The Columbus weekly dispatch. (Columbus, Miss.) 1902-1905, 1904-03-10
The Hobson- gankhead Campaign.

The HObs0n Bank head Con
2 gressional cam paign is now on
across the way in the Sixth Ala
5 bama District. and it promises to
: increase in interest and political
excitement until the end The
fight is one that appeals to- the
| people of this section, for Col.
t Bankhead is almost like home
folks in Columbus and Hobson
only recently visited here under
, the auspices of the lyceum
bureau, making many friends.
The two men could not posi-
bly, be further apart in character
, aud achievements. One is the
product Of the hour. swept into
/. fame by a daring achievement,
/ who is practically untried in the
arena and whose pet hobby is the
| spending of the fabulous sum of
| 81. $50, 100000 for a navy for the
United States which, when com
pleted, would overawe the world.
Bankhead is anything but this
type of man. He owes nothing
to fortune or to fate but every
thing to unremitting toll and
work. Without an education he
is the type of the self-made man,
forging his way to the front I'M
til he is recognized as one of the
strongest men in the lower house
of Congress and a great power in
all matters relating to river and
harbOr improvement.
The contest across the way is
a spirited one. Hobson is making
an eloquent plea for the oppor-
tunity to present his pet naval
scheme to Congress. He is
charging that Bankhead was in
strumental in defeating his re
tirement from the navy on half
pay, while Bankhead replies that
he had nothing to do with it and
that two naval boards stated that
Hobson was fit for service after a
rest, and as it cost the Govern
ment twelve thousand dollars to
educate him he preferred to
abide by the decision of those
who. were prepared to Judge in
the matter. Hobson is charging
that Bankhead's improvement of
the Warrior aud Bigbee rivers is
slow and in the interest Of the
railroads, and Bankhead replies
that H0bsOn cannot be expected
to know anything of the improve
ment of the Bigbee and Warrior
in the Sixth district, as he has
not been in Alabama fifteen days
in fifteen years. HObson says
the locks in the Warrior are too
small, and Bankhead replies that
they were put there by engineers
presumably as good as Hobson,
and cites the locks in the Ken
lucky and Tennessee rivers in
comparison, showing that the
Alabama locks are considerably
larger. Hobson charges that
Bankhead appointed a cadet who
was not from his district and
Bankhead counters by showing
that the appointment was made
by another Congressman. Hob !
son charges that Bankhead has
failed to secure free delivery for
his constituents and Bankhead |
replies that free rural delivery
must originate with the people, |
and that a Congressman is pow
erless to act until the petition is
presented to him. Hobson is a +
national figure. as he styles him
self, in his defense of his failure |
to register at the proper time
Bankhead replies that we plain +
people" must obey the law or
suffer the consequences, and he
cites the fact that he travelled all /
the way from Washington to
register, and shows that Hobson /
was cam paigning with a lecture
bureau at the time at 800 per
night, and so it goes.
The fight will soon be trans
ferred to old Pickens when the I
people viii come out, like they |
did in the good old populite days. |
when dogs and dead negroes
were voted to carry elections,
The Best Cough syrup.
S. T. Apple, ex-Probate Judge, |
Offaxra Ctn KancaS writes. ssfIFhiC iE