The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1908-06-18

that had appealed to me, God knows
If | could have reached out my hand
and saved a single tear of that poor
mothers heart | would have done SO.
And now While you are critiCizing
me about Ernest Minor, why didn't
you give me some credit for that, be-
cause it was a hard proposition to
handle | pray God tonight that | de-
cided right, because | took big re-
sponsibility, and | knew it when /
let fellow human being hang. was
the attorney general of the largest
county in this state for six long years
| prosecuted more crime than any
man in Tennessee ever prosecuted up
to that time for the same period |
KNOW THAT VERY MANY POOR
PEOPLE GET LONGER TERMS
THAN THEY OUGHT TO GET
SOME THAT CANNOT HIRE LAW
YERS, WHO ARE APPOINTED BY
THE COURT-SOME WHO CAN
NOT HELP THEMSELVES-SOME
WHO DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEIR
RIGHTS ARE; AND | KNOW, AND
| HAVE SEEN THE HEAVY HAND
OF JUSTICE FALL TOO HARD
UPON THE HELPLESS POOR.
Great cheering)
THE MAN WHO is RICH, THE
MAN WITH POWERFUL FRIENDS,
WHO HAS MONEY TO EMPLOY
LAWYERS AND TO CONDUCT HIS
DEFENSE PROPERLY TOO OFTEN
ESCAPES ALTOGETHER, AND THE
HEAVY HAND TOO OFTEN FALLS
UPON THE WEAK AND THE HELP
LESS. (Applause.)
When | became Governor of this
State i determined to see for myself
what conditions were in the State
Penitentiary, and l found what | knew,
or believed at least, would be found.
l found a great many poor prisoners
there who had been given too long
sentences for their crimes. Some of
these freed-some of these l short
ened without any petition, and with
out a plea of mercy from any human
being. | found old men lettering to
the grave, utterly useless to the State
they could not work-dying in the
prison walls. These old men | turned
out, to let them live, even though it
be for only one day, in the glorious
sunshine of God. | found four blind
men in the State Penitentiary, and |
said to them, Go wherever you can
/ find home or wherever you can find
friend" | found about nineteen
poor helpless cripples-some of them
| paralyzed, one man with his head to
the ground, not erect like a man but
walking like a beast-his back had
been broken by the falling slate.
saw men with their arms off, with
their legs off, with their eyes out,
manned, helpless, crippled, and
said Co." and l thank God. Gap
plause.)
saw 81 men whom the great white
plague had seized, their bodies racked,
and slowly dying inch by inch, and
day by day. | said to these men, IF
you can find home, if you have got
a place to go, will send you there"
And l sent them there. { Cheers)
| went out to the Penitentiary one
day, and in going through the hospi.
tai ward | found poor fellow dying
with consumption. You could hear
his rattle across this building. He
couldn't speak. / went to him and
took him by the hand. | said, my
friend, hope you are going to get
better, and as soon as you do we
are going to send you away, but
want you to understand now that you
are not prisoner, that you are a
free man" That night that poor fell
low died l HAVE GOT THIS CON-
ISOLATION, THAT WHILE | HAVE
COMMITTED SIN | HAVE TAKEN
CARE OF GODS HELPLESS, AND
IN DOING so | BELIEVE | HAVE
, RECEIVED SOME MERCY FROM
ON HIGH. Great applause.)
| saw little boys from ten to fiji
teen years-tWenty of them-during
the time that have been Governor, in
I that State Penitentiary. | saw sew
! eral of these little fellows who had
/. come there in knee pants. The peni-
y Tertiary is no place for boys. | called
: those boys around me, and said,
Boys, | am sorry for you | don't
6 want you to think that the world is
Y against you, that every mans hand is
\ turned against you. l am the Cover
q nor / can pardon you, and | want to
o do it, and / will do it if you will prom.
!. Use me you will go out and behave
I yourselves and make better boys"
v didn't expect that all would do it.
n hoped that some would | hoped that
o charity might find them, and that
a somewhere a light might shine to lead
q them to better paths and to a sense
of duty, (Applause) l gave these
! boys a chance. l wasn't afraid tc
y u swell my record on pardons by par
= doning people without anybody ask
= ing me to do it. (Applause)
>. pardoned others, it is true, but my
10 fellow citizens, have never pardoneC
y one that l am not willing for Mr.
% Carmack to challenge and that l an
y not willing for this people to know
- about (Applause.)
Il THE PRIMARY PLAN.
70 Senator Carmack should eithe