The Columbus weekly dispatch., 1908-05-21
A Letter from Texas

and Anti-Baileyism. To give you
an idea of the forces arrayed against
him, / mention ex-senator Roger @.
Mills (too feeble to take the stump /,
Judge A. w. Terrell, ex-State Sena-
! tor and Minister Turkey, and one of
| the abIest men in the South; Con-
gressman Burleson of the famous
| family of that name; ex-Attorney
| General NJ. NJ. Crane; ex-Congress-
man Cockrell, a lifelong friend Of
| Bailey's, and a son or nephew of Sen
ator Cockrell, of Missouri; Congress
man Randall, who lately introduced
bill in that body making it unIaw-
| full for public officer to sell his SER
vices or influence to public service
corporations and trusts; ex-State
| Senator Jno. NJ. Duncan; ex-Gov. 10
Seyers, and at least IS per cent of
| the lawyers of the State.
From comparative poverty half
dozen years ago, Mr.. Bailey is now
rated as a millionaire, and he pub
licly admitted that he made most of
his money serving the Standard Oil
Company, the Kirby Lumber Com
pany, and other corporations, as a
lawyer. He admitted that he Dor
rowed" over S100,0 600 from H Clay
Pierce, head OF the Waters-Pierce
Oil Company, the sworn statistics of
which concern show that off Of a cap
italization Of 100000, it has robbed
the people of Texas of $11,00O,000
in five or six years. He publicly ac-
knowledged that he received a fee of
$2,50O from the Standard Oil Com
pany at 26 Broadway, n. Y, for sell
ing them his opinion on the Texas
trust laws, but claimed that he did
no wrong because he gave them ad-
vice that benefited Texas! Not only
does he boldly own that he has done
those things, but that he had right
to do them, and would do them
again!
When he started out in this whirl-
wind campaign of a month he
boasted that he would be elected a
delegate to Denver by 100, ,000 ma
jority-some of his admirers de
clared that it would be 100000; that
the opposition would not get two per
cent of the Democratic votel The
majority has dwindled down to a.
600 and is still shrinking, The total
vote in Texas is nearly a half million,
but only about 100000 votes We're
cast in this election, of which the
Anti-Baiiey ticket polIed over 1O0,-
00O
You may ask, if there was little
doubt of Senator Bailey's guilt, how
was it that he was again endorsed?
Well, man who has been in the
Lower House of Congress sixteen !
years, who stands by his friends TO +
the last ditch, who has distributed
personal and official favors far and /
wide, who is a magnificent orator .
and a great Constitutional lawyer,
ought and has been able 10 build up
a machine in Texas surpassed only
by that of Matthew Stanley Quay in
Pennsylvania or Senator Platt of
New York. Then, thousands of voters
urged that if we refused to send him
ence as Senator. Again many men
of law moral standard say, Bailey
only did what other men would do
get rich quick by questionable
methods. But the single influence
the leading journals like the Calves
ton News (the fairest paper in the
State) Behind the decisive majority
for Mr.. Bailey was the German vote.
Up to few weeks ago he was a State
Prohibftionist. l read his declara-
ton to that effect in the Congress
siona1 Record. Becoming uneasy
about this election, two weeks since, b
be Topped over to local option, and ]
that decided the Teutonic element in
his favor, which is large in Texas.
Mr.. Bailey is of large physique, ]
md one of the handsomest men I
ever saw. He has a superb voice, ]
md while perfectly calm in a speech, /
md using few gestures, is a perfect
manfred to "stir the storm" of {
.motion IN his audience. I have !
leard some of the greatest speakers /
# this country-Jefferson Davis, Ben q
I'LL, Gov. Vance, Morton Of Indiana, ]
;. @. c. Lamar, w. J. Bryan, "Cy- i
lone" Davis, and others. but I never [
eard an orator who could more com T
letely enthrall and electrify an au
ience than Joseph ". Bailey, unless f
was the President Of the Southern e
'onfederaey. or l.. @. c. Lamar.
Tence, it is a profound pity that one Y
0 gifted should voluntarily place I
imself under cloud that will over o
hadow his career the rest of his G
ays; and yet there are thousands of Il