without an answering sound of discord.
AS soon as the democrats discovered
tlS plan of the wings, their executive
0ticerS went to work with delay to secure
fle presence of Herschel V. johnson or
Howell Cobb, one or both, if possible, to
answer the great commoner," but these
sen.lemen had made appointments for
|that day in another and remote section Of
Tue state. Finding that they could not
answer the thunder of Jove with the
'nunder of JUPITER" a minor god of
sFIear power sometimes was appealed to.
At that time there vas living in old
aSSville, the then metropolis of Cass
#uoW BartOw) county, one who was at
east advertised then as an attorney at
Nv, and was widely known in north
PeoFga for being as unique in his per-
oudIlty as he was in his laundering style
r. expression. His name has been given to
- by an elegant old gentleman now re-
lung IN Calhoun, the nestor CT its bar,
e Il. NJ. Russell. Mr.. Russell was a
88eGy tall man, rawboned and ungainly
MS carriage, and possessed, among
C'ler natural peculiarities, wonderful
-" OF words that came in stentorian
OneS' with rapidity and the rattle of
uoV On tin shed. am informed that
was facile princeps in the art of
@HooPING up the boys.''
lnls being set occasion, Mr.. Steph-
~ was not expecting an answer from
anyone.
AFTER he had finished his address,
'Heh' am informed by my friend who
val q IT. was among the very best of Mr..
Fl 0pnenS great efforts he started from