Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1920-09-24

1t in Decatur county. Ia stubborn
refusal of the machine both in De-
catur county and Atlanta, to hear
and determine this matter on its
merits strengthens the belief that If
heard upon its merits my contentious
must have prevailed and my nomlna-
ton in the first primary would have
been assured"
After charging irregularities in
Barlow an Walton counties, Mr..
Hardwick said:
For quite number of years we
have had in Georgia a compact, .well-
organized and well-led and wholly
interruptions state machine. 1t has
been backed by most of the larger
daily newspapers. of the state. Too
often the more 4thoughtless of the
weekly newspapers, who usually take
their local color and their opinions
from the nearest city daily, have be-
come it's 'sme-too" champions. Its
leaders have usually been the edi-
tors of such daily newspapers as the
Atlanta Constitution and the Macon
Telegraph. Its captain-general has
been, all the time, and is now, Mr..
Clark Howell, who for twenty years
or more has been Democratic Ma
tional Committeeman from Georgia,
which office he now holds in open
defiance of the expressed will of two
thirds of the people of Georgia.
SIN recent years Mr.. Watson, Mr.
Hoke Smith, Mr.. Holder and myself
are among the men who have ventur-
ed to dispute their control and have
dared to fight them. Consequently
we have all, at different times, and
in turn, been the objects of their Bit
ter hatred, the subjects of their most
venomous Misrepresentation No
calumny has been too vile, no SLAM
der too atrocious, no lie too mean,
for these papers and their satellites
to print and repeat about one or the
other, and in the long run about all
of at least three of us.
"At last they have overplayed the
people have been fed up
on senseless abuse of us, upon silly
Misrepresentation of us, until at
last their minds and stomachs have
risen in rebellion against such meth
DDS, and the men and newspapers
who stoop to employ them.
During the administration of our
present governor, Mr.. Dorsey, the
Howell machine appeared to be at the
very climax of its power. The govern
or was the one-time law partner of
the youngest and smoothest of the,
brothers Howelp' Albert:
and that the Brothers Howell, wheth-
err Governor Dorsey fully realized it
or not, were the real governors of
Georgia few informed men doubted.
Emboldened by war conditions, and
by the temporary suppression, during
Tire war of all who dared to differ
With it, the Howell machine passed
On to extremes that it mad never be
fore dared venture. 1t managed the
finances of the staate so poorly that
it had involved the treasury in Sc
rious and dangerous difficulties I'M
til it is estimated that the state IS
fully two million dollars in arrears
and that too, in the face of the fact
that a state tax system has been es-
tablished to raise tax values and con-
sequently to increase the amount of
money that is obtained from taxa
ton without raising the rate. So en-
barassed are our state finances that
we appear unable to refund for the
present at least, some $4,000 of the
peoples money wrongfully collected
on illegal tobacco taxes. The machine
has created unnecessary and expen-I
sive bureaus, boards adm commits
sions without limit, and without any
regard for expense. 1t has
sought 30 make places for its re-
tanners and henchmen by Illegally cree
ating special tax collectors to col
leet an illegal tobacco tax, and byI
without authority Of law
Especial attorneys" to assist" the
attorney general in collecting unliti-