The Savannah morning news., 1904-04-19
ESTER FOR CONGRESSMAN.
. plea for His denomination by To-
mOrrOw's Primaries.

;gp Committee was fired off in last
Us issue of the Statesboro News,
a,d the echo was caught up by each
u.eekly paper throughout the district
&C il in turn went to press. The ar
..,ra is in the style of the versatile ed
..or of the News and would be ignored,
,.,, for the fact that the Brannen Cam
,sfrn Committee, by the signatures of
80 chairman and secretary, have Off
,isrv adopted it. This was a bad
break on the part of the committee.
The first announcement of the COM
,otttee while a trifle fresh, indi-
c,+ed a desire to be liberal and fair,
unich won respect if not votes, but
tb,s final document forfeits both by
tempting to slur man whom to
rrow is to honor, by seeking to array
nountry against city, and by accusing
tb4 Lester forces of the very practices
which some of Mr.. Brannens support
ars have set in motion from time to
10 time
the article is unjust to Col. Lester
aud his friends from start to finish.
Tbev have judged the campaign meth
dds of the Lester forces by their own.
nc 20 the use of liquor, and the en-
Was Mr. Brannen blind the day of
the mass meeting in Clyde, or did he
onlv close his eyes each time that he
rassed the room in which his support
ers were being treated by their bosses?
Does Mr.. Brannen forget the con-
yersation he had with one of his sup
Dorters at Pembroke, as to the use of
whisky? These two incidents are only
SAMPLES of what has transpred at 9TH
er points in the district.
But their main cutlery is in regard
TO col. Testers return and trip through
the district. For months they called
mon him to come home, While the
Brannen campaign heelers were whis-
pering to every voter that would listen
10 them. that his condition was such
mat he could not come. As time pass
ed and he did not come, they piled it
on thicker and thicker. until they pic
tured him a mental and physical
wreck without power of speech or 10
cOmotion.
Rut to their surprise the River and
Harbor Committee finished its labors
in time for him to return home and go
over the district before the primary.
Here surely was a quandary, out lhelr
workers were equal to the emergency
tbe falsehood told sight unseen," was
yaliantly defended even when totally
disproved by the manner in which Col
Lester has walked, talked and stood
the travel, nervous strain and ia
tig7le of a weeks steady campaigning.
In fact, realizing that they were dis
credited by Col. Testers work ana
convention and that his appearance
in the district meant signal disaster
TO the Brannen cause, they have be-
come so absolutely reckless that the
campaign committee has caught the
contagiOn and been betrayed into de-
Uvering a diatribe against Col. Lester
instead of giving a dignitied summary
of the campaign, in keeping with the
fair promise with which they started
out.
Take, for instance, their re-vamp of
the Egyptian cotton slander-a
state campaign egg that would not
hatch in 1898, and now old and de-
caved. For the benefit of those who do
not recall the campaign of 1893 the let
ter then written to Col. Lester by Mr.
A P. Brantley, which disposed of the
Egyptian cotton fabrication once and
for all, is given in full below
And the rest of their stuff is much
on the same order. They say both
Charleston and Brunswick have been
more fortunate than Savannah in the
face of the official figures proving ex-
actly the contrary-figures repeatedly
published during the campaign-which
show that Savannah has received more
money than any port except New
York and that it's long channel has
been deepened many feet instead OF
the few inches they have asserted.
They ignore Testers recent quick
work for the coast of Bryan county, MS
advocacy of the bill giving government
aid to the good roads movement, the
fact that not a single rural free deliV-
cry route in his district, which has been
n no n9SSR6 nDOn.
has been acted on adversely, and in
their desperate efforts to boost his
young opponent allude in terms of DIS
paragement to a man who every talr-
minded citizen knows has earned in
war and peace their admiration, mas
been faithful to every trust, Jealous in
the performance of duty and untiring
in his efforts for all parts of the dis
trict-a man whose colleagues IN
Congress as recently as December, 1913,
pronounced worthy of the highest posi-
ton in their gift.
With millions at stake, would the
unanimous voice of the Democrats IN
the House SO elevate man whose aoll-
ity is limited to the distribution OF
free garden seed'-a man whose mind
is impaired-a man who is too infirm
physically to attend to his ordinary
duties as a congressman? Any unbias-
ed voter must admit that they would
not.
Then why displace him? Should the
appeal of the demagogue trying TO ar
ray the country against the city be OF
sufficient cause? Is the young lawyer
born in the country, but now mailing
from the city of Statesboro, any more
entitled to their consideration on that
plea than the old lawyer, likewise born
in the country, but now of the city OF
savannah? Follow his career ana see
if Mr.. Brannen is such countryman
Why did he leave the country as soon
as he was his own master and move 20
this same city of Savannah, which ne
and his forces are depicting as such
an enemy to the country.
Why when his efforts in savannah
were not crowned with success did ne
prefer to linger in the city and keep
store, rather than go back to the
farm?
Why, when led by fortune or caprice
to make another change, did he go to
Swainsboro, instead of to the coun-
try. And again, when moving from
Swainsboro, why go to the city OF
statesboro rather than the farm?
And, when this plea fails, what is
left2 Absolutely nothing. He really
has no special fitness for a seat in
Congress. He did not rank as states
man when in the Georgia Legislature.
lie is no orator or writer. Not a sim
gle speech from his lips, not an article
rom his pen has this campaign
brought forth. Silent in. the Legisla-
lure and likewise in the campaign,
VIII he not be silent in Congress and