USA > Georgia > The history of the State of Georgia from 1850 to 1881, embracing the three important epochs: the decade before the war of 1861-5; the war; the period of Reconstruction, v. 2 > Part 25
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In the afternoon, W. A. Harris moved to adjourn sine die. Judge Willis, in voting against it, appealed to the minority to come to Colquitt, and make a nomination. Before the vote on adjournment was an- nounced, Mr. Dendy, of Harris county, said he did not wish the conven- tion to adjourn without a nomination, and he changed four votes to Col- quitt from Hardeman, bringing Gov. Colquitt within 9 votes of a two- thirds majority. The enthusiasm over this was immense, and the cheering
586
THE CONVENTION ADJOURNS.
prolonged, and there is no doubt that the changes would have con- tinued, and secured the nomination. But both Dr. Carlton and Col. Norwood objected to any changes of votes for the nomination, on a motion to adjourn. The convention adjourned with matters in this condition, and Gov. Colquitt was before the people as the selected choice of the Georgia Democracy for Governor, through the action of the most extraordinary convention of Georgia political annals.
The conduct of the convention was in the highest degree revolu- tionary, and it resulted in a schism in the Democratic party that the people alone could settle, and which they did settle with an overwhelm- ing emphasis.
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CHAPTER L.
GOVERNOR COLQUITT'S OVERWHELMING RE-ELECTION.
The memorable Colquitt Election Campaign of 1880 .- The Minority Organize a Revolt from the Action of the Convention .- J. C. Dell and Mr. Wade .- The Invitation to Dr. Felton to Run .-- Hon. Thomas M. Norwood put out as the Minority Candi- date for Governor .- Gov. Colquitt Accepts .- Judge Hiram Warner Resigns from the Supreme Bench and Speaks Against Gov. Colquitt .- The State Press for Col- quitt .- The Discussion between Colquitt and Norwood -A Disgraceful Scene at Macon .- Attempt to Silence Colquitt, by a Violent Mob .- The Benefit to Col- quitt .- The Leaders of the State Against Colquitt .- The Masses of the People for Him .- A Sharp Tilt between Gen. Gordon and Gov. Smith .- The Inspiration of the Opposition to Colquitt .- The Republican Convention makes no Nomination .--- A Desperate Campaign of Calumny Against Colquitt .- Ben. C. Yancey's Charge and its Withdrawal .- Gen. Henry R. Jackson's Superb Speech .- The very Safety of Society and the Preservation of Character at Stake .- The Convie: Catechism .- The Appointment of Gov. Brown as United States Senator, a Leading Issue .- The Race between Gov. Brown and Gen. Lawton .- Gov. Brown's Work .- The Colquitt Workers .- Gov. Colquitt's Election .- The State House officers and their Aids .- The Canvass for United States Senator .- Gov. Brown's Election.
THE adjournment of the stormy convention of August, 1880, was the beginning of the second and still more heated phase of the memo- rable Colquitt gubernatorial campaign. The members of the minority were asked to remain in the hall. Mr. Norwood was made chairman. A committee of nine was appointed to prepare an address to the people and business for the meeting. The committee was H. H. Carlton, R. F. Lyon, F. G. Wilkins, J. L. Warren, T. M. Imboden, J. W. Staton, D. B. Harrell, W. R. Brown, P. W. Alexander and H. T. Hollis. At night a resolution was reported that the recommendation of Gov. Col- quitt was not binding, and the minority should have a candidate for Governor. There could not be a finer exhibition of moral courage than the action of Mr. J. C. Dell and U. P. Wade, of Sereven county, minor- ity delegates, in opposing this resolution, in fearless dissent from the sentiment of the meeting, which expressed itself in hisses, though both were cheered. Their remarks were thus reported:
"Mr. Dell continued, and declared that the resolutions would inaugurate a new party in Georgia. The que-tion is, shall we submit to the inevitable, or shall we begin revo- lution in the party. I speak for myself and for nine-tenths of my people that we shall
588
HON. T. M. NORWOOD, THE MINORITY CANDIDATE.
abide by the action of the majority of this Convention. It has declared that Governor Colquitt is the choice of the people, and I believe the people will endorse that verdict. [Cheers.] It is the duty of patriotism to adjourn now and go home without stirring up mischief in the party. [Cheers and hisses.]
Mr. Wade, of Sereven, said he had battled with the minority aud had followed it everywhere. But the question now is, if we are not putting weapons into the hands of these men? I shall tell my people that it is best to submit to the inevitable. Gov. Col- quitt will be elected in spite of us. [Great cheers and hisses.] I cannot approve these resolutions and I will clearly speak my sentiments. No men or set of men shall ever deter me from doing what I deem my duty. [Cheers and hisses.]"
