Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1895-03-06
For the Herald and Tribune.
Turney's UsurpatiOn.. What is the Har.
vest 10 BE


Turney's UsurpatiOn. What is the Har.
vest TO BE!
What l anticipated in a former letter
is coming to pass. No very great ex'
pense is to be incurred by the investi-
CATION committee; for the reason, that
very little investigation will be made,
and that little, very one sided, very
partisan, and very unjust and unfair.
So far, Turney's supple and carefully
instructed attorneys land by attorneys
l mean the lawyers acting for him and
the Democratic legislative members of
the committee) only ask and allow to
be asked questions that call forth the
fact that election judges accepted votes
without requiring poll tax receipts to
be exhibited; but refuse to allow proof
to be made that the judges in question
had positive knowledge that such voters
had paid their poll tax. This is the pro-
CRANE of action in counties that gave
Evans large majorities. In Middle and
West Tennessee counties which gave
Turney large majorities the committee
simply decided that the issues are not
properly joined; and that such counties
will be skipped over. This, in face of
the facts; first, that the issues are join.
ed and made exactly and as fully as in
the East Tennessee counties now being
one sidedly investigated; and secondly,
that proof is ready to be fully made,
that in those strong Turney counties,
poll taxes have not been paid; and that,
where tax receipts were produced they
were bogus and fraudulent; and that,
often a single receipt was used for
twenty or more T%urneyites to vote
with. The result will be, that the COM
mittee will thus proceed until their
illegal action will throw out enough
Evans votes to leave Turney, the usur.
per, a thousand or more plurality, land,
they car make it 5 1000 or more as easily
as 1,OO0) and such will be reported to
the General Assembly for adoption.
Will the report be adopted? Yes, if
there should be found u majority, on
joint ballot as dishonest and as reck-
lessly determined falsebood, wrong,
and fraud as are the Democratic mem
bers of the committee now investigat
ing, as they call it. But there are those
who profess to know whereof they
speak, that say a strong reaction is 60
ing on with a large number of the
members; and, that when the test comes
they will repudiate the false, illegal,
unfair and outrageous action of the
committee. Another fact is stated, that
during the forty days of grace-recess,
a very large number of the Democratic
majority will get valuable information
from their partisan constituents. Well,
we'll wait and see. Let me, in this
connection correct a false impression
that is given out. Turney is said to be
merely a figure head used by the parti-
san clique, or the "hold over, and rule
or conclave Of conspirators" running
the outrage mill. That is a great mis-
take. l know Turney we'll. His largest
feature of ability consists in his shrewd-
ness in taking unfair advantages. In
the opening canvass the only speech he
made lat Murfreesboro) designed as it
was for publication in pamphlet form
for distribution over the State with up.
Turney" as its frontispiece, he sought
to take such advantage of his competi.
tor; but, his false, unfair, and deeply
malicious intent was 80 very fully out
cropped, that it lost him not less than
10000 Democratic votes-a class OF
Democrats 8 o progressive and patriotic
that they decided to let him fall to the
back ground as a very undesirable
back number" to finish his days in
private life Eliminating over the Ito
him unburied and unburiable theories,
memories, and incidents of the war and
reconstruction periods. Yes, Peter
Turney, soon after that speech was
spread out on cold type and especially
very soon after November6 saw that in
trying to play an ace he had, simply,
played a duce and the devil with his
political fortunes; but, his unscrupu.
lous bull dog ~tenacity led him to reach
out for every possible wire and pull
with the energy Of an Infatuated devil,
careless as to what the consequences
might be to the party which had here.
tofore honor him. Yes, knowing Tur.
ney as l do, l hesitate not, to believe
that every step and action taken by the
leaders of the majority in the General
Assembly; the selection of the invest.
cation committee, and their unfair and
lawless action since out, were carefully
planned. formulated and literally en-.
forced by the man now usurping the
office of Governor. Old LAWYER.