The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1914-10-16
FRIDAY, OCTOBER t0.
WHY WILSON BoLTED o'REAR.

WHY WlbISON BOLlED ~ MEAN.
When A. . Wilson was elected
and installed as Governor of Ken
lucky, O'Rear was on the Court of
Appeals bench serving his second
term. He came from the country
and grew up an orphan on the farm.
He and the Governor were the best
of friends. 1t was at O'Rear's sug-
gestion that Wilson called the
meeting of tobacco growers and trust
Representatives at Frankfort in Feb
ruary, 1908. At that meeting the
Governor was to read the riot act
TO the trust, but he Unexpectedly
went to Louisville the night before
and met some fine haired, high
brows, at the Pendinis Club and
came back to Frankfort with a.
change of heart. The larruping which
he was to give the trust representa-
tives fell on the heads of the poor
assembled farmers. Assembled,
mind you, upon the Governors invi-
tation. No Governor of the State
ever made such a disgusting specta-
Gle of himself. He said not a word
against the trust, which had so re-
duced the price of tobacco as to
bring our people to face starvation,
but he said to these men, who were
!.
have got to stop this lawlessness or
] will order out every able bodied
man In the State" During this
TRADE of an hour the trust represen-
tatives sat in the amen corner with
diamonds in their shirt fronts and
broad grins on their faces. They
had won their fight in Kentucky.
They knew they had the Governor
with them. Here was a ruler to
their liking. He would put down
the farmers, as well as the lawless,
IF it took every able bodied man in
the State to do it." The editor of
this paper! as National head of the
American Society of Equity, was
there, invited by the Governor. and
knows what he is talking about. At
the afternoon session of this wonder
full meeting Judge o'ResF sss intro
duced by the Governor to speak. al
though he had declined in a talk
with Wilson only short time be-
fore, on the ground that he was on
the bench and his speaking might re-
.rult in criticism, However, having
been called upon he spoke, and his
speech greatly displeased the Gov
ernor. 1t was o speech III behalf of
the tobacco growers. He spoke
against lawlessness among the or
galiZed farmers and also said the
trust should be made to obey the
law, and if there was no law to reach
IL, statutes should be enacted. He
said that while it might be necessa-
ry on some occasions to use the
soldiers to enforce order, that was
only a surface remedy and he believ-
ed in going to the root of the evil
That he did not believe an idea
could be driven through an Anglo
Saxon's head with bayonet. y
These expressions were applauded
by the farmers. Wilson got mad
through and through. He turned
red in the face and pounded with his
gavel until he almost split the ia
BILE and when quiet was restored, he
rebuked the audience for applaudine
such sentiments. Wilson got mad
at O'Rear and refused to support
him when he ran for Governor as the
nominee of his party, because n
stood up in the presence of thu
mighty trust representatives, assem-
bled at Frankfort, and spoke for tn
tobacco growers of Kentucky, wheI
they needed a champion. At tn
convention which nominated ORea
for Governor, the writer was men
Der of the Resolutions Commute
and when the question came up 9
to the endorsement of Wilson's az
ministration a majority opposed
but 1t was done in the interest
harmony and in our opinion cost III
ticket thousands Of votes. At tn
same time 1t did not appease II
wrath of Wilson for he refused
make speeches for o'Rear. and
was even necessary for Mr.. Langle
the campaign chairman. to go
Frankfort and labor with the Go
ernor to keep him from coming OF
publicly against him. We have 81