Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1908-06-14

inent Georgians opposed him and all
three could not combine their vote
and make it of respectable minor
ity. Since becoming governor he has
had his own troubles. He has had
radical legislation to approve and
strong interests to defy. He led bit
ter fight against the l.. & N and other
railroads, which had been long en-
trenched in power in Georgia, as in
Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee,
and they entered into coalition
against him. He found Mr.. Brown,
who was selected as his successor,
member of the state railroad commits
sion, and because he thought Brown
too much a friend of the railroads to
be at the same time a fair friend OF
the people, he dismissed him, as sub
sequent events show that he should
have done.
Gov. Smith signed the statewide
prohibition measure which the Geor-
gia legislature had passed. He was
personally a heavy loser by the meas
ure, as he owned the new Piedmont
hotel, the bar alone of which was
worth in it's receipts and net profits
an annual fortune.
He refused to pardon a former eli
ent of Tom Watson, and permitted
him to be hanged in accordance with
the courts decision, thus bringing on
hostility from Watson.
He brought foreign labor into the
state, the character of which he found
to be such as to justify him in believ-
| ing it would develop into desirable
citizenship. Mr. Smiths most griev-
GUS offense seems to have been his
success over the old gang of politi-
clans and his stand against the rail-
roads.
Mr. Thomas F. Watson. the popular
leader in Georgia, the national nomi-
nee of the Populists for president,
farmer. a lawyer. an editor, and al
ways forceful and virile, was two
years ago for Smith. Mr.. Watson is
an original prohibitionist, is one to-
| day and will be one tomorrow. He
has always favored railroad regula-
ton. He is radical of the radicals.
Yet he was against Mr.. Smith, and
therefore. for Mr.. Brown in this fight
His opposition, he insists. was purely
personal, but it counted heavily.
Take the Atlanta Georgian, too. 1t
stood almost alone in Georgia as the
newspaper advocate of statuatOry pro-
hibtion for all of Georgia. Seely and
John Temple Graves made a powerful
fight and We're tremendous factor in
the accomplishment of the result. Yet
in the campaign just closed, the Geor-
gian as strongly indorsing prohibition
as ever opposed Gov. Smith.
There We're undoubtedly many dis
satisfied elements in Georgia. and upon
the governor, they organized to de-
vote their wrath.
They had every misfortune to be
one of his crimes in office. The UNI
employed charged him with having
thrown them out Of work by bringing
in foreign labor, which as matter of
fact, had not arrived.
But the real deciding factors in his
defeat We're the railroads and the pol
iticians whom the governor had en-
ragged. Only a few days ago a strike
was pulled off in Atlanta by l.. 4 \.
employees. probably for campaign pur-
poses, and was made an effective ar
gument against Gov. Smith. For
months the railroads, through their
newspapers have been waiting and
Threatening and frightening the peo-
pie. The politicians whom Gov.
Smith had set aside took up the cry.
and sent it. to the states boundaries.
Tom Watson added his farmers and