A. P. Adams, S. H. Jemison, H. Van Epps and S. W. Small made applauded speeches full of fire and opposition to Colquitt. For several days the air was full of rumors as to who would be presented by the minority. It was a heavy blow to the minority when it came out that on the 10th of August, before the convention adjourned, H. H. Carlton, J. L. Warren and Wm. Garrard had telegraphed to Dr. Wm. H. Felton, the acknowledged leader of the Independents in the State, asking him if he would make the race against Gov. Colquitt, assured of strong support, a request that Dr. Felton declined, as his friends wished him to continue the race for Congress. It was with a grim and exultant glee that Dr. Felton gave this significant correspondence to the public, and it so handicapped the minority that the gentlemen, who did the mischief, endeavored to break tlie force of the injury by as- suming it as a personal act of their own.
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It was rumored that Mr. Stephens, Col. Candler, Gen. Wofford and others would make the race. The problem was solved when Col. Thomas M. Norwood was declared the candidate of the minority. The committee of the minority, with G. M. McDowell as an additional member, issued an address explaining their course, and published the correspondence with Mr. Norwood. A large Executive Committee was appointed, with Col. P. W. Alexander, chairman, and a campaign central committee, with Col. M. A. Candler as chairman, and C. H. Williams as secretary. There is no doubt of the efficient labors of these committees. They conducted a campaign of remarkable vigilance and vigor. Mr. Williams, the secretary, was at his post to the last, and kept the struggle lively. Mr. Norwood's letter of acceptance bore date the 13th of August, 1880.
On the 12th of August the committee appointed by the convention, Philip L. Cohen, R. Ridgeley, R. Jones, W. A. Hawkins, F. M. Long- ley, Geo. M. Nolan and Samuel Hall notified Gov. Colquitt of the ac- tion of the convention, and requested that he bear the standard of the
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589
JUDGE HIRAM WARNER ENTERS THE CONTEST.'
party. Gov. Colquitt replied in a singularly strong and dignified let- ter. He thus epitomized his administration:
" It has been gratifying to see a steady improvement in individual welfare and in every phase of the public condition, and I am not insensible to the compliment con- veyed in your letter that you accord to me credit for these results to the full extent that an executive may properly claim in our scheme of public polity. Among the valuable results wrought in these years are, an elevated state credit, a diminished public debt, a decreased rate of taxation, enlarged sources of income, exaltation of the state's dignity abroad, and an abatement of sectional strife through Georgia's influence. To these may be added kindlier relations between the white and colored races, due to a liberal spirit in the encouragement of popular education and equal justice in the protection of all races in every right of citizenship to the fullest extent of executive authority."
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The issue was thus made up, and the most intense and desperate political contest of Georgia history began. T. N. Rucker, a minority delegate from Clarke, had said when the convention adjourned, " it will be the bitterest campaign ever known in Georgia," and he predicted correctly. Mr. Norwood wrote to Gov. Colquitt, proposing a mutual- retirement. Gov. Colquitt declined to retire under the heavy arraign- ment made by the minority against him, and contrasted his own candi- dacy as the choice of nearly two-thirds of the party with that of Mr. Norwood, as the nominee of a committee of nine. Both sides came down to work. It would require a volume to record the notable inci- dents of this unparalleled campaign. The contest preceding the con- vention had been a hot one. It was child's play compared to the struggle leading up to the election. It was a species of black flag fight. Judge Hiram Warner resigned his place as Chief Justice on the 16th of August, " for reasons of a private nature exclusively." In a speech in Greenville, during the campaign, he gave the following reason for his resignation, in connection with a decision of the Supreme Court on a suit of the State against the securities of R. A. Alston:
" The Governor thought proper to take an appeal before the people from the Supreme Court of the State, of which I was at the time Chief Justice. I had no intention at that time of resigning. I was able and willing to perform the duties of the office as I had been for the ten years, so far as I knew; but when I saw one department of the government arraigning another department of the government before the country in a manner calculated to weaken public confidence in its Judiciary, I felt that I could no longer, with honor to myself and credit to the people, hold that position. * *
" Therefore I tendered my resignation so as to give the Governor an opportunity to appoint a personal judge who might be willing to decide upon his official acts in accord- ance with his own personal wishes, and thereby save him the trouble of appealing to the people to review the judgment of the Supreme Court."
