MUMBLINGS November 20, 1997
Recently, I was approached by a reader who stated, "I read
your column every week, but wish you would write more about
politics, since you know more about the subject than most anybody."
Others suggest that I write about various subjects, all of
which I appreciate, but most people seem to enjoy interesting places
seen.
One morning a few years ago, I got to my office and a quote,
which was nicely framed, was on my desk saying as follows, "I
cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the
formula for failure, which is: Try to please everybody."
Of course, that is a well known fact, but one thing I do know
is that politics is not an exact science and I don't know much about
the subject . . . even though I have probably run for public office
more times than anyone in this county, I have not done so in 40
years, and have no intentions of doing so. I do have the advantage
of knowing how to win and how to lose, and sometimes you learn more
by losing than by winning.
My trouble is, I don't know much about anything, but I do know
a little about a lot of things.
Anyway, here is an interesting and true political story about
the late Governor Bibb Graves.
He was the first person in Alabama to have been elected
governor two times, first in the '20's and secondly in 1934, and
would have been elected the third time in 1942 had he not died
during the campaign.
He was a popular roly-poly, Santa Clause size gentleman, with a
high-pitched voice . . . he married his first cousin, Dixie Bibb,
and they had no children . . . in 1937 U.S. Senator Hugo Black was
appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court and Governor Bibb appointed "Miss.
Dixie" to succeed him . . . incidentally, everybody loved her.
He was called "Bibb the Builder" and for a reason . .
. he truly believed that to those who helped bake the pie were
entitled to help eat it . . ..he would make an occasional trip to
Washington, bring back a few thousand dollars and loudly proclaim
that he had gone there to "shake the apple tree."
He was loyal to his friends, however, he said, "if God
will take care of my friends, I'll take care of my enemies,"
meaning, that it's friends who often get public officials in
trouble.
When he ran and was elected the first time, he only got eight
votes in Greene County . . . even though he always appointed friends
to vacant offices, he figured he had no friends in Greene and
therefore when the tax assessor died he thought he would do the
statesman-like thing for a change and ask everybody in the county,
who wanted the job, to appear in his office in Montgomery and he
would give them a fair hearing..
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Continued As
could be expected, his office was full of people who felt strongly
that they were qualified to fill the position . . . he listened for
a long time to various people expound their qualifications, such as,
being an accountant, successful businessman, well-educated, and so
on.
After a while, an older shirt sleeved man got up and said, "Governor,
you only got eight votes in Greene County and I'm going to tell you
where you got those votes."
To which Governor Bibb perked up and started listening with
intensity . . .the man explained that he and his wife were two, his
son and his wife were four, his wife's first cousin and his wife
down in another precinct were the sixth and another cousin and his
wife were the eighth.
After which Bibb Graves stood up and said, "ladies and
gentlemen I called this meeting here today to listen to the reasons
why each of you should be appointed as tax assessor of Greene
County, however, if any of you in here doubt who I am going to
appoint, please stand."
His vote getting friend was appointed and several months later
the probate judge died in that county and Governor Bibb appointed
his tax assessor to fill that position.
Bibb said; "When you give someone a job you make nine
enemies and one ingrate."
It was my privilege to know Governor Graves several months
before he died . . . in fact, he asked me, along with Probate Judge
G.W. Robertson, and Dr. W. C. Holmes to be his campaign managers for
his 1942 campaign and I gladly accepted because everybody knew he
would be elected, since the war was underway and nobody would want
to risk an inexperienced governor.
However, he died during the campaign and all of his people,
including me, Robertson and Holmes, switched to Chauncy Sparks, who
did not have a chance of beating Bibb Graves, became a shoo in, was
elected and made a good governor.
Strangely, everybody thought, at least compared to Graves, that
Chauncy Sparks of Eufaula was an extreme conservative and wouldn't
do anything progressive . . . as it turned out, he became rather
liberal in his views and very aggressive in doing things for the
state.
He didn't have any children either, mainly because he was a
bachelor all his life.
See you again soon, I hope. |
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