Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-03-12

] brother. Mrs. Carmack did not appear,
rand it was stated that she was too i'll TO
leave her room.
3 Carmack as Editor
: when court adjourned yesterday after
! noon" said General Washington, I'VE had
reached the point when Carmack had be-
come an editor. The position of editor is
an important one, and 1t rises with the
ability and Importance of the man. If he
be incompetent, the people content them
selves with reading the news and adver-
tisements and care nothing for the edi-
! torials. But when man of national rep
utation emblazons his name at the head
/ of the paper, then people do read and
! believe.
the campaign came on. Colonel Cooper
was not a candidate for any Office. Gov
ernor Patterson was"
General Washington then came to the
editorial of October 21. He gravely ad-
mitted that Carmack had a right to write
an editorial about public men. But when
he stepped over the boundaries and began
an attack upon a private citizen, then
, he exceeded his rights, Now, the state
! would have you believe that these edi-
torials were harmless. Oh! yes. It is all
right to put John Smith or Bill Jones
or Sam Browns name into a paper on
the same page with the name of a horse
| thief, or convict. and it's all right. But
when they put your name in that position
| why, it does make a difference, and il
| you have any red blood in your veins you
are going to resent 1t. 1t makes all the
difference in the world whose OK is
gored."
! Working himself up into a frenzy of
] oratory. Washington devoted nearly an
/ hour to a wild denunciation of the Car,
mack editorial of October q.
Editorial Was Insult
This editorial calls attention to a state
ment in the American from Ripley which
said that Patterson men were advocat-
/ ing trading Bryan for Patterson votes.
I Then the editorial called 1.-The attention
of the Hon. Ban Murray, the Hon. Dune
! Cooper, the Hon. Max hartman and the
| Hon. Sol Cohen" to this report.
General Washington vigorously explain
ed that two of the honorables named were
disreputables and that when Carmack
associated Colonel Cooper's name with
| theirs, he committed the gravest offense
man could commit, and affronted and
| insulted Cooper beyond endurance.
But the state says, no editorial ever
written justif1es killing man. We agree
that this is true. But we are only trying
to show how they aroused Colonel Coo
per's anger and to explain his mental
condition when the meeting occurred.
| Cooper had as much right on Seventh
avenue that day as Carmack had. He had
as much right to turn around and walk
towards Carmack as Carmack had to
walk towards him. And Colonel Cooper
had right to go up to Carmack and de-
mand that these filthy attacks upon him
be stopped, just as l believe any man on
, this Jury would have done. Colonel
Cooper said nothing until the election
was over. He thought when Patterson
was elected that the assaults and mud
| singing would cease. But on Sunday,
November s, there appeared the editorial,
Across the Muddy Chasm' That was
| the straw that broke the camel's back.
You can pile things on a bridge, you
know, until finally the last article breaks
| it down. .-.
Insane With RidicuIe
1.-THE state says this is only ridiculing
| editorial Well, what Of it? You can
drive a man insane with ridicule. You can
send a mans son into frenzy by ridicule,
and ridicule is libelous and punishable
with Imprisonment. Now Carmack re-
! fers to Colonel Cooper as Major when he
wrote to Colonel Cooper as friend he
called him Colonel When he wrote the
valedictory editorial in the American, he
| called him Colonel but when he wants
| 10 insult and degrade him, he calls him
MdJOT. II was a 81 dNuiiOOS Insult
General Washington read the Across
the Muddy ChasnT editorial, and explain
| cd sentence by sentence what construc-
tion Colonel Cooper put upon 1t in view of
the previous editorials and statements
made from the political platform.
Use of Word Major
He laid special stress upon the frequent
use of the word major. instead of colo
nell and called the jurors attention t.
it,
HE used Colonel Cooper's name four
time in this editorial, gentlemen" the
speaker shouted. -Four times in black
type New, don't say we claim Colonel
Cooper had a right to kill Carmack for
this editorial We do not say so, and
no one knows any better than the prose-
cutting lawyers in this case. But the tons
and tons of weight had been piled upon
the bridge, and this ton is the final ton
that broke the bridge.
THE colonel was angry. He had
right to be. His family were ashamed, his
friends annoyed, his name was banded
over the state"
General Washington here repeated
Now is the winter of our discomfort"
with great declamatory effect, but the
jury did not seem impressed with the
beautiful lines.
This man was wild with anger over
the insults.
Not a Murderer
HE wanted to do something, he knew
not what But that man is no murder
er and you know It, Murder does not run
in that breed, an aristocratic old blue
| in his heart. If you went home and
blooded family. They say he had malice
found your wife and daughter dead and
the murderer at large in the neighbor-
hood and you seized your gun and went
out to kill that murderer, would you
have malice in your heart?
He has an engagement with Craig
about a debt he owes Craig. He tells
| Craig he has not the money just now.
Then, knowing Craig is a friend of Car
mack, he tells Craig of the insult and
he uses violent language. So would you,
anyone OF you.
Gentlemen, 1 tell you, you will not
put the moose around the neck of any
man for doing what you would have done
under similar circumstances. No jury,
thank God, ever did and no one ever will.
Explains COOper's Threat
Now, maybe Colonel Cooper did say
to Craig, If my name appears again III
the Tennessean, one of us must die or
The town will not be big enough for both
of us l do not care which you select.
They both mean the same. Colonel Coo
per was mad, the words were spoken in