Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1908-04-16
GOT HOKE ON THE RUN.

HOke Smith, who only few short
weeks ago announced that he would
treat the candidacy of Joe Brown with
silent contempt" and that he would
not make any political speeches but
devote his remarks to the cause of
education, is now believing like a
stuck pig. He has given up the job
of Governor until after the election
and proposes to devote all of his
time-not to the business of the state
but to making speeches in an en-
devor to head off the wave that has
set in for Brown for Governor.
So strenuous has become the cam
paign, So large has become the hand
writing on the wall, that Smith has
been compelled to hire a whole floor
in an Atlanta office building and put
in an extensive corps of stenographers
and typewriters, who are working
overtime in an effort to save the day.
In the meantime the Atlanta Journal,
chief screech owl for the Smith ad-
ministration, is tearing it's hair in
agony, using all the adjectives at it's
command, concocting all sorts of
diabolical schemes on the part of
the Brown people, and sweating
enough blood every day to ruin an
ordinary constitution.
Little Joe Brown has actually got
big HOke Smith on the run, David is
after Goliath and the giant is scared
out of his boots. Smith had the
election methods of the state chang
ed re thought he was so popular
Il would look fine to have him
self reelected by the popular vote.
So the obedient State Democratic Ex-
ecutive committee made the change.
Now that Hoke Smith finds the pOpu-
lar tide setting in so strongly against
him he is clamoring for a change.
He now wants the rights of the little
counties protected and the old sys-
tenn restored Strange how he did
not think of that until it became ap-
parent that the popular vote might be
with Joe Brown. And the governor
now also thinks that later
primary would be the right thing
so he calls for the reseting of the date
to the fall.
If there ever was pitiful confess
sion of weakness it is that made By
Hoke Smith. He is grabbing at straws
and changing front on every possible
question. But he can't fool all of
the people, or a majority of them,
much longer. First he was for local
option. Then he was for prohibition.
Then he was for the use of beer and
light wines. Then he was for the
amendment of the law by its friends.
Now he stands flat-footed for the
present law-until he changes front
again. Once he was red hot for i'm
migration, then he grew strangely sill
ent, now he is probably opposed to
it in the open, while directing the
railroad commission to let Mr.. Bette
man have passes refused to every
one else in the state, so that he (Bet-
jeman) can work up immigration.
Last summer Smith believed that the
old soldiers should only get their
pensions once a year. Then he dis
covered that the soldiers should be
paid more frequently, and now he is
the best friend of quarterly pensions
the state ever had. A chameleon can
not change its color half so quickly
as Ioke Smith can his views
Last summer Georgia was to have
the greatest cotton crop on record, so
Governor Smith told the New York
spectators And wnon the farmers
got after him about it the governor
Il; o., red that hot winds had damag-
ed the crop When June rolls around
this :tal Hoke Smith is apt to dis
cover hat hot winds have also dam
aged the Smith crop f votes.
How have the mighty fallen! When
a politician gets scared he blunders
time after time Hoke Smith is badly
scared, judging by his actions and the
crazy antics of the Atlanta Journal.