There was no more remarkable incident of this unprecedented cam-
590
THE ISSUE MADE UP.
paign than this slip of the venerable Chief Justice. It showed the rancor of politics; it showed the excess to which an honest man can go under a virulent anger; and it demonstrated the severity of this canvass. The people thought too highly of Judge Warner to believe him earnest in a reason for resigning that was neither just to him or Gov. Colquitt.
Mr. Norwood spoke in Atlanta, and Gov. Colquitt replied to him in a a letter. This speech and letter formulated the issues of the canvass, and were both able and exhaustive, Mr. Norwood tripped up upon some of his facts and figures, and thus put himself at some disadvan- tage. ~ But his speech was bold, earnest and aggressive. Gov. Col- quitt's letter was the strongest document of the campaign, and it will pass into history as a model of political disputation. It was felicitous, dignified, concentrated and unanswerable. It was trenchant without discourtesy, and handled his antagonist unsparingly in a decorous man- ner .. It covered every point of attack against him, and rested impreg- nably upon official facts and figures. Mr. Grady, the chairman of the campaign committee, sent it into every county in the State for the quiet perusal of every voter, and its clear statements supported by the records, carried an irresistible weight.
The large majority of the State papers took ground for Gov. Col- quitt, led by the four powerful dailies, the Atlanta Constitution, Au- gusta Chronicle and Constitutionalist, Savannah News, and Macon Telegraph and Messenger. The strongest opposition to Gov. Colquitt was in the cities and towns, and all of these papers had a noisy and vigorous sentiment to antagonize. In Savannah and Macon it was especially bitter. Col. Estill of the News, was menaced in Savannah, with the loss of patrons and business. This was the home of Col. Norwood, and the campaign on that side ran into proscription. Col. Estill, with cool nerve, pursued his course, regardless of the pressure, while Col. Thompson wrote some of the best leaders of the campaign. The four Titans of the press wielded a prodigious influence. The Columbus Times later came out for Colquitt, and put in some telling blows. The Columbus Enquirer-Sun, Atlanta Post-Appeal, Savannah Recorder and Augusta News kept the liveliest sort of a fusillade on the Norwood side, and well exemplified the power of an earnest press.
A discussion was arranged between Gov. Colquitt and Col. Norwood and covered seven appointments, beginning at Augusta and ending with Columbus, and including the intermediate points of Madison, Co-
591
COL. NORWOOD AS THE MINORITY LEADER.
vington, Griffin, Macon, Butler, Talbotton and Columbus. It was an amusing peculiarity of the canvass that both sides claimed the complete triumph of their respective champions, and the utter demolition of their opponents. The matter depended very much upon whose side happened to have the majority present. Whoever had the numbers made the largest racket. Perhaps the fairest statement came from the Augusta Chronicle. It thus measured the speakers:
" Candor compels us to say that Hon. T. M. Norwood is no stump speaker. His two speeches in the Senate led our people to believe that he was a gentleman of oratorical power. He has no magnetism whatever, and as a public speaker he is not above the grade of mediocrity. Our whilom Senator is no match for Gov. Colquitt on the stump."
The selection of Col. Norwood was not a fortunate one in many respects. An elaborate and logical pleader, and possessing an affluent but not a ready or contagious intellectuality, he lacked fire and the magnetic element. A plain man in appearance, he was cold and un- electrical. He was not the leader for the masses. His antecedents too were against him. He had not participated in the war; he had taken the unpopular side as a receiver of back-pay in the Senate; he had been agent for some of our contested Bullock bonds; he had used some very hard things in his speeches about the negroes, whose votes were needed to elect him. All of these matters were used effectively against him. In Macon' and Columbus the majority of the people assembled to hear the discussions were against the Governor, but at the other points were for him. An incident occurred at Macon that did great injury to Mr. Norwood's cause. He had the opening and the conclusion. The scene was unparalleled for a civilized community. Mr. Norwood made a severe arraignment of Gov. Colquitt. The Governor arose to reply, introduced by Hon. A. O. Bacon. The Macon Telegraph and Messenger thus describes the wild time that ensued:
" Thereupon occurred one of the most remarkable scenes ever witnessed, probably, in the state. For two hours the man stood before the people, speaking amid a storm of cheers, hisses, groans, cries, cat-calls, jeers and insults. Eloquence was powerless before it, and the presence of the most substantial and dignified citizens of Macon had little effect A dozen times the speaker was forced to stop entirely, and several times Col. Whittle, Capt. A. O. Bacon and others sought to calm the people in vain. It was only when Colquitt's time dwindled down to thirty minutes that he secured a comparatively quiet interval.
