The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1875-06-16

Ae u mGCbAAS VI tile CtsdbS EASCu
tive Centennial Committee, the :.fol
lowing address to the people of the
State was adopted.
THE ADDRESS.
The committee assumed, that
neither an appeal to the patriotism
of our people, nor even a we'll drawn
(were they capable of doing IT'D OF
the coming Centennial. is what was
intended or expected when they
were appointed. The purpose OF
the committee is simply to organize
and make suggestions. aud if posi-
bic, stimulate the people in all parts
of the State to prepare for the ma
tion's coming great Centennial.
The Legislature, though the sub
ject was brought before the present,
as well as the last General Assem-
bly,, failed to make any appropriation
for having the State represented,
and her products put on exhibition.
1t is not the business of this CON-
mittee to condemn this action. Under
the constitution the Legislature alone
must appropriate the public revenue.
But the failure of the Legislature to
make the appropriation. brings
abruptly before the people, in their
unorganized capacity the alternative
of raising money. or going unrepre-
sented at the first Centennial of our
nations birth.
Can Tennessee afford to lose this,
the greatest of all opportunities, to
make known to the world her un-
bounded resources? is a question
which interests deeply the people of
every county in the State. The pur
pose and plan of the whole American
people, as now fully developed in
the coming Centennial, are now, as
some have supposed. merely ma
tional jubilee or celebration of a
great historic event, but an interna-
tional, as well as national, exhibition
of the comparative wealth of nations,
and especially the discoveries, pro-
ductions and growth of our own
country for one hundred years. It is
now manifested that every civilized
country on the globe will be repre-
sented, aad that the people of all
the State and Territories will regard
the exhibition as the test, after one
hundred years of preparation, of
each others actual aUe0lth, and great
natural advantages in producing
what man wants in the way of food,
clothing and shelter, as we'll as the
luxuries of life-we repeat, it will
be accepted as the test.
Viewing the Philadelphia Centen-
NAL in this light. can the people OF
Tennessee afford, as their Legislature
did, to forego all participation in the
nations great Exposition, striking
their colors a year in advance of the
great battle for supremacy in a field
which will give to the victor undy-
ing honor as well as untold wealth
We task the people of the whole
State to unite with us in giving for
answer an emphatic No.
Accompanying this address, OF
very soon after its publication. will
appear q list of names-two from
each county in the State-nominated
by this committee and commissioned
by the Governor, as means of eff
fecting an organization for the whole
State.
These gentlemen have been select.
ed in the belief that they will at once
organize in their respective counties
and give to this committee the bene
fit OF their counsel. No one has YET
suggested a plan which has been
generally accepted for raising the
required funds, and upon this point
we want the benfit of suggestions
from all parts of the State.
What we want is harmonious act
ion, with common purpose. Wa
are apprised that some portions OF
the State are more destitute from
the failure of crops than others I;
some have more wealth than others,
and hence all could not, under any
circumstances, contribute alike, but
what we want is that each commnni-
ty shall do what it can, and the
commissioners of each county have
been selected with q view of their
exercising a sound discretion as to
what their respective communities
ought to do. It will probably be
necessary after comforting with our
friends from all parts of the State, to
make no general movement to raise
money until the result of our present
crop is known, but if a great work
for Tennessee is accomplished, we
must know i'm some short period of
the prospect Of raising money.
The work of preparing to put
Tennessee on exhibition must be
commenced without delay-but what
space shall be applied for9 What
agencies to do the work shall be
employed? What transportation
shall be provided? and what encour-
agement shall be given the people
to get their products ready? are
questions which can not be determin
ed until the soay to raise the means
is known.
Hence the first thing to be done is,
TO see and report what can probably
pc raised In each county. There
fore we suggest TO the commission
ers in the respective counties that
they, with other citizens who are
alive to putting Tennessee on exhi-
bition. call meetings for the 4th Of
July, one in each county in the State
to consider the amount which should
be raised and the ways and means
of doing it. It may not be amiss for
the committee to say, that upon q
canvass of the question il Is believed
US. 900 would put the resources OF
the State on exhibition fairly and
with credit. and would indeed prove
what we have long tried without
much success to establish, to-wit,