Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-03-21
STATE AFFAIRS.
The Coming Contest Questions that
Interest Every body.

The Coming Contest Questions that
Interest Every body. ~
To the Union and American:
NASHVILLE, March 20, 1S74-Your
own columns, as well as those of the
country press. are every day or ,wded
with suggestions as to the proper man
ner of conducting the approaching
campaign. And, while this is eminent
ly proper and well calculated to result
IN our success, it falls short of the real
necessities of the case. As to whether
East Tennessee or West Tennessee or
Middle Tennessee shall have the honor
of filing the Gubernatorial chair. is
question of minor Importance, and
easily settled after the more important
and vital duty of preparing platform
of principles shall have been discharg-
ed. 1t matters but little to the people
who may be Governor or Congressman
or Assemblyman, from what particular
section of the State, district or
county he may kail, but it is a matter
of the utmost interest to know that up
on all the questions of State and Fed
eral policy, now pushing themselves
upon the attention of the country, the
opponents of the Republican party are
united and determined. 1t is to the is
sues of the coming canvass and not to
the standard bearers, that the atten-
ton of voters should now be directed.
Tennessee, IN every sectionof the State,
possesses the talent requisite to fill
with honor the Offices to be filed, and
we need have no alarm upon this point;
but it is the duty of the press to dis
cover and discuss the questions which
are likely to be, and which should be,
the leading issues of the canvass. AS
to questions of federal policy, these are
easily discernible. They are but few,
and prominent, and already made up
and presented to the country. Tennes-
see cannot ignore them in her canvass,
and neither can she change them, or
introduce new features. But it is
proper that we should keep clearly before
us the questions as they are presented.
The issues upon the tariff, finance, and
centralization questions, should be
boldly presented, and men of honestly,
ability and purity of life, and purpose,
should be chosen as our representatives
who are thoroughly in accord with the
wishes and wants of our section. The
issues growing out of the war and re-
construction are dying away. Section
al questions as such are fading into in
significance, the time has arrived for
the development and birth of new
issues, growing not out of the past, but
out of the present, and looking to the
future. The opponents of Radicalism
In Tennessee have it to-day in their
power to mould and shape these issues,
as far as questions of State
policy are concerned. Let us then
cease to ask the question who shall be
our Governor, who shall be our Con-
gresham, who shall be our Assem-
blymen, but rather what issues
shall de presented to the people,
what reforms are needed, what inter-
ests should be fostered, what should be
undone that we have done amiss, what
remains to be done to keep pace with
our necessities and our progress as a
State?
The country press should, to-day, be
the questions of finances,
public roads, taxes and tax as
sessments, the protection and elevation
of the farming and planting interests,
the building up and development Of our
towns and cities, thus increasing our
and home consumption to
the benefit of our farmers, and our
home production to the benefit Of the
entire people.
Our public road system, whether in
theory good one or not, is practically
a disgrace to the State. Our school
law is yet, as to its results, undeveloped,
and certainly there is enough in the
financial status and condition of the
State to arrest the attention and elicit
the discussion and opinions of each and
every public man and private citizen.
How upon the one hand the State debt
shall be provided for and the States
credit sustained and its obligations
met, and how at the same time the bur-
den of taxation may to some extent be
lifted from the people; how the burdens
of State, county and municipal support
may be distributed equally and without
how the laws may be the
most speedily and efectually admins
tered with least costs-these are ques-
lions which arefar more important than
the hopes or successes of any man. We
have agreed upon our opposition to
Let us now erect a new
platform upon questions of present in
terest and Importance, and with COM
mon pride in the dignity of the posi-
ton, push forward to the development
of our State, the education of our chill
dren, the enforcement of our laws, the
greatest possible economy and efficien-
cy IN public Offices. With these as our
objects, none but the pure and able,
none but honest men and men of moral
courage will seek to be our leaders.
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