A Word on Words; 2423; James D. Squires

foreign word program delving into the world of books and their other this week james these wires talks about the secrets of the whole world was euro store or downwards mr johnson chairman of the freedom forum's first amendment center at vanderbilt university in london simple once again welcome to world words old friend jim squires welcome how good that the backing john georges the secrets of the hopewell bartered politics of passion express goal of things we were all things we do all the things we love and what's old friends i found in the secrets of the hopewell box but you know it's a different story the last time so we talked you had written on tour the book call read all about and some but the news media and the changes in the news media in your personal views on those here we go back to your childhood your earliest recollections

with your grandfather they've white they wiped a sometimes highway patrol and they were why they sometimes county however drummond dave why they sometimes sergeant sometimes a lieutenant sometimes in a later day just looking only at the empowerment yard at the at the police department what character he was our view of that you know this so this book i had to be the most enjoyable work i've ever done at the same time that the most difficult and i didn't set out to do anything autobiographical uncharted set out to write a book about my grandfather i set out to write a book about the postwar so up about the change in politics it took place after the war the rise of the urban white middle class as a political fortune the country and i wanted to do it as fiction and there was a book called the manana

garnered an evil which was a big seller about savannah and my publisher said to write this book is fiction write this book about a man's formidable biden to our shirts wanted and i went back and began to look into the added those years and found my grandfather there that in the middle of a lot of things i didn't know where he was in the middle of it and so what we ended up with what is a book in which you see the post war style and particularly the city in nashville as it changes as the political landscape changes from an agricultural democratic party dominated scene two to eight and vastly diversified changing political scene rise aware of an american industrialization and so when you see there you see that when you see an initial through the answer to that my grandfather was one of them and i think a pursuit of more more central to the book in my grandfather even oregon wrote

son who was an undertaker and a sheriff and a politician and a character it just must share with the audience for a full that that i am thy praises book so highly because as i go through the pages i find my so oh in the air i am re introduced myself in ways i never really they were sold through the eyes of your friend news cali and i thank you for that i don't think it's the only pizza puppies will now as far as a body is concerned and certainly it's not a puff piece and my guess is that as enjoyable as it was as tough as it was and it was painful to write about the truth as in ball politics and un follow and our almonds and

his friends share of what john hanke the time i mean i really hit hard time i literally cried at my paper sometimes and then i would get the next morning when i get at what i'd written outcry i mean just because of the emotional attachment that ahead to him and to the times and to the city and newspaper an embodied head to do the truth about my grandfather and war to be over do the truth about us and about the city and about everyone there aren't terrible stories about terrible story that story about that story about him forcing them black kid to come back and pick up that x women put it in his pockets he then puts him on a bus knowing that the land has to go for the back of the bus because it was those days and then he sits back with glee and enjoys it as other people sitting in the back of the bus case than the older and over the windows i mean it wasn't i mean in retrospect when a tragic joke

that when you get into the columbia race riots the main dave white was there he thought it was going to be indicted for murdering by people that are there and the columbia race riots and when you talk about his wives what a collection or women or griffin thought that put together i know you're a new yo momma i loved your mother she was the best political minds single political mind i ever knew maybe the best political instinct avenue i'm tanya if she no lab there are pages book she wrote about pleasure mr pluta but she did read the book and and she wanted the truth told about her fault to play the region week you have to do that if you go through the pages of the national newspapers and you see would grant robinson and dave why don't all their friends were about you see them as a raucous a political machine

stealing elections administering the street justice that's what you described with this one incident and but they are perfect examples of of law enforcement in the south in those three in those days everywhere every city every share your life with corruption is rife with racism it was rife with cronyism but in some ways in some ways given all of the problems that existed and all of this honesty that was a part of that if you look back on it today i find it very hard to be as judgment all now as i was when i was a reporter covering an anecdote i think you're right on the reason that we're in this is that this is the reason that that the book i hope that next contribution if you look at those pages that that account of those people was correct but you keep this out of

context and i guess this is what historians or for you know i'm never considered myself a story but when you then look at the same people the very same people who did the sun or the first people in the south rift are blocked the pope they were the first people to work in the legislatures that creates such a single member district to give them representation they even brought that one man one vote but the razor are awesome which basically gave not only blacks in the south but republicans in the south and urbanites in the south an equal voice with white rural democrats there also brought about in nashville a tremendous the revolution the metropolitan government which has helped the city tremendously suleyman old lady they were exactly as you describe them they also opel war political activists who wanted everyone in the system and they did not as they they were not

racist as such in a sense they wanted to keep the black man down their vote was as good as anyone else's they basically better than selling about eight ball gave them jobs they gave them work they gave them opportunity when other people wouldn't give them up to resolve the economic place in secret it made national pretty much of a model city in the south to lead this tremendous change or to play you know as a the army then re arming and in america slowly in the book is that this regime so called sharon garfinkle sharon robinson garfinkle mcshane jay garner an album of which your grandfather dave was part was opposed from the outset by liz claiborne poet named and i remember working not in the early days as a reformer against that regime but the irony of

