The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1900-06-07

finally agree upon some one of their
number, and that man will become
governor Of Tennessee-that is, if you
are elected to the United States senate.
Has it ever occurred to you to frame
an answer to the question that will
surely be put to you by your republi-
can competitor? Suppose, when you
have set forth in the strongest terms
the splendid work of your administra-
ton, your republican opponent should |
make this reply: '"That is all very
well, and might be good argument in
favor of your holding the Office for an
other two years, and giving us another
good administration, if you intended |
to do it. But you don't. You propose
to abandon the affice almost as soon as
you have been inaugurated. am not
running against you, but against some
man to be selected after this election is
oyer, whose very namd is unknown to
the people of Tennessee. What l want
to know, is, who and what sort of a
man do you expect to fill the Office of
governor for the next two years, and
what sort of administration can you
promise for himP" For the life of me,
l do not see what you could answer.
You do not know who will be speaker
of the next senate, and you can not
foretell what sort of man he will be.
You simply ask the people to take the
chances. Is that just to the people,
Governor? Is it just to your party?
There is a growing sentiment that
J elections should be brought closer to
the people. The house of representa-
tives has passed resolution looking to
constitutional amendment to elect
, United States senators by a popular
vote instead of by the legislature. 1
believe you are on record, as is Mr..
Carmack, in favor of it. Yet, you have
, prepared a scheme under which the
governor of the state is to be chosen,
,, not by the legislature, but by bare
majority of the majority of its least
J numerous branch, If it is wrong in
principle to elect United States sena-
tors by the legislature, where the peo-
| pie can, at least, instruct their repre-
} sentatives, how can it be otherwise
than utterly and outrageously wrong
to deliver the election of the chief Off
Ger of great state into the hands of
} small body of legislators, confined in
D their choice to member of their own
body, and with no chance for the peo-
: pie to influence the selection? The
} succession of the speaker of the senate
to tue governors office was provided to
: meet unforeseen emergencies and to fill
: an unexpected vacancy. 1t was never
; intended, nor expected, that man
: should seek the high office of governor
: with the deliberate purpose of creating
: a vacancy and multiplying the action of
the people at the polls. Have the peo-
: pie of Tennessee right to choose their
! own governor, and have they right to
! know in advance something of the man
D who is to fill that exalted position?
: Must the people of the state submit to
: have their supreme executive chosen
) by thirteen state senators in little
, caucus, instead of by their own free
ballots at the polls? Do they want
: their high Office degraded by being
3 made the football of senatorial scuffle
D or treated as thing to be bartered?
My dear sir, if you were to mingle with
: the rank and file of democrats, away
: from the fictitious currents and dis
, tracing turmoil Of metropolitan CEN
9 ters of political discussion, you would
: find that the people are opposed to the
> proposition that their will as to the
, governorship should be nullifed by
Z any mans ambition, however distingu-
, ished his party standing.
D / trust that it is not yet too late for
you to consider the example of two Of
= your most illustrious predecessors and
= to conform your conduct to their stand
ard. When James D. Porter was a
2 candidate for goqernor, his republican
- competitor insinuated that he was &
candidate for both governor and sena-
: tor at the same time. The answer was
! prompt and emphatic. Governor Por-
: ter declared that if there was any demo-
= crat in the state who believed him ca
= pable of such a double purpose, he
i hoped such democrat would vote
against him for governor. eff the
people elect me governor" said he,
~ ~ ''they will expect me to discharge the
:" duties of that office, and no temptation
Z that can be placed be for me, and no
- event short of death can make me sur
:" render it into the hands of man not
. chosen to that Office by the people of
= Tennessee. Isham G.. Harris once
. met like charge in the same manner.
Such was the language and conduct of
70 these distinguished men who had a
ID high and just conception Of their pub
Il lic obligations and of the great Office of