" It was the most disgraceful scene ever witnessed in this city, but let it be said to the credit of the greater portion of the crowd, that when called upon to endorse or condemn the confusion, there arose a shout of condemnation that for a little while awed the remainder into silence. The speaker struggled through it all, reminding a looker-on of a
592
THE WILD SCENE IN MACON.
strong swimmer bat ling with the waves. He kept his temper nearly all the way through, letting his indignation only find voice when it seemed as though human courage and patience could endure no longer. Whatever else his enemies may say of him, there were few who last night did not admire the unconquerable spirit that would not be overwhelmed.
" No intelligible report of the speech as delivered can be given. It was broken up into snatches through which were mixed the questions of the crowd and his answers."
The conclusion of this brave exhibition of manhood and endurance is thus portrayed by the Telegraph:
" At this time the crowd kept up a pretty lively fuss, but when the speaker ended his description of how Norwood was nominated, the excitement and confusion became over- whelming. Gentlemen advised the Governor to cease, but he refused. No one could be heard for a long time. Finally Captain Bacon addressed them, and in a sharp speecl: shamed the crowd into silence.
" When the speaker could be heard he attacked Norwood's war and senate record, but the confusion became so great that even the reporters within a few feet of him could not hear his words. Some one said something about Joe Brown, and the governor singled him out, and calmly said : "I will give you Joe Brown, if you wish it." He then gave them in clear language his reasons for the appointment. Brown was a ยท democrat ; had voted the ticket for twelve years; had acted with the democratic com- mission in Florida. He had voted for Grant ; the democrats had voted for Greeley : he had favored the reconstruction measures ; the democrats had afterwards endorsed them ; he had not always been a democrat, but there were whigs in the crowd around him.
" This latter part burst from his lips in a torrent of writhing sarcasm, and, wearied, the Governor took his seat."
This occurrence will afford some conception of the desperate crusade against Gov. Colquitt, and of the lengths to which this stormy canvass ran. Here was the Executive of the State insulted by a howling mob; here was an officer whose record had been assailed, refused a hearing in reply to his assailant. The incident made hundreds of votes for Gov. Colquitt. 'His splendid bearing, under this trying ordeal, demonstrated the game quality in the man that all men so much admire. The stirring incidents of this canvass would fill a volume of the most dramatic type. It was a curious feature of it all, that the drift and the noise seemed to belong to the minority. The huzzaing and fire appeared overwhelmn- ingly on that side. It looked like Gov. Colquitt was being swept away, yet to the critical and posted observer it was apparent that the great heart of the people, in its trust for him, was true and untouched. Strong leaders, one after another, threw themselves into the current against him, and unavailingly added their best energies for his defeat.
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Ex-Chief Justice Hiram Warner, ex-Gov. James M. Smith, ex-United States Senator H. V. M. Miller, Gen. A. R. Lawton, Hon. Rufus E.
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593
NORWOOD'S HEAVY SUPPORT OF LEADERS.
Lester, Gen. Robert Toombs, Gen. Wm. T. Wofford, Col. J. C. C. Black, Hon. Milton A. Candler, Maj. Joseph Ganahl, Hon. A. P. Adams, Saml. H. Jemison, Esq., S. B. Spencer, Esq., H. Van Epps, Esq., Col. John D. Ashton, Samuel W. Small, Hon. Louis F. Garrard, Hon. Mark Blanford, Hon. Thomas W. Grimes, Col. J. T. Jordan, Gen. Eli Warren, Hon. Nelson Tift, W. M. Bray, Rev. J. R. Respess, Col. David E. But- ler, Mr. Walter G. Charlton, Mr. Alvin Freeman, Dr. H. H. Carlton and others, joined in the affray and spoke or wrote letters against Colquitt. An effective worker on the Norwood side was Col. George W. Adair, brimful of resources and expedients, and of a sleepless energy, and withal one of the wittiest of speakers. There was a close canvass of the whole State, and in many places elaborate discussions. Perhaps the attitude of Gov. Smith created the most varied commentary. It had been charged, that when he accepted the office of Commissioner of Railroads from Gov. Colquitt, he had stated that he would resign it whenever he antagonized his administration. Be this as it may, the criticism upon him was not kind, and in his speech in Atlanta he said he would resign, but it should be to -- Gov. Norwood that he tendered his resignation. His speeches were very aggressive. He and Gen. Gordon struck at each other sharply.