ironies is that that's a newspaper employee do you joined as a journalist to try the enemy and never betrayed never betrayed the family well i think that that the newspapers were such a part of the political fabric and and they were as it sped such contests with each other over the issue that oftentimes a personality conflict with between two people what's in the papers often different directions and even though garner robinson fight climate on my grandfather jake sherman were all of a like mind with the tennessee and editorial page they couldn't come together because of personnel to comment because of that crow history a record that's exactly right because the issue of stealing elections separated them from mr evans on them and his crusade against corruption and bob irwin allen hastens to find it harder to

fathom but in those days you could if you carried shelby county and davidson county in any statewide election one state's rights so it really matter and crumb controlled for a long long time but by controlling show began in western state and leaping over and and making of new republicans because it is such a center of opposition but that machine control the sinai i just have to ask you to recite because everybody who hears about the secret to secure the hopewell box and people all over the country are now hearing about this this is fascinating book that focuses on that i have to ask you the story of the hopewell bucks and i cannot do that ending this throughout my life the night the hopewell box almost didn't come in over poor i was at the courthouse when that great conversely was there and then

i always thought was her alone get the local box until late evening i now know the robot dave woodward them may have been leading him they were in the same car and and my grandfather had recruited found including the block they're young black man that he had less intimidated and an embarrassed humiliated earlier he brought them that the young man to vote that day along with many others you know and to sit beside the story i think means a lot less water puddle and what is the book about the stereotypical postwar selfies of a of a very segregated society where the black steel were kept down and kept not voting and where they lived separately while this blue collar machine it came about double victory that involve ground robinson and dave weigel with her we lived with blacks and i grew up with with black people into trees doors away from me and seeing him every day this was not a

segregated society a player and fact my great great grandfather built this house in hopewell which was basically a black community so we we knew those people my grandfather knew them by name and lived with them every day and all of the many early on every election show in this case the hope we'll have about a hundred people and garner robinson was playing in his first race for office and he was two hundred and nineteen votes behind any have one box left a note of the local pop world by lonergan with a hundred people and so lewis' hurd who had been the election officer basically hill that box out onto it is usually say more than you know maybe do you laugh like was aware i was like live and emily lakdawalla seven line though he would call in to say how many do you act and in fact he and my grandfather were riding that box around in the back of a car drinking whiskey at hand and waiting until they had had concluded how many do you

need and when they found out how many they need it that's what they did the affordable portable about skin and dry one but in his opponent at eighteen post and on about three hundred chicks you know that storm on your own food you have both know now work all across this country and newspapers and once work with us and i'm sure that story as a legend of the story local boxes is his legend but as i said i never needed a white was part of a protecting the box and then you know you go then you go through the whole issue of baker versus carr amazing that the person most responsible for bringing that case to the attention for july is that the bright young lawyer named tom often brilliant is it dr brilliant whole future ahead of them

jimmy hoffa perchance not richards was indicted in nashville tennessee fate he employed tom austin rivers and tommy osborne as bright young man went to work for jimmy hoffa was corrupted by him try to fix a jury form was convicted of that went to prison came out prison and disbarred for life with his own life the great promise great tragedy great place those great part of the story owens's exhibit is another irish story in this book their main goals to those social and political change that took place and coming out more of passion for jimmy hoffa scolds was a class concern he thought this was an underdog all his lightning coming out

on came from very meager beginnings in kentucky and in his first law practice was in this like alameda say about him if you had to take the attitudes of dave and garner and louis for blacks there was a great gap between where they stood and where tom easton tommy was in his heart anxious to move the society all way from the old ways and i'm not sure that garner and louis and they know what they what they what the baker versus carr lawsuit would do well i don't think they would they were in it in to that degree in terms of one man one vote but they all thought that from the beginning and to garner and garners father paid the poll taxes of people who couldn't article they were always has more every human being voted i mean this was not that the white power structure trying to keep somebody that

no it was fine it was he was trying to get them in they were trying to keep those notes and there are no one of any that exactly right the reading on the night and they arrived right there's another friend just one well i think the contrary to most of what political spokesman did not like those people that will go absolutely not they put the paris attacks to keep them from building this group we're talking about paid their taxes and then into the tax him immediately for protection and yoakum garfunkel with nominal thing is this newspaper were talking about so strongly opposed to that that was in the league without support without get on with helping garfunkel who also wanted it in that that are going to vote with an unfair picture the poor black and white well i think that you want to what's a new cd heaven in this book and it looks for an explanation of why coming out more and do what tammy osborne did it was because he did what he'd been doing his whole life helping to undergo what would you say the idea too that he also

and the two emotional problems you mentioned just in person that on a day he met john j booker innes about missile that johnny hooker who later became a candidate governor was thrown in jail seven points and all over the campaign contribution i'm touching them no touching story until you right then and so what i mean that is a very moving story to tell i got booked for two dollars i didn't didn't know that story when i started and i tried to find out what tommy osborne was about an end at the eu analyse did have some emotional pause but i think it had to do with his rise from from where he came to the sudden the grand jury that he felt after he had one baker versus carr and book on you know everyone thought he was a busboy in a facility where every river every

