The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1911-09-22
MAI. VERTREES WILL
DECLINE HARMONY OF
BARTON COMMIT TEE
BELIEF PREVAILS THAT HE
WILL TURN DOWN PRIMARY
PLAN COLD.
HOOPE MEN As OUTLAW
General Opinion in Political Circles
That the Reply Of Patterson Chair
man Will Be Tantamount TO New
Declaration of War.
Special to The Herald

Special to The Herald
NASHVILLE, Tenn, Sept. 19.-
While no official statement has been
made it is learned on what is cOnsid
cred wholly reliable authority that
the proposition made to Chairman
Vertrees of the so-caEed regular
committee, by Chairman Barton, oi
the Democratic State committee
will be turned down. The reply oi
Chairman Yertrees will, it is un
derstood, appear in the first issue Of
the Nashville Democrat.
The reply will positively decline tc
accept the fair and reasonable propo
sition of the Democratic committee
1t will, in the first place, deny the
right of Chairman Barton to act al
chairman of the Democratic commit
tee and it will question the Democra
cy of the committee and all who are
allied with it Maj. Vertrees vii
assume the position that he is tht
chairman and the only chairman ot
the Democratic committee of the
State; that his committee is the onf!
Democratic committee and that hi
followers are the only Democrats In
Tennessee.
While the reply will not say SO IL
30 many words, it will pointedly in
innate that there are no Democrat
in Tennessee except those who yot
ed for Bob Taylor for Governor ant
also voted for those who voted fol
Tom Taylor for treasurer; that TIN
supporters Of Hooper are political out
laws and are not entitled to consider
alton, that if the latter desire harmo
ny in the Democratic party, that they
must go down on their knees to the
old Patterson machine, confess theil
"sins" and swear allegiance hence
forth and forever to the Vertrees
committee. Upon these terms ant
! these alone will harmony be restored
In the Democratic party. In cthel
words the Major will practically re
| fuse to treat with the Barton com
mittee as equals but only as suppl
ant and contrite sinners weary oi
their transgressions and ready once
again to enter the old household by
making a full remuneration Of every
principle for which they have fought
the past six years.
This. it is admitted, will be tanta
mount to renewal of the intcrne
cine strife in Tennessee 1t will be
the first declaration of hostilities and
means that the war will continue.
There is no doubt that this character
of reply will be hailed with delight
and shouts of joy by very large ell
ement Of the Patterson faction Of the
State and the reason is not faT to
find. Were genuine harmony Testor-
ed in the party and the brains and
votes of Independents be mingled
with the so-caled regulars, the reg
lular' party would be eminently more
respectable, theY it is now, the law
ttsfying brfAe'ssFFif5s;, which is now such a
reonsrcaous element of the regular
ffac would necessarily have to
take . hack seat and some Of the lit
tie fellows who pose as leaders would
be ralegated to the rear.
While as stated no official intima-
ton has been given out by Maj. Yer
trees, the feeling in political circles
here is that he will turn the lnde-
pendents down cold and hard. The
attitude of the Chattanooga Times is
Indicative of this. That paper for
months has been championing the
Fery kind Of primary plan proposed
~ the Independents. But since the
submission of the proposition it has
seen throwing cold water on the pri-
marx and intimates that there should
he no agreement between leaders
out that the people should come to-
gether.