Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-06-03

with certain files or the old PEOPLE'S
PARTY PAPER. which he had edited"
This statement is recklessly unfounded.
I did not assert anything of the kind.
| What 1 did say, in substance, was that
he came to me, PLEADING FOR AID, in
/ his campaign against Bill Fleming; and
that l spent several hours, at night, go
| ing over my old scrap-books and papers
hunting what he wanted.
Mr.. Hardwicks memory must be very
much impaired, indeed, If it fails to re-
| produce the details of that interview.
Does he forget how he felt? If his looks
were not deceptive, he was feeling like
man who realized that he was whip
ped Never was disbursement written
| all over anybody more plainly. / had
heard of the encounter between him and
/ Fleming, at Lincolnton, and was not sur
prised at Hardwicks forlorn appearance.
Very loudly doth he crow nowadays
very loudly and often-but he wasn't
Growing when he came alone to my house
| i'm 1902. No, indeed; the east wind was
blowing upon our lusty little bantam, and
his feathers were dismally bedraggled
| Does he remember telling me that I'M
less he could counterfeit the Henning
| testimonial, he was beaten? Does he re-
call how he appealed to me for evidence
| against Fleming? Does he forget the
| hours we spent in my library, pulling
open the drawers Of desks and book
cases, searching through old scrap-books
/ and piles of newspaper clippings?
To his muddled mind, 1t is now nothing
more than giving him access to file Of
the PEOPLES PARTY PAPER! To his
foggy recollection, did nothing more for
/ him than Loyless. of the CHRONICLE,
! has done,
! Poor little romancer! AT THAT TIME
II HAD NO FILE OF THE PEOPLES
PARTY PAPER. Not a word did he then
utter about wanting access to a newspa-
per file.
MAKES A CONFESSION.
| Here I will make a confession In 1899,
L was so cast down. so hacked and dis
couraged, so completely conquered by
despair because of the seeming failure of
all my political struggles, that 1 destroy
ed my file of the Peoples Party Paper,
tried to put out of my sight every ban
ner and every other souvenir that had
been presented to me at our great rallies
and hated the very mention of politics"
It was one of those times which come to
most of us who strive strenuously and
feel deeply. Everything looked black to
me-"black as the pit from pole to pole"
land 1 wanted to blot out all reminders
of what appeared to me an irretrievable
Waterloo.
OF course, the fit of dependency was
not permanent and in 1905 or 1906. adj
vertised for file of the PEOPLS PAR
TY PAPER, and paid good money to re-
place what 1 had destroyed.
This frank confession of passing
weakness, SHOWS HOW QUICK MR..
IHARDWICK IS TO INVENT A STORY
AND TO SHIRK AN OBLIGATION. On
the night in question. we consulted no
file, for there was none in my possession.
And If ever Hardwick goes to Loyless,
o. Hn IN ma nd Valn de ID
Me, LOYLESS, OR I'M BEAT he will
! get very much less comfort, and ammu-
milton, than he obtained from me.
Not only was this ammunition most
valuable to Hardwick, but the verbal
use of 1t in the Crawfordville debate, the
following week. turned the tide of battle
decisively~ against Fleming THAT HE
SHOULD REPUDIATE THE OBLIGA-
TON THE MOMENT IT BECOMES
TROUBLESOME, WILL SURPRISE NO
ONE WHO HAS INVESTIGATED HIS
RECORD.
4. AS to the assertion that l have posed
! for years, before the district and the
! state. as the man who put him in con-
eress and kept him there, HE COULDN'T
, PRODUCE A PARTICLE OF EVI-
lDENCE IN SUPPORT OF 1T, IF HIS
VERY EXISTENCE WE'RE AT STAKE.
5. AS to the many favors that he has
done me, they are as imaginary as were
the visions of the heated fancy of Don
Quixote.
6. AS to Pope Browns decision" to re-
tire from the gubernatorial campaign in
! 1906 only know what he himself after
wards wrote me. His letter is quite diff
ferent from that of Hardwick. Pope
wrote me that he was assured that |
WANTED HIM TO GET OUT OF THE
RACE, IN ORDER THAT HOKE
MIGHT MAKE IT. l certainly under
stood Pope to mean that 1t was Hardwick
who made this statement to him. There
wasn't a grain of truth in it. Pope was
deceived-and 1 misrepresented. WILL
, IHARDWICK TELL US HOW 1T WAS?
His complacency in telling Pope that "he
decided wisely" in not continuing in the
race. is extremely Hardwickian. Pope
must have appreciated the compliment
profoundly.
! Z. AS TO deserving Hoke Smith
that's another familiar fable. Mr.. Smith
saw ft to change front to the extra
session of the legislature, as to the early
primary, and as to the apportionment of
power between the big counties and the
small ones. / DID NOT CHANGE ON
THESE MATTERS, WHEN HOKE DID;
AND so WE DRIFTED APART.
EARLY AND LATE PRIMARIES.
In Florida and Alabama, this year, the
evil of the early primary was felt, The
farmers were busy, and the cities had
the advantage. Owing, in part, to the