The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-01
TENNESSEE SAFE
 FOR DEMOCRATS
GumShoe Work of Republicans
 Comes to Naught
TRICKERY IS DISCOVERED
Governor Patterson's Unselfish and Patriotic Work in Nightrider Dis trict Has Made Friends Amonq
 Business Men of the State.
By C. c. WATSON.

By C. c. WATSON.
 Nashville. Tenn, October a.-Au the
 republican partys gum-shoe schemes to
 capture Tennessee for Taft and Tmman
 have come to naught, and it is now cer-
 tain that the greatest walk-over the dem
 oerats have eyer had in Tennessee will
 come next Tuesday This has been the ] most memorable campaign Tennessee has
 ever seen. Schemes. tricks and ntrigues
 have characterized the campaign for
 more than year, for this campaign has i been in progress that long, but the repub- licans have been met at every turn of the
 road and this week, the final battle of the i campaign they were exposed and woeful- l ly defeated. In the first place the re- l publicans were responsible for the split l in the democratic party 8 year ago when statewide prohibition was injected into the senatorial campaign. They played clever tricks in the recent democratic subernatorial campaign, but lost and then endeavored to draw into the repub- llcan folds all the dissruntled democrats. So plainly has this been shown up by the democrats that the plan has fallen fiat and the receding tide has completely swamped the G. o. P. Forgetting the old support of the party, the negroes, the republicans fought too long for demo- cratic support and have completely lost the negro vote of the state.
 AL numerous mass meetings of the ne- groes throughout the state the repuhh- can bosses have been severely criticised and the democratic candidates for both the presidency and the governorship have been indorsed. This came as a thunder clap in republican ranks and this week, instead Of attempting to gather in the disgruntled democrats the republicans are breathless1y striving to save to the party the eoored vote. which has been the party's main stay in Tennessee for many years. They admit, just at the closing of the campaign. that the negroes have left the party and that for this time at least the party is hopelessy defeated in Ten nessee.
 The closing week of the campaign has been all-absorbing in interest Condi- tions have arisen that have kept Gov. Patterson and many of his leading demo- cratic speakers off the stump, but these same conditions have strengthened the party unmistakably with the business men and masses. The outrages at Reel foot lake aroused the entire state and Gov. Patterson deserted the stump to de-
  Four hundred and eight soldiers and all the officers of the state guard aecompa- nied Gov. Patterson into the swamps of the lake region and they are determined to bring the guilty marauders to justice In leaving his campaign in the hands of his friends and giving his personal atten- tion to the night riders, Gov. Patterson has made thousands of friends among re- publeans
 A straw canvas of Tennessee shows that Bryan and Patterson will both win in a walk While it Is practically certain that Bryan will poll smaller vote than Patterson, it is still clear that he will get the full democratic vote of the state with a splendid sprinkle of republicans thrown in The office holding republicans, who came near breaking up the state party some months ago, have continued in their high-handed way until the other faction. known as the Home Rule" faction, have deserted the ticket and openly declare that they will not vote the republican ticket until the party gets sober and re- turns to its former principles. Congress- man Brownlow's friends, and they have been in the majority in Tennessee until the split last spring. openly declare that Taft cannot expect their support as long as he recognizes the office-holding schem- CTS who are endeaVorlnB 10 uoiHlndle lhS party in Tennessee. They placed ticket in the field and Taft and his committee
 succeeded in having it withdrawn The
 leaders only consented to this while the rank and file objected and are still openly
 opposed to the regular nominee. Taft Is expected to carry the old time repub- uean counties of East Tennessee, but the rest of the state is surely in the Bry- an and Patterson columns.
 The congressional situation in Tennes-
 see remains as it has been for a number of years The democrats are making no effort to carry the two republican dis : tricts. the First and Second, but will cap lure all the other eight districts. The
 republicans now have only one eandi-
 date in the Eighth district, but Congress-
 man Sims, democrat. will have even a larger majority than he has ever had The Home Rule republicans withdrew from the race. but his old supporters are i refusing to hear the Evans candidate
 and will support Sims.
 The legislative situation in Tennessee | still continues to be the most doubtfui proposition before the party. While the house and senate will be overwhelmingly democratic, both will be largely prolfibi- l tion and this is sure to cause trouble in l the Legislature. Gov. Patterson and the
 party platform strongly oppose statewide prohibition unless each community of It. l self votes to close saloons, and he will i ,-eto any hill extending the old four-mile