Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-06-11
JUDGE NEWT. A. MORRIS
REPLIES TO ". J. HARRIS
Blue Ridge JuriSt Challenges
Candidate to Have Dor
Sey'S Views Published


letter to The Journal and requested
this newspaper to publish the same
in view Of the fact that The Journal
carried a report of the speech of Mr..
Harris in which Judge Morris was men,
toned.
Judge Morris Letter
The letter is as follows:
Marietta, Ga, June s, 1918.
Hon. W. ]. Harris, Kimball House, At
lanta, Ga.
Dear Sir: 1 notice from the daily
press that in your Crawfordville speech
this week you had quite a lot to say
in criticism of me, and, as l have seen
no reputation by you of the press ar
ticles, 1 presume you were correctly
quoted.
You state that Judge Morris called
upon Governor Dorsey to enter the race
and 1 presume that Governor Dorsey
told him as he has told hundreds of
others that he would not oppose me-"
ITO the charge that l called upon
Governor Dorsey and solicited him to
run for the senate, l plead guilty, and,
II he should enter the senatorial race,
if there is any other job to which you
can get appointed in Washington you
had better get you a "flivver" and make
a bee-line therefor and not stop on the
road long enough for Howard's wood
peckers to locate you.
Challenge.
"Only a short time ago you were very
theoretically endeavoring to get before
the public the conversation and CORE
spondence between the president and
Congressman Howard in regard to How
ards entering the race for the senate,
Now, II you will display a little of the
same sort of energy and join me in get
ting Governor Dorsey TO give to the
public just what he said to me in that
interview TO which you refer concerning
your candidacy for the senate, 1 will
contribute $50 to any Red Cross chap
ter in Georgia that you will designate.
LAS TO my going to Washington:
have never gone there TO confer with
any one on matters political, but dur
in gthe time referred to by you you
have done practically nothing but run
backwards and forwards to Georgia in
the interests of your own candidacy; !
do not know of a convention which has
been held in Georgia during the past
year that you have not "butted in" on,
when at the same time you were draw
ing 1000 salary from the government
and supposed to be looking after i'm
portant business for it.
troll Of a newspaper recently. 1 simply
bought stock in a paper which you then
held and now hold stock, but this paper
is not supporting you in your race for
the reason that IL is acquainted with
you and knows that there are at least
one hundred thousand men in Georgia
more capable and better qualified to
represent this great state in the United
States senate than you.
You further state that 1 announced
I expected to run against Congressman
Gordon Lee. who has Loyalty support
ed the president in peace as well as in
war. On the 2Sth day of April. 1917,
when the military bill was under con-
sideration. which provided that an army
should be raised by volunteers, Con-
gresham Kahn at the instance and re-
quest of President Wilson offered an
amendment striking out volunteers"
and providing that an army be raised
by the selective draft system; on the
call of the yeas and nays, as appears
on page 1874 of the Congressional Rec
ord, Hon. Gordon Lee voted against this
amendment. This was the most i'm
portant measure before congress since
the beginning Of the war and one that
the president urged most earnestly to
have passed; Congressman Lee showed
his loyalty by voting against it.
Mr.. Lee at other times showed his
loyalty to the president by voting
against the woman suffrage bill, which
the president urged earnestly to have
passed, and which was passed by the
house; he also voted against the bill
to prohibit the sale of whisky in Wash
ington, which also passed in spite OF
his vote. This is only part of what
the record shows as Mr.. Lees loyalty.
NTr -.
injustice by trying to load him down
with the dead weight of your race. Mr.
Lee will have all his shoulders car
carry to take care of himself and his
record when the farmers. are through
laying by and the congressional race in
the old seventh warns up.
You complain against the Fannir
county grand jury because they stated
that the masses of the people would
not support you; you say that you have
never ben in Fannin county and ara
not acquainted with them; there's NJ
use of your going there, Billy; they
seem to be acquainted with you. Thesr
sturdy men from the Blue Ridge noun.
tains are answering every call of the
president Cor soldiers, Red Cross con
tributions and in the purchase Of
Thrift Stamps and Liberty Bonds. but
they seemed to have reserved to them
selves the right TO select some one Z
represent them i'm the senate.
II quote from your Crawfordville
speech again as follows: They omen
that formerly supported Hardwick) wish
my defeat so they can humiliate Presi-
dent Wilson; they would like to say to
the rest of the country, Georgia has re-
pudiated the administration When did
you get to be the administration?
What right have you to so designate
yourself? 'Humiliate the PRESIDENT We
gods and little fishes! Your defeat
would no more humiliate him than a
mosquito could humiliate a bull ele-
plant in the jungles of Africa.
your whining and crying and sniff.
fing methods would indicate that yoU
are better qualified for the office Of cor.
oner than OF senator. If you would
quit trying to swing on to the coat tails
Of other people and run on your owr
merit. IL you have any, the people OF
this state would have more respect fol-
your candidacy.
Respectfully,
~. A. MORRIS"
p. s.: Your continued and often re-
peated expression of me and the presi-
dent is just about as appropriate as the
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