Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1873-01-15
THE OUTLOOK.

Although the Legislature spent more
than three days i'll organizing, and it may
appear to great many as useless waste
of time, and a scramble for MEN rather
than principles, the outlook appears to us
AZ very encouraging to the friends of pro-
gress. The character of the gentlemen Sc
lected to preside over the two houses, is
such as to assure US OF the liberal views
sustained by = majority Of the Legislature,
Oh partisan questions. Heretofore, this
has been the curse of our State
Legislatures have met and consumed the
whole time allotted to their sessions in an
attempt to strengthen party ties. Meas
ures have been adopted with reference to
their influence on the dominant party.
The last Legislature spent more time in
deysing schemes and forming Con-
gressional districts to beat Horace May
nard and others than they did i'll devising
means for the relief of Taxpayers and for
the improvement of the public credit.
Revenge upon "Radicals" was the ne
plus a4tra of their ambition, while they
never thought of the thousands of unedu-
Gated children within the borders of the
Commonwealth The honest voters of
the State have given these small men such
rebuke as they will not easily recover
from. They are buried in the political
graves they dug for others, and let us pray
that they may never be resurrected.
Their successors in the present Legisa-
ture, we trust and believe, are better and
true men. We trust and believe they will
direct their efforts to "a general improve
| mcnt of State affairs, burying and forget
ting for the time being at least, the well
fare of party, and thinking only of the
public good. If there are bourbons and
proscriptionists in that body, as has been
demonstrated, let the liberal, progressive
men act together for the interest Of their
! constituents, and break down all opposi-
ton by a steady adhesion to the right.
We are still further encouraged III this
view, after reading the remarks of Col.
Jno. S. Kerr, leading member of the
House, as we find them reported III the
Banner:
| Col. Kerr thought the time had come for
parties and men to give way or be crushed
whenever and wherever found hindering
| the welfare of the State and the true inter
terests of the people. He should vote and
act with or against any party or man rs
they, in his judgment, labored honestly for
or against the public veal, and that public
consisted of the whole people of whatever
party nationality or race. Col. Kerr
boldly broke ground in favor of an un-
misaktably liberal lolicy which would
place the State far on the road toward that
prosperity which is enjoyed by many OF
| her more fortunate sisters North and
West. Let the past be buried with the
past and look only to the future. Proud
as we had a right to be of "Old Tennes-
see " and her history, we can not afford
] to put up with drawing luster from the
past. Standing tip-toe upon the nights OF
prosperity, let US WOO the beautiful Aurora
of New Tennessee as she will surely
mount the horizon of just, wise, liberal
national legislative policy, such as lies in.
willingly open before the representatives OF
the people here assembled, and to neglect
which would be the extreme of folly and
most unfortunate in results to every mate
rial interest of the State.
If parties and men find that they mus
"give way or be crushed whenever ant
wherever found hndering the welfare o
the State and the true interests of the
people" they are not likely to come il
contact with the peoples interests. We
trust that time may soon come.