The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1914-10-29
HOOPER'S
TROUBLES
INCREASE
ARE ABOUT TO
ENGULF HIM
". R. HAM|LTON'S LETTER
Proves That He Is Playing Politics
Above Law-Eenforcement and
Neglecting the Latter.
Especial Correspondence

NppCSlul SOl
Nashville, Oct. 25.-The governors
troubles continue to multiply. They
have practically engulfed him. The
letter of Mr.. w. r. Hamilton, former
secretary and field manager of the An
ti-saloon League of the state, accused
him of playing politics above law en-
forcement, neglecting the latter until
conditions forced him to act
Another small but rather pestifer-
GUS matter to come up involves him
in transaction, which shows that he
borrowed $4,000 from a corporation
over in East Tennessee and subse-
quently stopped the back assessment
Of the firm making the loan.
The governor, of course, denies that
the loan was the cause of any inter-
ference on his part with the back as
sessment. The denial is a heated one
but the fact remains that he borrowed
the money and the firm escaped the
assessment,
The irefulness of the governors
presentation to the issues of the cam
paign, as he would make them, has
been decidedly on the increase. His
language has grown more and more
vituperative and scurrilous. Not an
epithet that his mind could devise and
his tongue utter but he has applied
to Gen. Rye
Another matter that has come up
to worry him is the war record of
that brave old ex-confederate soldier,
Capt. w. G. Sadler. There have been
many suspicious for weeks that Sad
ler had no other title than plain Mis-
ter and that he never was an enlisted
confederate soldier, that he never held
a musket of busted cap. Yet he has
been going all over the state as the
protege of the East Tennessee gover-
nor, who in Middle and West Tennes-
see, has used him as an enthusiasm
rouser at speaking assemblages.
Mr.. Sadler may have been a soldier.
He may have been brave and was per-
haps captain. If so, the records at
Washington fail to show it. He claims
to have enlisted in Alabama. Thus
far and no further has he committed
himself. On many occasions he has
been solicited to give the name of his
regiment and company, to tell where
and when he joined the line in gray,
what general he followed and In what
battles he won his claims to gallan-
try. All such requests he absolutely
ignores. He is unknown in any of the
bivouacs of this state. Only until he
became candidate did any of his ac-
luaintances suspect him of having
confederate record.
He may make statement; also he
nay not.
Wouldn't it develop into the ludi-
,rous if it should turn out that Gov.
dooper's "old confederate" was no
confederate after all? The only ex-
confederate that Gov. Hooper really
owes is the one who never was an ex-
In the meantime is he Captain Sad
er or just plain old Bill?
Maybe, some day, the republican
candidate for railroad
commissioner will take the public in
o his conference
All such things naturally envenom
he governor in his utterances. And
hey are ceaseless in the obstinacy
With which they present themselves.
After charging that George Welch,
Who is only Mister and doesn't pre-
end to have been gallant old ex-
was a beer stave manu-
acturer and was raising campaign
und for the democratic campaign
rom the liquor interests of the coun-
ry, the governor has met counter
which at this writing he has been un-
bile to reply to.
The democratic committee has chal-
enged him to show how much money
lis campaign is costing, who furnish
and the amount given by each con-
The democratic committee
'ffer at the same time to open their
looks and make clean presentation
o the public of every dollar received,
Continued on page g.