The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1898-01-07
MIR. McMILLIN's RECORD.


Millin had voted for the repeal of
the purchasing clause of the Sher-
man law; a vote which Silver Dick
Bland denounced as driving nail
in the coffin of silver"
Some of Mr.. McMillin's friends
here last Monday to break the force
of that statement, denied it. We
therefore refer to it again, and cite
the gentleman's friends to pages
1904, 1905 and 1905 of volume %, part
l, Congressional Record. There
they will find the record he made;
and they will find him in company
with John G. Houk, Joseph E.
Washington and Josiah Renegade
Patterson. They will find voting
against him, all of his other col
leagues of Tennessee, together with
William Jennings Bryan and Rich
ard P. Bland.
Not only that, but if they will
turn back 20 page 81 of the same
volume, they will find where Mr..
McMillin asked permission to in
troduce an amendment to the bill
then pending, which amendment
provided for the free coinage of the
american product.
This all occurred in 1893; and
while we do not deny or doubt that
Mr.. McMillin is free silver Demo-
crat now, we do assert that he
climbed into the band wagon after
the procession started to move.
But speaking of Mr.. McMillin's
record, there are some omissions we
would inquire into. About the
year 1892, when the Democracy of
Tennessee was fighting Mellow
ellism, and when John Henry was a
dangerous political power in the
land, where was McMillin? This
gentleman who has served so long
in Congress, who has drawn nearly
a hundred thousand dollars in salary
while he was serving, and who for
that service and salary drawing de-
mands more service and more salary
drawing; where was he?
When the party was in danger ;
when the danger flag was hoisted at
every Democratic cross-road; when
old Peter Turney had consented to
abandon an easier office for the SER
vice of his party; when Bob Taylor,
for pure love and affection for Dem
ocratic principles was making the
welkin ring from Carter to Shelby /;
when Ned Carnack was writings by
night and speaking by day for JEFF
fersonian doctrines and party
loyalty; when every other Dem
ocratic Congressman was on the
hastings and hustling with all his
might to reconcile the farmers who
had unwittingly followed a wolf
away from the fold, and lead them
back; when the fight was fierce and
the issue doubtful, where was Mac?
If he made a single speech in this
State outside of his own Con-
gressional district, we cannot now
recall it; and if he made more than
three in his own district, it is that
many more than we think.
He was East, talking "the tariff, "
as far removed from all polite al
danger as he was during the war
from physical danger.
Again two years ago; when Bob
Taylor didn't want to run, and
when the cry from all over the
State was for McMillin; when the
people wanted him and the party
needed him, what did he do but
come to Nashville, view the land
cape DER and seeing the danger
ahead, take to his heels?
Didn't he?
And now when you come to think
of it, hasn't Mr.. McMillin-though
a clever gentleman and good Dem
ocrat-been rather a selfish sort OF
politician? Hasn't he served him.
self more and his party less, these
twenty years in Congress? Can his
best friend point to single sacrifice
he has made; single time that he
has taken up an issue here at home
and faced a dangerous foe? Did
you ever hear of his coming into the
State and making a platform and
shaping the policy of the party? Or
has he, rather, waited for others to
wade through the bloody seas of in
ternal discussions, while he lolled
on beds of flowery ease and talked
the tariff?
The HERALD ~ strongly of the
opinion that Senator Turley, wher
he left college at the age OF 16 and
Joined the Confederate army
sacrificed more and showed more
love of country by that single act
than Mr.. McMillin has by his
tventv wears in Con0ress. We