The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1910-07-20
is MAKING THIRD STATE CAM
PAIGN FOR VINDICATION
OF HIS RECORD.
He DisCOnCerts His Enemies

A Man of Strong Personality and I'm
pulsive, Smashing Style. Was
Comparatively Unknown When Ht
Came Into Public Life. Has Al
ways Swept the State.
The candidacy of Gov. Malcolm R
Patterson, the tactless and most
loved and most hated man in Ten
nessee, for a third term is due di-
rectly to the shooting of Senator Ed
ward w. Carmack, whom Patterson
had defeated for governor, in the
opinion of Josiah Dwight Whitney,
political writer who believes Pat
tersOn seeks vindication for pardon
ing Carmack S slayer.
During the years he has been in
politics Patterson has proved himself
tactless whenever an occasion for
tact arose, but every time he has
asked an office at the hands of the
people he has swept the state. He
has repudiated promises made to the
voters, and has snapped his fingers
in the faces of the judges of the SUI
preme court, Whitney says, and the
people have applauded him.
When Patterson first announced
his candidacy for governor in 1905
he had served three terms in con-
gress. He was then practically I'M
known outside his congressional dis
trict. He had not attended a state
convention in eight years, and prob
ably had not made a political speech
outside his district,
Campaign OH Personality.
He made it apparent right away
that he proposed to make the cam
paign on his personality and his own
private principles rather than those
of the party. He boldly promulgated
his platform at the outset and criti-
cised the policies of his own party
where he thought it would do the
most good.
He visited all the contested coun-
ties and made an unheard-Of num-
Der of speeches. The convention, in
amaZement at his efforts, nominated
him by reclamation.
AS Patterson's first term drew to-
ward a close the prohibition move
ment in the south was at it's height.
Notable victories for temperance had
been won, and there was a stirring
for a statewide prohibition law in
Tennessee. The first step seemed to
be to find a leader. EX-United States
Senator Carmack said he would lead
Newspapers took sides bitterly, and
one of the most tremendous primary
campaigns in the history of Tennes-
see was on. The candidates not only
made individual speeches without
number, but met nearly a hundred
times in joint debates.
Carmack made such a hard fighS
that Patterson himself was compelled
to make some modification of his
stand on prohibition. To break the
effect of Carmack's philippics he de-
clared if elected governor he would
sign any prohibition bill which the
legislature might see fit to pass.
CarmaCk went down to defeat by
a small margin Patterson was
elected. The differences of the cam
paign might have been forgotten and
the democracy of Tennessee united
if Carmack had not been editor of
newspaper. Defeat left it's sting, and
Carmack's polished irony continued
to appear on the editorial page of the
Nashville Tennesseean as the fall
wore on. One Notwithstanding
article poking fun at Col. Robin
Cooper changed the whole course of
Tennessee politics.
Killing of Carmack.
From that editorial resulted the
killing of Senator Carmack when he
met Col Duncan Cooper and Robin
Cooper in the street. Both COopers
were convicted of murder and APP
pealed their cases to the supreme
court, which considered the cases for
a year
1t will be remembered, says Whit
ney, that Patterson had sOlemnly
promised he would sign any prohibit
ton bill passed by the legislature
While the supreme court was con-
sidering the COopers' case the legis-
lature by a vote of to l passed the
statewide prohibition measure Gov
Patterson promptly vetoed it,
Why he vetoed it was told in a
SpeCldl message, WulCn Is gwen mere
fully as one of the best illustrations
of his impulsive, smashing style of
delivery:
Il veto this bill because experience
has taught the lesson, without a sin
gle exception. that no arbitrary pro-
hibition law was ever obeyed, and
that it's enactment brings no settle
ment of the question, but rather
leaves it like a burr on the body
DOlitic to irritate and inhamn.