The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1879-07-24
A SIGNIFICANT CONTRAST.

be upon the position OF those WHO op"
pose the settlement. We are far from
accusingthose who oppose with want OF
intelligence, but We are earnest in the
belief that those who possess intelli-
gence are fatally blinded by wrong
view Of their interests, that they have
been badly informed, :hat they have
been misled by false testimony. Is
there a man IN the state so lacking
sense as not to see that if the intelli>
gence of the state is one way the other
way must be falses Ifany man can
not comprehend the question at issue
he ought to be able to comprehend
that fact.
Every state officer from the Gov
ernor down is a warm and outspoken
supporter of this movement. Every
Supreme Judge, Circuit Judge, Chan
cellor. every United States Senator
and every member of Congress, every
leading man in every community, al
most all merchants, lawyers, doctors,
the leading live and intelligent farm
ers of every community, the intelli-
gent and educated mechanics, the min
isters of the Gospel, the teachers, a
majority of the members of the legis-
lature, almost the entire press of the
state, the bankers, the manufacturers,
and the pushing and progressive bust
ness men of every community. Why
are they for it?
These men all thrive on the general
prosperity or languish in the general
decline. If they are prosperous so
are the rest. If the rest prosper so
do they. These comprise those who
have been successful. Good judg>
ment has given them success, and with
the same judgment they are support
ing a measure which promises that
general improvement in our condition
all will share. There is no such thing
possible us prosperity for one class and
not for another. Is there any such
class prejudices as disposes any of the
people of this state to vote one way
because the bankers, merchants and
lawyers vote the other? If there is
it is a most absurd prejudice, resulting
in most absurd action. 1t is the
privilege of men to dislike these
classes if they will, but in acting on a
public question let us at least be true
to ourselves. Bankers, lawyers, and
merchants and newspapers thrive in
good times, not in hard times. They
look as keenly to their own interests
as any class. 1t is judgment leads
them in this. In good times there
are more bills to discount, more de-
posts to be made, more lawsuits to be
brought, more money to pay fees,
more people to buy and read newspa-
pers, more money to buy goods, more
money to buy produce. All the
classes named are dependent upon the
prosperity of the entire people. The
vrecker who lives on the misfortunes
of the people is very rare. We have
no such class in Tennessee. 1t is a
belief that it is for the benefit of the
state, and that it is right, which leads
those who have shown the best judg-
ment in other affairs of life to support
this measure.
Go farther and it will be found that
every man who has been trusted in the
past and deserved the trust, every
man who went with the people of the
state during the war and stuck to the
last faithful, trusted and honored
leader, every survivor of those to
whom the people turned for advice
before the war, or to whom they have |
trusted and honored since, as well as
every leading man of those who went
with the Union and showed their faith |
By arduous and heroic service in war,
are leading, earnest advocates of this
neasure-if not on the stump, then
privately.
On the other hand we know of but |
one, young man, who was faithful
and gallant soldier to the end and
who is an earnest man now, who is a
leader of the opposition and somehow
fatally wrong ON this subject. AS to
the rest, who knows them? Who are
they, and what are they? They are
not the kind of men trusted by the
people in anything else. respected by
them, employed in any duty. They
are not men whose opinions are taken
upon any other subject. They have
not gi~en evidence of judgment or
in business, by success.
In general, they are failures, if they