Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1908-06-18
Statement Regarding Convention

Statement Regarding Convention
Tracy City, Tenn, June ", 1908.
Editor News:
In your issue of the 18th, 1 notice
two accounts of the Grundy County
Convention held at Altamont, Tenn,
on June 6, and since was referred to,
not by name, but as Patterson's cam
paign manager in this County and ac-
cused of bringing on the contest be-
tween the friends of the gubernatorial
aspirants, I will ask space III your pa
per to make short statement. The
articles are not signed, so / must shoot
in the dark. But | will first say that
| was not responsible for the guberna-
torial race being mentioned in said
convention, and the man who wrote
the article knows this to be true as
well as he knows that convention, a
packed convention, was held at Alta
mont. He also knows it to be untrue
that any attempt was made on the part
of the Patterson men to dominate or
control the convention; they did not
send couple of speakers to Collins
river, Northcut's Cove, Hubbard s
Cove and Pelham to try to arouse the
voters Just before the convention; had
they done so it would have been an
easy matter to have captured the con-
vention, as the Patterson men are in
the majority in almost every precinct
in this County as will be shown on
June 81, but the Patterson men stood
by the agreement of Peay and ARMS
tead to have no partisan politics inject
ed into the conventions of last Satur-
day. I am sorry the Carmack people
in this and other counties couldn't
have done likewise, as it would evil
IDENTIFY have been to their interest tc
do SO. At least, they have lost votes
in Grundy County by their action, one
of the Oldest and best citizens of the
County. H. B. Northcut, leaving the
convention in disgust.
Before the convention opened, the
Patterson people asked the Carmacl
crowd to refrain from taking any steps
favoring either candidate for Govern
or, and to appoint the committees ant
delegates equally from Patterson ant
Carmack adherents, but this was re
fused, the Carmack people claiming i
had cost them great deal to get theil
crowd from Tracy City and that the.
would control the convention and APP
point all the delegates.
When the convention was called
was recognized and read the agreemen
entered into between Peay and ARMS
tead and asked that nothing be don
to widen the breach between the ad
herents of the two candidates and tina
as the Carmack men were in control il
the convention, the Patterson mel
would be satisfied with half of the Elk
ecutiye committee and as this was tn
party machine and should be in tn
interest of the party and not the can
didate, there could certainly be no oh
lection to this. But not so, the Car
mack forces were rampant All th
committees were appointed from Car
mack supporters and practically all tn
delegates to the State convention
Five members of the Executive Com
mittee, out of twenty-six, were Pat
terson supporters, and DR.. E. Gatti
moved to take three of these off the re
port and substitute Carmack support
ers, namely, to put on w. G. Parsons
R. B. Roberts and F. NJ. Stepp in
stead of Capt. John F. Simpson, J. M
Lusk, j. P, and John H. Upton
This motion was voted down by tn
Carmack supporters 90 to 90, only fou
Patterson men participating in sal
convention. Trustee j. B. Nunley, W
Q. Alternately, County Court Clerk, Z
@. Shelton, Register, and others tax
ing no part in the proceedings becaus
informed by the Carmack supporter
before the convention that they woul
get no recognition.
again assert that had the Patterso
people tried to do so, they could hav
dominated the convention, but the
preferred to stand by the agreement {
the two candidates and in this the
did right, and right is "the eterni
ray"
There are two papers in Grund
County and both tried to get an a,
count of said convention from the Ca
mack adherents, but to no avail.
The Chairman of the convention
Mr.. L. V. Woodlee, sent a persons
friend to the editors of Mrs. Grund
and Altamont Comet and asked thel
not to be too hard and harsh in writin
up the convention. If everything WI
fair, why this requestY
And for fear some one accuses me
/ stabbing him in the back, thus il
scribe my name.
JEFF d FITTTS