The Lexington progress. (Lexington, Tenn.) 1884-current, 1920-09-03

By W. v BARRY.

On the day that Senator Edward
W. Carmack was buried, November
10th, 1908, | caught my old friends,
former governor John | Cox, in the
chair of the bootblacks in the Tulane
Hotel, in Nashville, and having him
cut off from escape, | got a chance to
unload on him-which | did. | asked
him if he noticed in the papers that
Ham Patterson had said that the crit
icisms which had been made on the
occurrence of he and Patterson get
ting together, were made by "mea
who did not understand the ameni-
ties of life and hence could not appre-
ciate how gentlemen of broad views
could forget?" to which John /. re-
piled that he had seer the statement.
| then asked him if ever before he had
had the slightest intimation from
Patterson that it would be possible
for him (Cox) to he a gentleman
and then | added, Governor, / do not
know how it affects you, but it seems
to me that a good woman and children
are concerned or ought to be in the
fact that Patterson has branded you
as a thief and scoundrel from Men,
phis to Bristol. l left Jno. l., went to
Columbia to attend the funeral Of my
great friend-and Cox acted very UNI
wisely in going also. | was mad at
John l., for l had been his staunch
friend. After the funeral l strolled
up the concrete platform at Columbia
and there came aross the Honorable
James B. Frazier, to- whom | said "Tu
bet l said something to a fellow to-
day that you would not have said
Governor Frazier asked, Barry, who
was it and what did you say?" | told
him Of the Tulane Hotel incident and
he remarked 81 am glad you said it."
Frazer made a great Governor of
Tennessee and a creditable Senator of
the United States-but he was not
given to making positive statements.
When I bought my ticket at the
station window at Columbia, John /.
Cox was standing there and said
Hello, Barry, have you boukht your
ticket?" l said 'thank you, l have
bought"-and l did not speak to him
again for years. However, l do not
know that he lost anything by the abb
sence of my friendship, for he is now
happy in the position of postmaster
at Bristol.
Years later, in the lobby Of the
Maxwell House, in Nashville, ! ran
across John l., in the presence of my
beloved old friend, Col. John Thomp-
son, who was Patterson's Commf
siener Of Agriculture. Bless his
old heart-he died several months
ago and | feel that he has gone where
the good men go. Col. Thompson said
Barry, you know Governor Cox
and remarked II guess | ought to-"
Directly Jno. /. was standing back of
the settees in the hotel lobby and |
walked up to him and said "durn your
time; | guess l have cussed you for
everything in the woodland thought
you deserved it-but how do you do 2"
and John |. said Barry, | am real
glad to see you" | have gotten in a
good humor with everybody | ever
hated-except Ham Patterson and his
dictator, old Dune Cooper, who muir
dered Carmack.
Speaking of John l. Cox-while he
was governor land a good one) q
friend came to me and asked that |
white Cox a letter in behalf of a GER
tain fellow here who had been con-
victed of selling whisky and a jail
sentence put on him. | wrote a letter
and told John I. that l had made up
my mind to ask him to remit the Jail