Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-11-03
TO THE DEMOCRATIC VOTERS OF
TENNENSEE

The present anomalous political situation
in Tennessee renders it the imperative
duty of the Democratic State Executive
Committee to communicate to the party
such information and advice as may seem
necessary to attain the success of our party,
and through this the triumph of those
political principles which we deem essen
tial to the public welfare. We find the
Radical party of Tennessee thoroughly or
ganized, active, energetic and watchfnl.
1t has at its command to do its work in this
canvass thousands of volunteers and seven
tenths Of the Federal officials who ore to
be found in every county and in nearly
every civil district of the State. On the
other hand we find the Democratic party
torn with dissensions and distracted about
personal issues as though the contest was
one of men instead Of a struggle for prin-
ciple. We find independent" candidates
and "bolters" in every Congressional dis
trict and in nearly every county, thus
endangering the success of the party
and bringing within the range of
reasonable probability, the election of
three or four Radical Congressman and
greatly jeopardizing Democratic major
ity in the Legislature. The result of the
recent elections in some of the Northern
States aslargely increased the probability
of Grants reelection, and thus largely in
creased the necessity for a solid Democratic
delegation in the House Of Representatives
from Tennessee in order to prevent a
change in our government from Democratic
Republicanism to Radical Consolidation
and Capitalization. This change the
Grant administration could easily and
would surely make, if we can judge the
future by the past, if the Grant party
should again have two thirds vote in the
House of Representatives. The memory
of Radical rule in this State is too fresh
in the minds of our people to require any
argument to prove it's certain fatality bothto
our material interests and our political
rights. In addition to other important
legislation, the next Legislature will by an
act of the last session of Congress again
lay off the State into Congressional dis
tricts SO that we shall have ten Congress
ional districts instead of nine as at present
The Radicals, who claim that they will,
| through Democratic dissension, elect ma
jority Of the next Legislature, openly avow
that if they succeed they will so district the
State as to certainly give them five men,
bers OF Congress for the next ten years.
These are matters Of Federal and State
legislation too important ami too threaten
| ing to be overlooked or disregarded.
How shall these apprehended dangers be
surely avoidedp We know of but one plan
which insures success: That is for the Dem
ocratic voters of the State, to lay aside all
personal preferences and prejudices, to listen
no longer to the diseordant voices of those
| disorganizers who for months past have
been procaiming from the stump and the
tripod that the great political need OF the
day is the disruption of the Democratic
party, and stand firmly in this hour OF trial
| by the well-established uSages Of the party
and Vete for its nominees. The question IS
not now whether this or that Democrat
! would have made the better candidate, but
whether the nominated candidate is not
preferable to his Radical opponent. We
have endeavored to obtain from reliable
sources in every county IN the State ap-
proximate estimates of the vote that viii
be received by the various candidates now
| uefoIe the people. From the information
| thus obtained we give it as our sincere con-
viction that there is not an "independent"
candidate for Congress, not one, who has
the remotest chance for election. We fur
! ther give it as our earnest conviction that
the support of these independents" by
respectable proportion of the Democratic
voters of the State will ensure the election
of from three to FIVE Radical members of
| Congress-among them, that chief OF the
! tribe, he who for seven years has been the
most bitter, the most proscriptive, the most
vindictive, the most unrelentlng enemy OF
| a restoration to the Southern States and
| Southern people of the rights and privileges
guaranteed TO them by the Constitution of
| the United States-Horace Maynard. Ben
! iSmin F. Butler of Massachusetts,, may
| have at some time shown some spirit Of
| reconciliation, exhibited some disposition
| to forgive, manifested some indication OF
| returning leniency-Ho-ace Maynard never.
| Whenever his single objection could pre-
vent the removal Of political disabilities, ne
! has ever been present and prompt to make
| it. After the elective franchise had been
restored TO the people of Tennessee; when
| peace, quiet and fraternal feeling prevailed
in this State, Mr.. Maynard, true to his hos
! ti!ity TO the people Of Tennessee, went 10
| the room of the Congressional COMMITTEES
| On Reconstruction and privately placed in
| the hands of is Chairman, 3. F. Butler,
| the following propositions to which he had
| ODtdllGl lu6 Gl2LLALLtCS Va AlfC VI Aiio wi
| leagues:
! 0FoRrY-FIRsT CONGREss OF THE UNITED SITS,
| WASHINGTON CITY, d. c., Feb. Is, 1910.
| Hon. B. F. BUTLER,
Chairman RecOnstriEcti0n Committee:
&C. As Representatives from the State OF len
| nessee in the FOrty-FTst Congress, in behalf Of
! ourselves and our constituents, we submit the
| following propositions and earnestly press their
immediate consideration upon your committee:
'1 We submit that the power now controlling
the State of Tennessee is wholly Illegal and re-
| youtionary, brought about by fraud and yiO-
! lence in cODtraventOn of the constitution OF the
State as reOrganiZed by Congress.
aG2 That the present State government Of
| Tennessee is wanting in the great and essential
/ requisite Of good government without which
peace and happiness are impossible, tO-wit, the
/ proper protection of the property and the lives
| of its citizens.
| 49, The State government of Tennessee as
! now constituted and revOlutiOniZed has never
| had any recognition by the Government of the
| limited States, aud we ask that Congress take
/, Immediate steps to provide for us government,
| republican in form, that will cOnduce to the
| bsppipess OF and welfare of all its people.
| 81 We ask that y9u supplement this work
with An act for the enforcement of the third sec
| tion of the fourteenth amendment to the Con-
! stitution of the United States"
| Signed: SAMUEL NJ. AENELL,
| W. B. STOKES,
W. F. PRossER,
LEWIS TILLMAN,
! W. j. SMITH,
HORACE MAYNARD.
I