Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1891-03-07
COL. W. J. SLATER.
He Frowns on the Free Coinage Craze
and Thinks Cleveland the Greatest
Democrat in the Land.
Encouraging Words for the Standard
from this Popular Old Journalist.

WINCHESTER, Tenn, Feb. q, '91.
EDITOR SOUTHERN STANDARD-It
is sweet to be appreciated and some
times praised. encouragement gives
vigor to eXertion." When | essayed
more than thirty years ago to edit
the Home Journal at Winchester, |
was not made unduly vain over the
complimentary notices Of my youth
ful efforts, but | aCdS encouraged. l
was in my salad state, and the kind
words of a host Of patrons were the
fertilizers of my humble ambition to
print a neat paper geographically,
and a neat one in sentiment and in
truth.
And now, in the "sere and yellow
leaf" OF my life wish to praise you
for your management of the STAN
DARD-that is, for your sound appre
hension Of things political, things
moral, things progressive; and this l
do after carefully reading your paper
for some years. Necessarily your
editorials must be short, but you give
us in those terse editorials the animus
of your mind, and we know where to
place you. There is no wiring in and
wiring out to leave us in doubt; nc
chameleon-like efforts to drift with
popular expression, pro tempore, fol
sordid purpose.
Being, yourself, country editor
and, | believe, a practical printer
you will understand me when | say
that your editorials must, of neceSsi,
ty, be brief and to the point. Thi;
was quite noticeable in your issue o
the l4th of February. In one editori
al item you spoke of the remarkable
unanimity of opinion, so far as thu
press was concerned, against the crea
ton of another Railroad Commission
| am glad to see the press opposed t
another Commission. 1t does appea
that there are a lot of fools in ever,
Legislature who can find no way q
making themselves conspicuous eX
cept by voting to Cypress railroads
And yet, most inconsistency, poo
fools they say they want to see tn
latent wealth of our State developed
They claim to be l8.carat Democrats
but they are not marching in lin
with progress. They do not seem
know that few years back the Stat
of Tennessee, by act of her Legisls
ture, gave $40, 100000 for every mile {
: railroad that was graded. We wan
ed railroads then, but now, is it fai
= is it just, that we legislate to oppre:
the very enterprise we then though
so essential to our prosperity, and ii
:, encouragement of which has mao
our State so prosperous? Suppo;
=, some of the officers of the roads hay
made much mOney-has the State NJ
made more? l tell you, Mr.. Ream
we do not need a Commission, bv
more railroads, and they 0llOaCed to q
tend q little more to their OlCn bushes
Why, sir, the prejudice against raj
roads forms the basis of all the SEN
e some of our Legislators have. Hem
it is that we find our courts awardir
- great damages where none are d
served. l read the other day
$1O,5OO.90 damages awarded Nh
d Mary Kirchnor in LOmaX, Ohio, b
e cause the whistle was blown at
n crossing and made her horse ri
5, away, and she was thrown out al
y made cripple for life. But, if Il
e engineer had not blow the whistle
d would have violated the law and Il