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173 The Unholy Trinity In the early sixties Tennessee’s legislature was a marble monument to the status quo. For thirty years it had been run by the Great Triumvirate—a trio of elderly lawmakers from the rural rimland of Middle Tennessee who believed in one simple credo: collect the taxes where the money is—in the cities—and spend it where it is needed—in the country. Even at the height of his power Boss Crump of Memphis had been unable to change things in the capitol, for the simple reason that the legislature had not reapportioned itself in fifty-five years. Crump himself was demonic in his political battles, once writing in a newspaper ad opposing the reelection of one-time protégé Gordon Browning as governor that “in the art galleries of Paris there are twenty-seven pictures of Judas Iscariot—none look alike but all resemble Gordon Browning; that neither his head, heart nor hand can be trusted; that he would milk his neighbor’s cow through a crack in the fence; that, of the two hundred and six bones in his body there isn’t one that is genuine; that his heart has beaten over two billion times without a single sincere beat.” But the tactics used by the triumvirate—Pete Haynes, Jim Cummings, and I. D. Beasley—were so villainous that even Crump had to admire them. Crump had lost the key battle in 1933 when the unholy trio defeated his candidate for speaker and elected Haynes, a tough, brilliant criminal lawyer from rural Franklin County. Believing the election of his candidate for speaker to be in the bag, the confident Crump had gone to Hot Springs, Arkansas, to bet on the horses, while his top Nashville lieutenant, Roxy Rice, went to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. While they were out of town, Beasley, a roly-poly practical joker who had an extraordinary ear for voices and was an accomplished mimic, met in a Nashville The Unholy Trinity James D. Squires 174 hotel room with Cummings and Haynes with the goal of switching some votes. I.D. was a classic backroom politician so adept at appropriating power he didn’t have that he was known throughout his career as “Governor,” even though he never held the office. His specialty was getting other people government jobs,which he worked at constantly. And his prowess was most clearly affirmed the day the real governor, Prentice Cooper,in a hurry and being chauffeured by a state highway patrolman, attempted to drive down a completed but still unopened highway near Beasley’s hometown of Carthage. An old man who owed his state job to Beasley wouldn’t let the governor’s car pass,even though the trooper had explained they were late on official business. The quick-tempered Cooper jumped out of the car and joined the argument.“Don’t you know who I am?”he demanded.“I’m Prentice Cooper, the governor of Tennessee.” “I don’t give a goddamn if you’re I. D. Beasley,” the old state worker replied, “you’re not going through here.” At five foot three, 230 pounds, I. D. Beasley in person was hard to mistake for someone else. But on the phone, he was a man of many voices, all of them impeccable impersonations. First, I.D. tried his mimic of Rice on a blind legislator, whose ear would prove an acid test. It worked. Satisfied, I.D. then called the backers of Crump’s candidate one by one and in a voice they all took to be Rice’s told them that Boss Crump believed Haynes had the job won and that they were free to vote for him. By the time I.D. was done calling, Haynes did indeed have the job and was accepting congratulations on the other phone. A tobacco-chewing country lawyer who took ocean cruises, played bridge, and once rode a camel in Egypt, Haynes was an imposing man of quick wit and great theatrical skill, which he used to influence the legislative process the same way he swayed jurors in criminal trials. But none of his talents were more important than his skill at forgery. The triumvirate specialized in stealing the personal stationery and memo pads of legislators and governors, which Haynes used to facilitate their legislative goals the same way I. D. Beasley employed impersonation. During the ten years Haynes [3.137.220.120] Project MUSE (2024-04-19 11:22 GMT...

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