Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1910-08-17
JOE BROWN CLUB
NAILS BOWDEN LIE
Irwin County Brown Club
Shows Up Spellbinder.
The True Reason Why
Bowden FIopped Over
From Joe Brown to
Hoke Smith.

11OkG OImlIns
These who heard j. e. T. Bowde.
make here last Saturday an extendet
explanation of why he topped" froa
| the Brown standard to that of Smith
will be glad to get an opportunity O
seeing the other side of the pictur,
which the speaker presented here an
which he has been giving wherever h.
has spoken. The Irwin County Jo.
Brown Club has investigated the state
ments made by the Hoke Smith spell
binder and present in the following
document a statement by the governor
himself, proving the falsity of Bow.
den's statements:
To the Voters of Irwin County: On
the 30th Of July Mr. j. e. t. Bowder
OF Waycross, made an address in be-
half of Hoke Smiths at the court house
in Ocilla. Two years ago Mr.. Bowden
supported Governor Brown and in his
speech here undertook to explain the
reason he had changed from Brown to
Smith. In its account of the meeting
the Ocilla Star of August 5th states
one OF Mr.. Bowden's reasons for chang
ing as follows:
"One chief reason for turning from
Brown was the fact that he was not in
real sympathy with the common peo-
pie. He illustrated his belief by an
occurrence at Waycross Bowden says
that LIE was candidate for mayor OF
Waycross, and the vote of the laboring
class was with him, and everything
pointed to his election. His oppon-
ents in order to cut off the vote of the
railroad men, who had lived there only
eleven months at the time of the cleo
zion, had passed an amendment to tha
city charter providing for twelve
months residence in Waycross in ord
er to be entitled to vote. This special
legislation, whose sole object was to
dlsfrancEdse men who worked at the
railroad shops-about a thousand OF
them-and tie matter was laid before
Governor Brown in its true light, with
the request that he veto this bill. He
promised to do it and told Bowden to
go back home with the assurance that
the bill with this provision would
never receive his approval. Friends
OF the bill, however, were able to in
duce him to sign the bill that disfran-
c1lsed a thousand white laboring men.
and BoWden says that he saw that
Brown was no friend to labor"
There is laboring man in Ocina by
the name of c. R. Copeland, and when
Mr.. Copeland heard Mr.. Bowden make
the statement that Governor Brown
had promised linn to veto the Waycross
charter bill. doubts arose in Mr.. Cope,
lands mind as to the truth of Mr.. Bow
dens statement He thereupon wrot.
to Governor Brown advising him O.,
the statement that had been made by
Mr. Bowden and today received the fol-
lowing answer to Lis letter:
State of Georgia,
Executive Department,
atlanta, GA, Aug. 9, 1910
Hon. G. r. Copeland, Ocilla, GA:
Dear Sir-I have your favor of the 3rd
inst, regarding Mr.. J. f. t. Bowden. |
note that he says that | promised him
very faithfully to veto the Waycross
charter bill whichI he claims disfran-
chised nearly 1000 voters.
In reply will say, that Mr.. Bowder
knows perfectly we'll that he made
misstatement. He tried in every way
10 induce me to veto the Waycross
charter; but, while agreeing with him
that the limit of time to become a CIT
izen should not be twelve months. |
to him that it would he al
together improper for me to veto a bin
containing a new charter for the CITY
OF Waycross, containing many import
ant provisions for lights, water-works
ETC., which the mayor and council had
recommended, which the
representative of the county had pass
ed through the house and the senator
from that district had passed through
the senate. However, | made on the
bill when approving it, the following
notation:
While not favoring the restriction
to twelve months. at the end of section
s, as found in the following words:
Provided such person has resided in
said city at least twelve months bntI
on the contrary believing that the limit
should be six months, yet in view OF
the general necessity Of tLds charter to
the people of Waycross l approve this
act.S
| did more than this. | brought I'd
the attention of those interested th.#
fact that | thought twelve months wa
too long time to require for citizen
ship before one could vote, and Sc
cured their promise to have an amen
ment passed this year reducing the
time to six months. This has beea
done and | have signed the bill and It
is now law.
It is strange that Mr.. Bowden should
give his consent to make a statement