Evening star., 1943-01-10
Mcclellan Calls BIount Custer
Unfair Blot on 7ennesseon
Senator, in Book, Says Predecessor of
$50 Years Ago Should Have Got Medal

of Mr.. Adams would not even have
Liston recalled"
Senator McKellar calls attention
that Mr.. Blount was Of distinguished
lineage-"one of his forebears being
a favorite official in the reign OF
Queen Elizabeth and a personal
friend OF that great Queen"
Statement Brings Ridicule.
In reply to aspersions cast upon
the mountaineers of East Tennessee,
Mr.. McKellar pays his respects to
Secretary Perkins as follows: II re-
call that so distinguished and highly
educated and personally agreeable
person as Miss Frances Perkins,
Secretary of Labor, once spoke of
the people of East Tennessee as
being so far down in the scale of
civilization that they did not even
wear shoes. She knew nothing about
the people of the South and her
unfortunate statement brought upon
her head much ridicule in the en-
tire country. She was perhaps never
in the State Of Tennessee and the
truth is there are perhaps more
ignorant and unkempt people, many
of them not Americans at all, nv-
ing within a few thousands yards
of where Mrs. Perkins lives"
Answering criticism Of his people
made by "a very wealthy and lovely
lady who owns newspaper in
Washington" Senator McKellar said
Washington has its counterpart of
persons in his East Tennessee.
Senator McKellar makes reply
also to DR.. A. E. Morgan, one time
chairman of the Tennessee Valley
Authority, who told him that the
real purpose of the Tennessee Valley
Authority was to lift up the poor,
benighted, ignorant people of East
Tennessee to a higher plane of
civilization and enlightenment equal
to that of other communities of the
country" The Senator says that DR.
Morgan had no capacity for meet
ing people or knowing them. He
kept himself aloof from them and
did not know how to talk to them"
He challenges in his book DR..
Morgan, Miss Perkins, or anyone,
to show as many nationally
persons from their home States
such as he names from East Ten
nessee, which is one-third of the
entire State. He lists two presi-
dents, l3 cabinet members, five JUS
tices OF the Supreme Court, 80 Sem
ators, Is Governors of States and
a very long list of noted persons in
many callings.
To give particular point to his
defense OF East Tennessee noun
taineers, he cites the records of nine
famous men-including Gen. John
j. Pershing. who was in supreme
command OF the American Expe-
dictionary Forces in the first World
War, whose mother was born in
East Tennessee, and Sergt. Alvin c.
York, the most celebrated enlisted
soldier in the first World War. The
others are Cordell Hull, Secretary
OF State; Speaker Sam Rayburn,
John @. Tilson, former House lead
er; Frank Houston, president of the
Chemical Bank & Trust Co., New
York, one of the eight largest banks
In the world; Sam Houston, who
grew up in East Tennessee, was
Governor of the State, president of
Texas, who served long in the
United States Senate and was a
noted warrior; Martin w. Littleton,
one of the all-time great lawyers
of the Nation, and Samuel L.
Clemens, known best as Mark
Twain, whose father was postmaster
at Pail Mall, where Alvin York now
lives.
Debunks Scandal.
AS a result OF his research for the
biography of Senator Eaton. Sena-
tor McKellar endeavors to debunk
much Of the scandal about Peggy
ONeill, whom Senator Eaton mar
rled. He points out that her moth
er was a sister of Gov. Richard
Howell of New Jersey and her IA
ther, who operated the best hotel
in Washington, as a Mason, was
one of those selected to officiate at
George Washington's funeral. She
herself instead of being a tavern
keepers daughter or bar maid" was
we'll educated and popular in WASH
ington society until gossips, less well
bred, gave her a bad name.
The first chapter in Senator Nc
Kellers book concerns the United
States Senate and he writes that
perhaps in the history of mankind
no other legislative body was ever
equal to it in importance" or has
80 impressed itself upon the peo-