Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-10-12

Of many counties and communities
| to address them on the question
raised by the proposal that this
country should enter the League Of
| Nations.
Others In Fight
"I accepted many of these invi-
tations, and during the year that
followed addressed the people of
some fifty counties in opposition to
the league. In the meantime, and
concurrently, the late Senator Watson
was conducting a brilliant and mas
terly attack upon it, week after
week, in his Columbia Sentinel; and
1 recall that the Atlanta Georgian
also consistently opposed it, and
that the late w. w. Osborne, Of Sa-
vannah, had also contributed a Sc
ries of brilliant, unanswerable and
unanswered arguments against it..
Mr.. Watson and were thrown into
leadership on this question, he by
my activity on the stump, in orpo-
sition to the proposal. Early in 1920,
the Democratic presidential primary
was ordered by our state committee.
I called a conference of the oppo-
nents in Georgia Of the league Of
nations, which met in Atlanta. At
that meeting it was determined to
contest this question in Georgia and
as a final outcome Hon. Thomas e.
Watson entered the race as the cam
didate of those opposed to the
league, with or without reservations;
while Attorney General Palmer be.
came the candidate of those who ia
vored it, and Senator Smith the can
didate of those who favored it with
| drastic notifications and reserva-
tons.
"In that contest openly and pub
licly supported Mr.. Watson, because
he and were in absolute agreement
on the question at issue, because he
opposed the league and opposed it
all over, with or without reserva-
tions. My convictions on this sub
| iect were so deep and strong that
gave Mr.. Watson my support, in the
| face of the fact that until this issue
| became acute we had not been on
| friendly terms for several years.
In Absolute Agreement
'At this crisis we both realized
that when we got to the bedrock OF
| American fundamentals, we were in
absolute agreement, and a reconcile
alton was brought about between
us, through the intercession of mu-
tual friends. The presidential pref
erential primary Of 1920 followed,
with it's Well-known results. Mr..
| Watson led the poll in popular vote
and he and Mr.. Smith together had
more than two-thirds of the popular
votes and almost twothirds of the
convention delegates. In the con-
vention, at the request of both Mr..
Watson and Mr.. Smith, acted as
| the mediator between the two
| forces, and together they controlled
the convention, electing both a ma
! tional committeeman and the dele
gates to the national convention at
San Francisco by an almost two
thirds vote. The unseating Of that
delegation in San Francisco aroused
| the indignation of the state and con-
tributed largely to the subsequent
election of Mr.. Watson as senator.
and myself as governor.
"Since Mr.. Dean has now turned
| states evidence on his associates,
the public can now begin to get some
| faint glimpses of the volume OF in
trigue and crafty misrepresentation
that designing politicians. of the
| Dean type employed, from the very
day they found they were unable to
| defeat Mr.. Watson and myself as
long as we stood together, to sep
arate us and to create trouble be.
tween us. Every weapon of nisrep-
resentation and deception was EN-.
ployed, without scruple and without
regard to the truth; that they should
have succeeded in any degree, even
| on the STAGE issues, in such an ef'
fort, in Mr.. Watson's last days
when his health and strength had
failed, was and always will be a
source of regret to me. There was
no other course open to me except to
be as patient as I could, in face
of and with the full knowledge of
all these intrigues, and to do my
duty according to my best lights, re-
| CARELESS of results.
81 Have Kept Faith"
ITO those Georgians who voted
with us in 1920, who marched then
with the two Toms to sweeping
victory, have this to say: 1 have
kept the faith with you and with all
men. I summon you once more to
the colors. 1 raise once more the
banner of the olden principles. Con-
ditions may change. but great prin-
ciples do not change. The leader
may die, but the cause lives. The
world today is smoldering with the
smoke and blazing with the fire of
threatened and actual wars, every
where; wars with which we have no
direct and immediate concern; and,
while I am always willing to exert
the friendly offices of this nation at
all times and to the utmost of its
influence to promote the blessed doc
trines of peace on Earth, and good
will to men, L am wholly unwilling
to bleed white the youth of the land
in foreign wars, to promote the in
terests of the ambitions, or to guar
antee the boundary lines of foreign
powers.
Europe is sleeping over a vol
cano. The Near East is on fire and
the flames may spread at any mo-
ment. If you send me to the SEN
ate, you will have the absolute guar
anty that comes, not from mere
words today, but from my past con-
duct and from my record already
made, that [ will not vote your boys,