The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1898-10-07
Turley Talks.


ator Turley, and great was the dis
appointment when it became known
that he would not be present. He
had an appointment to speak at Paris
on that day. The following ex-
tracts from his speech we reproduce
from the Commercial Appeal:
Senator Turley said that while
there might be reforms which should
be inaugurated in Tennessee, he
claimed that the Democratic party
was better able to iuaugurate these
reforms than was the Republican
party. He claimed the Democratic
party had more intelligence and as
much, if not more, patriotism than
the Republican party. The progress
of the State for the past fifty years
in all lines, he said, was due TO the
acts of the Democratic party since
Isham G. Harris brought it into
power in his first race for governor.
The speaker took up the salient
points in the records of both par
ties. While the wholesale disfran-
chisement of all who opposed the
Republican party might have been
done in the hea of excitement, he
contended that there could be no
comparison between the business
management on the part of the two
parties.
For all State purposes, prior TO
the war, the Democratic party had
spent SIS, 200, 900 in bonds and there
had been compensation for each
bond. With about two exceptions
every railroad fostered under these
bonds had paid. In the two years
during which the Republicans had
control of the State government, it
spent bonds to the amount of $14,
600, OO0, and nearly all of this sum
went to mere paper railroads, sever
al millions going to railroad compa-
MES which never laid rail or drove
spike. Even though this was
some years since, the people were
still paying tie tax thus created.
! BATE AND HAWKINS.
Continuing on the record of the
Republican party, he took up the
comparison of the administration of
Gov. Hawkins, with that OF Gov.
Bate. He stated that the Republi-
cans in these comparisons had COM
mitted the basest OF receptions, that
of telling only a portion of the truth.
While ii was true that Gov. Bate S
administration had paid out more
money than Gov. Hawkins, this was
true because the Republican party
then had paid out no money at all.
Gov. Bates administration passed
the so and 8 act and began paying
interest. In addition, Gov. Bates
administration paid out a large sum
for the most worthy cause of State
insane asylums. Had Gov. Haw-
kin's administration paid out the
same sum for general expenses,
and still the sum Gov. Bates adj
ministration paid foI asylums ana
interest, it would in fopr years have
cost Tennessee taxpayers 81, 100, 900
more than Gov. Bates admiaistra-
ton cost for that time. Had Haw-
kins succeeded in making the bonds
payable on the basis he proposed,
and then been called upon to pro-
vide for the States expenses for
four years, his administra ton would
have cost in that time $1,000, 900
more than Gov. Bate paid out.
Passing to he election law, Seua-
ator Turley said that a man who
was not willing to pay 81 poll-tax,
to 90 to the education of his chill
dren, was not worthy of vote, yet
the Republican party was willing to
sacrifice our public schools in order
to get their hands again 10 the pub
lie treasury. 1t was the Dortch
law that had done away with the
trade of the carpetGagger, that had
banished violence from the polls and
required some intelligence to vote.
He showed that the reforms call
ed for in the Republican platform,
to be made by constitutional amend
ment, were impossible in that way.
As constitutional amendment must
60 through two separate legislatures
and receive a two-thirds vote of
both houses, nothing could be done
in from three to four years. Many
of the reforms for which the Repub-
!icans called for by tedious constitu-
tional amendments could be made
by simple act of the legislature,
and that was what the Democrats
promised to do, following the lead
made by the Jarvis and Estes laws,
which laws the Republicans had
failed to indorse.
REPUBLICAN BUNCoMBE,
The Republican platform denounc-
ed the Democratic railroad commits
sion law and was silent as to what
it proposed to substitute for it.
While the speaker disclaimed any
to denounce railroads sim
ply to denounce them, still he con-
tended that railroads were controll-
ed by individuals, and as individ-
uals were liable to err, a commits
sion was necessary to the national
and every progressive
State.
He further charged that the Re-
publican party was a corporation
party and wanted to lay all taxes
against property and poor people.