The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1890-05-01
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VOL. VII.
FARMER JERE BAXTER.
What he Saw on His Trip TO East
Tennessee.
Tennessee Is Admirably Solving the
Problem of the Hour.
Signs of Progress and Prosperity
The Democratic Party tt10 Hope
of the State and of the South.

and Refrigerated by the mountai
air, Farmer Jerep looked the pictul
of fine health and good spirits when
Herald reporter greeted him fh
: morning in one of the Offices OF ia
Baxter Court, which he has set apal
for his own USE The owner OF Nj
plewood, the fairest farm in Tenne
see, had few minutes before return
ed from a tour OF Inspection and st
perintepdence OF its operations, an
had just hidden adieu to several cal
ers when the reporter entered. From
Maplewood crops and Maplewoo
sto;k the conversation by easy stage
glided to the topic of the visit to Eas
Tennessee, which Mr.. Baxter recent,
made. He went to greet and NEE
his fellow Democrats ard fellow citi
zens as an aspirant for the Democrat
ic nomination for Governor, serving
his hopes and his pleasures through
informal intercourse with the people
of the mountains.
HWhat of East Tennessee? you ask ,
was the animated prelude to his re-
sponse to question. ttFrom Chatta-
nooga to Bristol the country is on fire
AS by q magician's wand fresh ener-
gies have sprung into magnificent
existence among those people
Strength. action, courage, success are
written in letters of FIRE from city to
city, from village to village. IF the
eve should desire to rest upon pic
ture Of surprising progress, prosperi-
ty and promise, It could find no finer
representation than is being enacted
from Chattanooga to Bristol.
"The cordiality of my reception
gave me. abundant opportunity to
meet all classes of substantial citizens
and of observing their inner and full
er life, their methods, purposes and
achievements. Power is stamped upon
East Tennessee. The majesty of the
mountains, the very yigor of their
presence, their inexhaustible re-
sources SCENT to have impaired much
of their grandeur and might to those
who live among them. Nowhere have
Il ever seen SO many faces and forms
expressive. of hardy vigor and pro-
nounced individuality as in East Ten
nessee. Large, well-knit, and sinewy
frames reveal heritage of warm
blood, stout hearts and manly powers
from long line of ancestors. Go
where you may and faces of strong
personality are before you. In remote
recesses Of The mountains, which, to
some extent, travelled on horseback,
I often noted physiogncmies whose
rugged outlines. reminded me of the
faces Of men who now look upon us
from historic pages as types OF revo-
lutionary manhood in the early days
OF the republic. Nor is this strange,
for esefmountaineer come of roy
al races They are the descendants of
the heroes OF Kings Mountain, whose
gallant virtue the country has never
surpassed. They are sprung from the
loins OF SEWERS, Shelbys, Tiptons,
Hugh Lawson White and that great
array of pioneer spirits that gave sub
stance and prowess 60 the state Ia the
days of its formation. The
faces OF their posterIty, even after the
lapse Of so many decades, are an in
teresting and apt reminder OF the
forms of their illustrious ancestors
and conjure up many stirring memo
ry of that choice ani courageous band |
Of patriots who battled for the infant |
republic and the dawning common
wealth among the mountains of East |
Tennessee. Indomitable resolution |
has been a general heritage with these
sous OF the soil, and seIf-reliant asser-
ton OF convictions has as easily bel
come a foremost characteristic.
@The material prosperity of East
tells us that her sons have
inherited much more than hardy |
rpirits4ard stout limbs. The noun
talns are pouring fourth treasures
which have conjnled into existence
new and golden era. ! travelled from
to Knoxville and Bristol,
Athens, cleveland. Jonesboro, Blouns-
Vile and everywhere the people were
the energy of great sue
cess. The smoke of furnaces, the
hum OF machinery, the din OF the saw
mill and theswhistie Of the locomotive,
The ponderous mrsic Of the foundry
and busy movements of the we rk-
shop; the teeming activities OF the
cities and expanding ambition Of the
the resolute progress of the
farmer and the quickened spirit of the
the -buoyant hopefulness
and the ardent aspirations which T
spread from mountain to valley, from
point to point, tells the observer that
The time is at hand when determin-
I'd people have addressed themselves
with courage and confidence to grasp
ing firmly opportunities greater than
which no land ever saw. A story of
swift progress and enduring great
ness is being fast written in East Ten
nessee F; it is eloquent of a high desti-
ny it IL secure OF rich rewards for all
its actors. The veil which hid the
gifts of nature from these people has
been lifted and each man strives to
seize all that he.may gain; the spirit
OF progress has banished lethargy
and created a multitude of practical !