Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-07-07

| tn HERE is on the roster Of the Georgia
! house of representatives the name of
| who is more dramatic and
picturesque parsonage than the Honorable w.
| A. Covington of the County of Colquitt.
There is no better drawing card" in the
| entire membership of the general assembly.
| When Covington is in full action he is spec
tacular, spontaneous, emotional, intense. He
dashes fearlessly into his subject, and you
may expect "the lightning and the gale and
! all Winds of thunder.
| He can put an awful punch behind any
mo" which he wishes TO utter.
| He can always be depended upon to keep
his pot boiling when strenuous time Is on
in his vicinity.
In the Rough and Tumble of Debate
! Rough and tumble debate is his breakfast
| food" and recreation. He is never so happy as
when breastng the stormy waves of discus
| sion. Needless of danger and defiant of de-
| feat, like some bold fearless, intrepid caval-
| ryman on the plain of battle, che never pro-
| vdes for retreat; he never imagines it,"
l have frequently seen him contender at
| tournaments and have always observed that
he throws his shining lance full and fair in
! the face of his antagonist.
He makes clear, forceful argument, and
presents luminous statements of facts.
Notwithstanding his Nominations and
thunderings, there are times when Coving-
| ton pants most beautiful word pictures
| glowing in gold and rose colOrs." l have
| listened to him when the exuberance of his
fancy was perfectly delightful. The tropes
| and images which crowded fast upon his
| mind presented the appearance of a rhetor-
zeal banquet at which the 1oveliest flowers
! of the imagination abounded in exquisite
blending of colors
Covington is man of thought and action
No Mere Echo of Public ClamOr
! When under the influence of some great
| cause like prohibition, or child welfare, or
the education of the masses, or the preserya-
| ton of the social interests of the common
wealth. legislative discussion is the breath
| in his nostrils.
Covington does not belong to that class Of
public men who promptly shift their sails to
catch each passing breeze He is never the
mere echo of public clamor. He speaks I'M
reservedly his thoughts on political affairs,
and public matters generally. You will never
find him playing the part of cuckoo in the
clock.
Covington believes that no man can render
| more signal public service than is assisting
to lift high the standard of morality, of in
tegrity, of patriotism and of capacity in gov
ernmental affairs
Graphic Letter About DR.. FELTON,
have received the following characteristic
letter from Mr.. Covington, relative to the
late DR.. William H FELTON,, and in connection
with the hundroQtn anniversary OIL CHe
birth of this eminent Georgian:
81 have read with interest Your article on
DR.. William H. FELTON,, appearing in recent
issue of The Atlanta Journal.
sit is especially interesting to me to hear
you say that you heard him at Ringgold, in
the memorable campaign of 1878 / heard
my first political speech that year, when |
heard the Doctor at Waleska, in Cherokee
county. 1 was a child at the time, but /
well remember the sWaying body OF the ora
tor, and the rise and fall of his voice, as he
handed out his celebrated 'hallelujah lick
; "Mrs FELTON, has recently written an ar
! ticle for some magazine, in which she SPEAKS
of the evils of personal politics, or some such
| title. Anyhow, she speaks of the evils that
result to the state, when principles give way
to the personal element in politics. smiled
| when I read it, and thought Of the political
career of her own distinguished husband
For, was there ever in the whole history of
Georgia such an instance of the power OF
personality? In the campaign of 1878, for
instance, principles bent, and prejud1ces
stronger than principles, were crushed into
dust. Mountain Baptists wept under the
spell of the Methodist parson; veterans of
Lee and Jackson went to the polls side by
side with veterans Of Grant; and such rem
nants of guerrilla bands had not hanged
each other in 1864 embraced in rapture.
The Atlanta POstmastership
"You speak Of his having been offered by
President Arthur the office of postmaster of
Atlanta, and of his refusal to accept. THIS
incident deserves a more extended notice, at
this time Of leaders of a different type
The fact is that DR.. FELTON, was worn out
in all ways with his political campaigns, in
which he fought an organized political ring,
the strongest that Georgia has ever seen. He
needed the salary of this office. 1t came to
him unsolicited, and at the suggestion OF
northern Republican, of the Hottest 1nteg-
rity,' and in no wise was it intended to COM
promise the political position of the Doctor
DR.. FELTON, refused it for the reason that he
saw that to accept it would bring on himself
suspicion of having compromised his polltlcal
views. He mindful of the young men of
the mountains who believed in him, and who