The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-03-13
would be guilty of such ungentlemanly unethical conduct.
Feelings for carmaek.

would be guilty of such ungentlemanly, unethical conduct.
 Feelings for carmack.
 Those of you who know my personal | and political fondness for Senator Car7 mack, know that l regretted his death. | You know that I deplored the tragedy, l and my sincerest prayer is that the God l of the widow and the orphan will tenderly guard the gentlewoman and the beautiful l boy who are left to mourn his loss. But the most pitiful part of the entire tragedy l is that Senator Carmack himself forced the conditions that ended in his demise There are some things, gentlemen, in this case which are not disputed and are not dsputable The state cannot dispute that Carmack had revolver secured from Major Vertress: that he had it at the mo- ment of his meeting with the Coopers; that he drew that revolver and that he fired 1t. No one can say that Carmack had a right to draw or fire that pistol Still, the state comes here and insinuates that an honorable and honest young man, a retired army officer, tempered with the Carmack revolver or substituted dls- charged shells for loaded ones.'
 Judge Anderson discussed the state es theories at some length and declared they were untenable on any ground
 Carmack to Blame.
 'I will prove to you, gentlemen, that Senator Carmack brought on the difficulty that ended unfortunately in his death. There was no escape from the tragedy. Blindly and relentlessly an evil fate drove him headlong to his own destruction. To understand it, I want you to indulge me moment while I trace the early relations which existed between Colonel Cooper and Senator Carmack. l know this has been into hafa nd chl a he recounting only enough to lead to a better understanding of what followed. There was a debt owed by Carmack to Cooper not money, but the debt that hurts and stings and burns when it's payment is withheld-the debt of gratitude.
 Judge Anderson then recounted the story of Carmack's youth, his early meet ing with Cooper. Cooper's patronage, the political success of the dead man, the con- tinued friendship of the pair; the political campaign of Carmack and Taylor, the break in the friendship and the quarrel that ended in the killing.
 Justification for Killing.
 There Is no contention, gentlemen, that editorial utterances ever justify the talk ing of human life. It has been charged that General Meeks has applied the un- written law to this case. Now, as un- derstand it, General Meeks simply said that men had been killed for less of fense, was it not, general?"
 General Meeks nodded gravely in assent. Judge Anderson did not explain, however, what General Meeks meant when he bold ly declared that the law provided no re- course for a man of sensitive honor who was attacked editorially or on the stump.
 Judge Anderson next took up the edi- toral and went into a detailed explana- tion of what each paragraph meant, wherein 1t gave offense and what inter- pretation a man as sensitive as Colonel Cooper put upon it. He told how the colonel bore it all patiently for a time, but how he chafed under the sting of the poisoned arrows"
 "I do not say and would never say that spared and that he be permitted to live use of Colonel Cooper's name In the columns of the Tennessean warranted the colonel in killing the senator, but l do hold that the assaults justified him in demand ing of Carmack that the offensive use of his name should cease at once"
 "Poisonous innuendo."
 Did you ever, gentlemen, listen to more whitening sarcasm. more biting scorn, more poisonous innuendo than is contained in these editorials, written by the greatest master of invective that the south has produced?
 
 They spread all over the state. His name was banded as the name of a lobbyist and as a corrupt politician who brought about a coalition of corrupt factions for corrupt purposes Forbearance ceased to be a virtue, and driven to desperation, the colonel determined to force a cessa ton. So he wrote a note. All this ofS soldier asked was that he, private cit izen, be exempt from attack, that hls name be spared that his family be spared and taht he be permitted to live out his days in peace.
 What if he did use violent language? Who would not and what did Carmack think when Craig brought him that mes sage? What if Colonel Cooper did say, One of us must die?' I do not care, the man had been driven to desperation. Did Carmack, when he got that message, re- call the early days? Did he remember the days when Cooper took him by the hand and gave him the only opportunities he ever had? Did he remember the colonels family, his beautiful, sensitive daughters, his young sonsP Did he recall the old days? Oh. why did he not say to Ed Craig Tell my old friend I didn mean to hurt him; that I was only hay ing little honest fun and that l will not annoy him further? Why did he not. Then there would have been no trouble. But did he? You know he did not. In- stead the news brought to him by Ed Craig, that his old friend was being tor tured to death by his merciless pen de- lighted him so that he looked pleased. Think of 1t, gentlemen, he looked pleased.
 How Carmack Looked.
 You remember that the state brought if out. They asked Mir. Craig how Car mack looked and he said, He looked pleased Yes, gentlemen, pleased over his old benefactor's agony that he tele- phoned out in an hour and secured a revolver. That's how pleased he was"
 Judge Anderson took up and discussed the conference, showing according to his theories, that all Colonel Cooper wanted was peace and that Robin Coopers entire effort that day-the day of the tragedy was to prevent trouble.
 Judge Anderson secuted the conspiracy theory of the case. Why" he said, T thought conspiracies were matched at midnight, in silence, in remote and secret corners. Why, gentlemen, if these are conspirators they are the loudes t-mouthed conspirators I ever saw. They yell out newsboy, Now we will get him. They meet their fellow conspirator in the Ar cade, the most frequented place in Nash vile. On they go, and at Union street and Seventh avenue they announce it again in the hearing of Carey Folk, when Colonel Cooper is supposed to have said, Now, I'll stay here while yet. Now Carey Folk didn't know there was going to be a killing, so he did not fix the words he heard in his memory. What he did