The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1908-02-28

outrages are too many 10 recount al
one and the same time. We shall
take Just one at this time; perhaps
the most important one: and yet there
are others. almost IL not quite as
bad.
Mr.. Henry Morrow Is chairman Of
the State Executive Committee. Not
By virtue OF being elected or chosen
or being the choice Of the people OF
any town, county or congressional dis
trict, but as an appointee Of Governor
Patterson. Mr.. Patterson has been
even more kind to Mr.. Morrow than
that; having appointed him to one
of the best Offices in the State;-a
member of the Prison Commission, at
a salary Of $4,000 per year for four
year. Now Mr.. Patterson says to Mr.
Morrow, chairman Of the State Demo
cratic Executive Committee: put you
on this committee; made you the
chairman; besides, the State of Ten
nessee, at my behest is paying you a
trifle over two hundred dollars every
month, and will continue to do so for
four years. Now have a little favor
to ask of you l am going to have
nv committee call a sort of county
unit state primary election, to try, II
possible by hocus pocus, to succeed
myself. 1t is not only important, but
absolutely necessary that / should
have the judges and clerks and other
officers of that election. And what l
want you to do is this: To appoint
the Judges and clerks of that election.
That is, want you to appoint a sub
committee. which | will name to you
hereafter, who will in turn appoint
these judges and clerks.,It is UMPIRE
cedented, to-be-sure; but am IN an
Unprecedented fix 1t has been the
custom, from time immemorial, for
the county democratic executive COM
mittee to appoint these election Off
GERS: but am not willing to trust
them to do the unfair thing. ! have
good and sufficient reason to believe
that two-thirds or three-fourths OF
these committees do not endorse my
administration and are opposed to my
reelection. And ] know further that
It has been usual for the civil district
committeeman to name the election
officers for their own districts but
this Is taking the election too much
out of my hands and putting IL TOO
much in the hands Of the people. What
must do, what really am compelled
under the circumstances to do, Is to
take the appointment Of the election
officers out of the hands of the county
committees. and the county commit
teemen who are not to be trusted In
a case like this, and put the whole
thing in the hands OF my committee.
Take the election away from the peo-
pie, and center all power and au-
thority in my committee. When we
have done that, then we can say who
shall vote, and who shall not. Then
we can trump up frivolous contests
and settle them according to our own
grim humor Of what Is just and fair
and right to the dear people. In short,
we cannot afford to give them direct,
statewide primary; neither can we
afford to give them even a halfway
fair county unit primary. We have
got to rob them, and now IL the time
to get ready to scuttle the ship when
the Democracy meets In convention
assembled. They will convene, as
they think, to carry out the will and
wishes Of their people; but II you
will do this thing for me, will have
them so sewed UP, that through the
further influence Of my friends and
appointees on the committee, / may,
possibly, be able to get away with the
goods.
And Mr.. Morrow says, why cert"
and the thing Is done.
Will It help his sinking ship? Not
on your life. Will it be boomerang?
Just as certain as the appointed day
comes. Patterson was defeated be-
fore the committee met. He might
have saved himself If he had taken
advantage of the situation, and said
fearlessly and bravely, my record is
for a primary, and sink or swim / will
stand by my record" But he did not
have any convictions. And lacking
convictions he lacked courage; and
he fell, like Lucifer, never to rise
again."
The gods who wait upon opportuni-
ty for the destruction Of men, have
made Ham Patterson mad, and by his
own act has he destroyed himself.