The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1908-07-09
GubernatoriaI Contests
of Past Recalled.
PATTERSON AND CARMACK
Campaign Has Not Been
Equalled in Interest
Since Days of Clay

The gubernatorial contest and Joint
canvass of the state just ended was the
most spirited and exciting political
struggle in Tennessee since the memo
rable contests Of similar kind in the
days before the civil war. 1t was fire.
quently compared with some of those
ante bellum contests while in progress
and will doubtless take place in the po-
liitcal history and popular traditions of
the state equal to any that has gone be-
fore. There is the difference that the
old struggles were between the whig
and democratic candidates while that
just ended was factional fight within
the democraticic party, but this differ
ence will not greatly affect the interest
that will attach to the story in the fu-
ture.
1t may be some consolation to the
losers in the recent campaign that the
old contests are in themselves much
better remembered than are the admin
istrations of the successful candidates
that followed. Probably the most not
ed of the debates held between guber-
Material candidates in Tennessee before
the civil war were two between James
X. Polk. and James G. Jones Lean
jimmy in 1941 and 1843, and those be-
tween AndrewJohnson and GustavusA.
Henry in 1858, and Andrew johnson
and Meridith P. Gentry in 1866. Jones
twice defeated Polk and two successive
defeats were thought at the time to
have put an end to the latter's political
career, but in the following year the
democrats of the nation nominated and
elected him president of the United
States. During the memorable cam
paign of 1874 the wings of Tennessee
had popular song in regard to the
democratic candidate, which ran:
"We beat him twice with Jimmy Jones,
And Henry Clay will break his bones"
But the prophecy which seemed
founded on some degree of logic was
not fulfilled. There is no logic in pol
itics. Polk defeated Clay and Clay's
followers were greatly downcast in COL
sequence, but Clay occupies higher
place in the history of the country than
Polk does, and as for Jas. @. Jones, he
never got into the statesman class. His
enthusiastic friends sent him to the
United States senate, where he failed
to make any impression, and he is now
remembered only as an effective stump
speaker and teller of anecdotes who
caught the favor of the Tennessee mass
es. No line that he ever wrote, no word
that he ever uttered can now be repro
duced. Still he twice beat for govern
or the man who beat Henry Clay for
president.
Gustavus A. Henry, whom johnson
defeated in 1868, was sent to the Con-
federate senate eight years later. Gen
try served in both the Federal and Con-
federate congresses with distinction.
The names Of both are among the most
favored in Tennessee annals.
In 1S45 Aaron V. Brown, democrat,
defeated Ephraim Fl. Foster, whig, for
the governors Office, by less than 1000
votes. Two years later there was very
close struggle between Neil s. Brown,
whig, and Aaron V. Brown, democrat,
in which Neil s. Brown tliumphed by
little more than one thousand votes.
The names OF Ephriam FL. Foster and
both OF the Browns are honored and
remembered in Tennessee, but the av-
erage Tennessean of today must go to
the records to find which was elected
and which defeated in their contests
for the governors office.
The contest between Isham q. Harris
and Robert Hatton in 1857 came nearer
TO our own times and is still remember
ed by many men still living. Hatton
was defeated and Harris was twice af-
ter ward elected governor. Hatton fell
fighting for the Oonfederacy and Harris
lived to serve twenty years in the Unit
ed States senate. Harris political ca
reer was a very successful one in so far
as securing Office is success, but the
historian OF the future will hardly fail
to record the wisdom OF some Of the
policies for which Hatton stood. He
opposed secession.
SO it appears that time, the leveleB
often makes honors about even between
victor and vanquished. The question
OF the future is not so much who won,
but how each deported himself in the
fight.
"For when the one great scorer comes
To write against your name,
He marks not that you won or lost,
But how you played the game"
Nashville Banner,