Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-03-26

lowers raved and beat
the air. The Patterson delegates cried for
order.
While the mob of bowling men surged on
the floor below him the beardless youth
stood undaunted behind the desk, hammer
ing desperately with gavel which seemed
unable to make sound. The din was ter
rife. There were threats of gunplay and
physical violence. Lea never turned hair.
While the delegates whistled and shrieked
and cursed, he called at regular intervals for
order. Nothing like it had ever happened in
Tennessee. There stormed and writhed the
convention, its chosen chairman down on
the floor, discredited and powerless, while
the boy at the desk commanded action, de-
spite the fact that he had no real authority
back of his insistent voice.
When at last measure of order had been
secured, the Patterson men put and carried
a motion to declare the chair vacant. In
stantly it was moved to elect Lea chairman.
The second motion won, and later, amid
riot and havoc of noise, Patterson was de-
clared the nominee for the governorship.
The nomination came twenty-four hours
after Lea had been made chairman. During
those twenty-four hours he stayed in the
chair; and on the dais, while he kept good
hold on his trusty gavel, he conferred fire.
quently with the ieutenants who were
rounding up the Patterson votes.
Young Mr.. Thunderbolt came out of that
convention a great power in the politics of
the State. He was sitting on one of the ram
parts of the Tower, and the people were
looking up to him.
DETECTION of Patterson
PATTERSON was inaugurated Governor
in January, 1907, and in MAY, 1907, Lea
founded 3The Nashville Tennesseean, a
morning newspaper. A few months later
the young lawyer publisher decided that
Patterson was going back on his progress
i've" pledges. He went to the Governor and
conflded to him his fears. The Governor
was strangely reticent. Lea sent friends to
Patterson, who, it was understood, was COM
ing out in favor of the @unit plan" in noni-
mating candidates. This Lea thought to be
undemocratic.
One afternoon Patterson said he would
not do as Lea wished, and he added, "Tell
Lea to crack his whip"
Lea cracked it.
The very next morning his paper came
out with terrific denunciation of Patterson.
1t was loud crack, loud enough to be heard
all over the State, and, to follow it up suit
ably, Lea chose Edward Ward Carmack,
who had been defeated for the Senate by
Fiddling Bob Taylor, to run against Patter-
son for the nomination in the primary. The
principal issue Of that great fight for the
nomination was prohibition. Carmack was
for it, and Patterson was against it. The
two men held probably fifty joint debates.
They were brilliant orators, both of them,
and feeling ran to fever pitch all over Ten
nessee. Every day Lea in his paper was
boosting the prohibition cause, barking back
to his first determination to throw the domi-
nation of liquor out of politics.
Carmack's Defeat and Death
CARMACK was beaten for the nomination,
- and shortly thereafter Lea made him
editor of "The Tennesseean. This was in
September, 1908, and Immediately Lea and
Car1nack did all they could for prohibition
and the Republican nominee, Tillman. Then