Gov. Smith commented severely upon Gen. Gordon as urging that Gov. Colquitt was " persecuted for floating the banner of the King of Kings." And he continued with sarcasm:
" He has preached, as I have been informed, and as he says himself, to the colored peo- ple of the State. Again, we say all right. But did our good Governor ever think it worth while to preach to a camp of convicts in Georgia? [Great cheering.] Thousands of holy men have enlisted to teach Sunday schools, but who has felt himself commis- sioned to visit the camps of these poor unfortunates, and teach them the way of salva- tion? Hlas our Governor ever done so? If so, when and where? [Continued applause from whites and blacks.]"
To this Gen. Gordon made the telling reply:
" But Governor Smith makes his climax against the present administration, when he charges that Governor Colquitt does not preach to the convicts. [Laughter and ap- plause.] Of all the marvelous things which have transpired in this marvelous campaign, the most remarkable and farcical is the spectacle of James Milton Smith lecturing Alfred H. Colquitt upon his duty as a christian. [Great laughter and cheering.] Why, I thought the charge against Colquitt was that he spent too much time running around to Sunday schools, and was neglecting on this account his duty as Governor ; but it seems that this was all a mistake, and that the real complaint is that he did not do enough running about. [Laughter.] Fellow-citizens, it would take forty of the best lawyers in Georgia to tell what Governor Colquitt's opponents would have him to do. In one breath he is wasting too much time on religion, and in the next he is not wasting enough. [Laughter and applause. ]" 38
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594
GENERAL GORDON AND GOVERNOR SMITH.
This was keen sparring between these strong talkers. Another practical matter that was the subject of a racy tilt between these gentlemen, was the endorsement of the North Eastern Bonds. Said Gov. Smith:
" The opinion of Attorney General Hammond was adverse to the indorsement, and the same I hold has never been nor can be successfully met. It is still on file in the ex- ecutive office. Disregarding all these, however, the Governor at last allowed himself to be persuaded to make the indorsement. But not until after the ratification of the constitution of 1877, which provides that the credit of the State shall not be pledged in aid of any work of internal improvement. The fundamental law which the Governor was sworn to obey, took away from the Governor, and from every other official, the power to pledge the credit of the State in such cases. Nevertheless the Governor, in the face of this provision of the constitution, made this pledge. The constitution said he should not do it. But he made the pledge. Ile swore to obey the constitution. I make no comment upon this. [Applause.]"
Gen. Gordon thus replied to this assault, the interruptions showing the fever of excitement that prevailed:
" But Governor Smith places his chief objection to Colquitt's endorsement on the ground that Attorney General Hammond, the former Attorney General of the State, had ad- vised against the endorsement. Well, if Attorney General Hammond's opinion ought to have controlled Governor Colquitt, who did not appoint him to office, it certainly ought to have controlled Governor Smith, who did appoint him to office. Mr. Hammond was Governor Smith's legal adviser when he was in the Executive chair. Mr. Hammond was not Governor Colquitt's legal adviser, since he occupied that chair. Governor Colquitt's legal adviser (Major Ely) did not advise against Governor Colquitt's indorsement of the North eastern Railroad bonds, and Governor Colquitt therefore, with the advice of the ablest counsel, gave the indorsement. Governor Smith's legal adviser did advise him not to indorse the bonds of the North and South railroad, but Governor Smith turned a deaf ear to his legal adviser and indorsed them notwithstanding. Governor Colquitt, with the advice of able lawyers, indorsed for a broad gauge road at the rate of $6,000 per mile. Governor Smith, contrary to the advice of his own Attorney General, indorsed for a narrow gauge road to the amount of $12,000 a mile. Governor Col- quitt's indorsement never cost the State one dollar in money. Governor Smith's in- dorsement cost the State the loss of nearly or quite a half million dollars. [Cries of " Give it to him," " Hurrah for Gordon," " Hurrah for Smith," Laughter and hisses.] Governor Smith indorsed for the North and South Road, to the extent of $240,000 in all. Two hundred thousand of this was lost as principal, besides the interest for twenty years on the bonds which you are bound to pay. But this is not all. Governor Smith indorsed, against the advice of the Attorney General, for another railroad, narrow gauge at that, called the Memphis Branch up here at Rome, and he lost the State nearly every dollar of that money. [Laughter.] This railroad has long since gone " where the woodbine twin- eth." [Great laughter, cheers and hisses. ] It is among the things that were. [Laughter.] There is nota car, nor engine, nor bar of iron, nor cross tie left to mark the place where it once was. [Laughter.] Colquitt, according to Governor Smith, is a very weak Gover- nor. Well, I am glad he has left no such monument of strength as this. [Applause ] I rejoice that he was not strong enough to brave the advice of his own Attorney General
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