Washington telegraph., 1920-04-09

our families at home, I approach. with
much regret, the conflict that must and
will result from this campaign.
It would seem that the gubernatorial
bee has built his hive in suoth Arkan-
sas. The good county of ouachita. Just
south OF Nevada, has a candidate for
Governor in the person of my friend
smead Powell, the big proud peacock
Napoleon from Camden. Mr.. Powell
is generous enough to concede that the
other seventy-four counties in the
State have the right to alternate with
his county in furnishing Governors for
Arkansas. In other words, the present
incumbent in the Governors Office was
preceded by a Ouachita county man
and it is now that countys time again
to furnish the Governor
My good friend Mr. Powell has
most unique record as a politician. He
enjoys the peculiar distinction of hav-
ing reversed himself in his attitude
toward each and every candidate for
] Governor and United States Senator
during the last fifteen years, save and
except two. In other words, if he sup
pOr.s a candidate in one election, in
the next election he opposes him, and
Is-f4 Tho
. an exception to the rule. He has en-
joyed Mr.. Powell's support from the
, beginning to the end. If the present
administration is a success, Smead
Powell is entitled to a part of the
credit, and if it has been a failure, he
is likewise entitled to his part of the
credit, since he has been one Of the
r Governors chief advisers during his
two terms Of office.
Mr.. Powell has, for a number of
years, been a standing candidate for
United States Senator. He started
out this time to run for that Office but
decided he would first take over the
Governors Office and go from there to
the Senate. Two years ago he launched
his campaign for the Senate by max.
ing himself big speech over at Kings.
land, l believe it was, and in this
speech he took strong stand against
r woman suffrage; but l am informed
that he now occupies the foremost seat
' in the equal suffrage band-wagon. A
, fellow in referring to Mr.. Powell-thC
To other day, called him a ''vacillator."
Il said, what is a vacillator?" He said
f "A vacillator is a fellow all slickeC
@ over with vaseline, so he can slip anC
/, slide about from one politicians CAM
Q to another without any friction"
T fMr fdWeir got to the first quarter il
his race for the Senate two years ago
. then took out and formed a coalitio.
with Col Brundige to beat Joe Robin
son, and a strange coalition it wa'
indeed If am not mistaken, this i.
the same Smead Powell who landed il
r Helena, in Phillips county, about th'
j second or third day after the election
in the Hays-Brundige contest for Gov
. ernor He was at that time a frienC
of George Hays, and it is said he CAV,
J. wholesome advice and counsel to tn,
politicians Of Phillips county, who wer'
> then and there engaged in apportion
ing the vote Of that county between
the two candidates for Governor
> About a week later the apportionmen
was announced resulting in the elec
0 ton of Governor Hays. l have neve
believed that Governor Hays knew of
or was a party to the things that trans
pired in this Helena conference. Col
Brundige and his friends felt that hl
had been outraged, and contested tn
: election and carried the contest to tn
courts, but the case was finally dis
, missed on the ground that the court
had no jurisdiction to try and deter
;, mine the rights Of the parties.
: Mr. Powell, Of course, couldn't jeo
pardize his reputation as a ''vacillator
therefore he had to support Col. Brun
dige in his last fight for the Senate
1t was an awful jump from the Heleni
conference to the leadership Of tn
Colonels forces in South Arkansas, am
J. nobody but "vacillator" could max
s the lan.ing, but Mr.. Powell lande'
e safely, and made a valiant fight for tn
y Col, appealing specially to his friend
It in Ouachita county to support his new
e made friend, and when the election wa
=. over and the smoke of battle had al
/ cleared away, he figured up his friend
5, votes in that county and found he ha'
a secured for him 3j9 votes as agains
d 1905 for Senator Robinson. 1t is pre-