great legal name the initials history and that could get to be interviewed said calmly after was the best lawyer cents a supporter reject norman told me they're going to get at a tremendous legal mind and because of coke and garfunkel i think he had a tremendous social construct i mean one thing about we would think about garner as a as a tough sheriff and my grandfather him and forced her on the street but they basically their decisions were being made by people like elk and garfunkel and jim sheridan who were people of compassion people who understood boehner work for on their own will and they won of the society changes raise they've gone and dave many did clearly did well certainly i mean i never talk to my grandfather about his political debt that pointed when we were when i was a young reporter he was around sheriff deputy sheriff a minute we start i'd never thought of my grandfather's races and never raised a question in my mind because all my

life i had seen my grandfather live with these people fish with them work with them and it was not that they were in the situation where i thought my breath all that and you know we're all so self righteous and looking but i mean i like the cell for a raise in the sense that you are but all of the new law is by does it looks a little i mean i have to go be difficult i have great difficulty right now struggling with the idea that i got on the trolley car and i got on the bus while old son <unk> and let the counterpart tomorrow's part walking by me day after day night after night never got up and also to say and none of felt guilty about how you cannot blame god or on the cement dave white when i was parlor science aside and go out and explain the day what change they oh i'd say this is this is part of the awakening in this world about the more important part of this book is how these people were affected by national awakening and i was young enough to see that change was coming and our

wanted wanted to be part of an hour was for but i was young and often you were to do that i mean you're in your thirties are not uncommon in my twenties and these girls are already in the political power structure and in what the makeup one of the interesting things i thought about it is that they and my grandfather faded out before time but gorham made the transition i mean carson his nephew up and said i want to be part of camelot know you're a deal on a change and an instinctual could do martial became a very liberal group really was bringing the information and on civil rights here roberson with a leader out and actually in a very real sense with more progressive than many people most well he was generally perceived in those days as someone who was not part of that family he was out somewhere making its own decisions in fact he was he was about him he was doing what they wanted him to do go around and made the tank we sought to he was affected by

so i mean that's that's what i intended to do with this book is to show how they're basically with blue collar political establishment how it dealt with the rich issue with the stereotype is very ugly this is a little different twist metzger let's talk i am a narrow the book from eight is a trip back into innocence and so good at utah about it i kept bumping into people i knew from jimmy water and ali show the gamblers to court you're clark the street sign or a minute so i mean it is such a win and saying that the state is just right out of where i came from but there is one figured dominant in your life who's not so dominant in the book and that ability what a political mind

when she grew up i mean the lessons that i learned from my mother were the one sport to her brother others it's been in my mother's political education really came from garner sort of or she knew as she learned from garner garner was like a godfather to her who kept my grandfather in check it with common on really a character and so nora was it was a very much a role model and a teacher from my mother in and xi yan cheung grew up together and as a result of that she was doomed deputy and helper his whole career being a progressive issue in their aggression and so she became she was very active in politics in the senate for one hours reporter for her work and for you and she and jim and the rest of those people wouldn't talk in front of me they would not tell me that my mother was a tight lipped she was a loyal to the romney well one of the story in their new dollar as a director now the paper's telling you go out into

gone out he's meeting with the mayor why i go lilith us what we want you know they want an evil but they'll you about billy understood where you are and where he had a big trip i mean i owe a great debt to them because it taught me the great lessons of politics that you found in the last to run then warm tortillas man and when i read those books are like me in my own life as a young man in and then working for uber tunes you see in there and what but what my mother did for the robinsons you saw that can a loyalty and that kind of organization askew as part of the real political movement taking place in this country in a networked camelot the kennedys world isn't it i had loyalty that he and i have said and i must say when you come to the mariana the book you know oddly giddy many gifts the gift of

loyalty was on it was the greatest gift he is now there is something i say when people from other parts of the country ask me about it they say my heavens find comets son is in congress and another one is a judge my heavens elmendorf senior one denies its owner his son his is vice president of the united states my heavens for this couple of volunteers they use sun was good congressman as a rebellious something in the water that you know i grew up thing about roy robinson as a sheriff who was corrupt didn't prove it was corrupt when my journalistic mind i knew it boy believed it on our credit he produced family members who made great contributions to public service and still make them is all the sun gail was a lawyer and a judge that is you say privately to his daughter muriel as someone says in the book

best judge on the bench his grandson young gale now a judge may sing to me that brought that sea sponge it wasn't and now those second and third generation soundbite of public service servants of great character of great building great integrity what you want to do that the whole question of definition of corrupt had been announced there's really some me have to do with that the practices of going robinson and jake sherman political machine we're for their time a very indicative of what was going on i mean whether or not chu you let law violators the operating room to do the whole issue crop in my branch of the tree because i couldn't find him in any of the work at the editing when are they ever gave him a marker that i could not find any candidate james the squatters

author of secrets of the whole world market has been our guest on the word awkward hero says ben johnson chairman of the freedom forum's first amendment center at vanderbilt university this program was produced in the studios of wbez in nashville tenn