Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1884-09-13
fiIE coNllIssloNPa NPaonLra. 7
Nashville American.

, Deinocracy of Davidson county
nominated ON Saturday, this prob.
lem VIII bSAsettled In an hour lust as
business men settle private affairs.
Being elected as Democrats, they
viii head the Democratic phs4forIn
on railroads az follows:
THAT we favor the regulation OF railroads
In this state by a cuIniillaion for that pur.
pose, 50 a. 70 protect the roaals ln all thciT
rights, aiid tlto people from extOrtlOi aud
unjust and unfair discrimination"
Reading this they will at once saw
this IL an Abandonment Of the man
datory icOmnissipil attempted by
the Legislature tat the last session
and declared unconstitutional by
the courts.
Second, they viii say the party
has only declared that II fav0Ts a
commissiOn-Ahd this mtlst mean
when we can have one, and then
only advisory. 1t certainly does
not mean that, In defiance OF the
courts, we will put a mandatory
commission to work i'm violation OF
a court Judgment, when such "A
course. in the light of judicial train
ing, would be morally n contempt
\ OF court, and would surely bring
down upon the authors md actors
the judicial arm Of the Government
whose power would not On the least
be enervated by the indignity.
Judges pass by with0ut notice news
paper ignorance ;abut for State to
| offer known and paipaSle indig-
nifty TO three Federal Judges in tlre
way OF a mandatory cSHnmissIOn,
directing this commission tD do
what they had adjudicated and de
clared In the most authoritative
manner could not be done, and In
open defiance Of all precedent,- a.
the Judges took great pains 10 show
by a reference TO numerous adiudi-
Gated cases, would no more iutimi-
date the Judges than it would pro-
mote harmony In 'Our delicate and
complex system -of-EOvernment.
We propose 10 deal plainly with
this subject, III comes TO us from an
authoritative source that law moro
strangent then the one declared To
be unconstitutional s,tD be preased
on the next Legislature, and gen
tleman OF influence aud respactab abil-
ity in the Democratic party is going
from county 60 county pressing this
before the legislative candidates..
And judging from the ignorant and
blind assaults upon the Judges max
ing this decision, In few badly
conducted and perniciOus newspa-
pers over the State, we are fOrc0dtO
the conclusion that n Democratic
Legislature Ia expected 60 put 10 do
iiance, and show its contempt for
the decisions of the Federal Courts,
by passing bill which intelligent
men know could only be eiforced
by the mob. l...l,,
We have heretofore pointed 10
the fact that three Tennessee Fed
eral Judges had decided the question
OF n mandatory commission, aud
that until Ovprruled by the Supreme
Court, whore tho question il pend
ing, the decision must be resIlccted
in Tennessee, because these Judges
would rigidly enforce II. Bot to
this conservative spirit Of Obetli-
ence 10 law, ignorance and Thought
lessness, rather than wickedneSs,
reply and appeal 10 n ':lass Of read
era more ignorant and thOughtlesa,
If possible. than themselves, and
charge that these Judges are bought
up by the railroads. These wiser
than-the-law- makers tell their read
ers that Baxter, Key ana HHmmond
areignorant of the lirst principles OF
law.
We DO not propose 10 pursue this
subject further than 10 say, with all
the emphasis we can command,
that, no matter who the puliilrian
Ia, nor what newspaper, the demand
that The State shall engage in n war
ON railroads by assaulting the Fed-
cral judiciary, and asserting, iu AN
act Of Assembly, ITS contempt Tor
three greatly esteemed Judges,
whose opinion stands nnreversed, Is
the enemy Uf peace, and wDuld, IL
sufficiently influential, become tho
stirrerup OF passiOns which would
culIninate IN social disorder, ending
only in Federal supremacy Ovor the
rights Of the people, which wicked
politicians would gladly SEQ preclpi-
tated. .s...... F-l En- n 49, sa
Yes, we propose 10 deal Plainly
with this question, and we say with
n contemporary, most emphaticaiiy,
our candidates for tho Legislature
in this and other counties shuuld at
once speak out aud answer some
thing like the following questions:
Are you for y mandatory cuinInisS-
ions commissiOn with ahy power
beyond what IL indicated a. lawful
in the opinion OF th0se Judges try
Ing the Tennessee Case
II you are, how dO you propose TO
enforce IL? ha f
Have you any plan or do you
know sny mode Of avoiding u Fed
eral Court on federal question,
except by appeal Or mrcer II tho
Onlygenedy isby appeal. IL u wise
to create a. cOulnlissinn 10 be paiu
while the case IL Ionding la tho Su-
preme Court?
The questionof mandatory com
missioR-especially tho question Of
paying a cornnllssian six Thousand
dOllars year for live years, while
the case ~ pending In the Supreme
Court, under n law declared To be
Unconstitutional, aud under which
the commission admit they ara dis.
robcd of Office by retiring from rate
fixing and letting their salaries ac-
cumulate in the Treasury, ~ one In
which every Tennessesn, IL lnt8res.
ted. We give notice now that we
intend TO press the advocates Of a
c0mmi-slOn as t0 the
mode OF avoiding the Federal
Judges when u mandatory commiss.
ION is Ia he enforced.
We neither propose to fight the
Federal Judges nor tO try 10 bring
them into cOntempt by assuming
that they are either ignOnnt or cor
ruid. .
Our complex system Of Govern
mont u a most excellent One--but
only valuable as long as the people
ARE deet1tly respectful Ia the judic-
larry OF bOthsysteIls--the Federal rs
Mcll as the state.
An idiot can Het house on fire
tliata wise nanf can't put out.
The people in This State without
railroads are deeply Interested in
having roads built, but capital will
not be found ready TO PASS voluniar-
lily under the control OF cOminis5-
ion 10 take away chartered rights
by fixing rates in ignorance Of the
demands on the iRvosted capital.
A commission 10 protect from ex-
tOrtiOn and unjust and unfair dis
h not commission Ia
fix rates. Every citizen without
any commission, and without any
'tstue, may protect himself from
a - q