The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1902-01-24
PLANK TO sTANDroeErHER ON.

That old political sinner, the Nasl
vile American. has a real funn
editorial in one of its recent issue:
ssThe American stands 'courageously
mark the word and 'unswervingly
mark it again for those things whic
it 1.-THE old personal editorial we i
almost obsolete in the American office
believes are for the best interests o
Tennessee.
That is the prelude to its prologue
Then it proceeds: Politically nobod,
whose opinion is valuable doubts tn,
substantial quality Of its Democ
racy' Thus at one fell swoop render
ing valueless the political opinions OF
perhaps an hundred thousand Demo
Gratis in Tennessee, and half as many
Republicans. What pity-to make
political nobodies of SO many erstwhile
leading and influential citizens. That,
you understand, is not the funny part
of the editorial; for that is a serious
matter.
Having proceeded thus far with
great dignity and eclat it suddenly
breaks loose and dives into the cutters
and throws great armfuls of dirt and
slime after the following style: "As
to the cheap little chaps who boast of
their superior and exclusive Democracy
with the noise and assurance of
strumpet Boosting of her virtue, The
American, (alias it regards them,
when it happens to think of them,
(what fine scorn with mingled
feeling of amusement, pity and con-
tempt" There you have it You are
political nobody if you even Goubt or
question it's Democracy you are
worse than that you are the vilest
creature living if you claim be
better than it.
After making this vulgar comp,
which it must have been asham. II |
when it saw it in cold type, there is
cooling period and it proceeds to be
decent by declaring that ''The Ameri
can believes in freedom of opinion and
expression, short OF 'indecency. If
lit had only arrived at that opinion a
few lines earlier, how much nortifi-
cation it might have saved itself and
it's friends
1t believes in Intelligent" and
manly" debate without ''vitupera-
ton and sans personal encounters, -
which it says, very rarely occur
among educated gentlemen.
Now ism t it funny that such sensi-
BILE argument should follow such
indecent vituperation and especially
in staid old journal which stands
30 ''unswervingly don't you know,
for those things which it believes are {
FOR the best. -
After ALL the most interesting utter
lnce of this remarkable editorial-or
ather, if 'it' will excuse us, that re- :,
editorial, is the following:
1.-THE American stands for higher
tandard of public and private morality, !,
or temperance in all things for =
onest elections, and the rights of =
owns and cities of self government. :" :,
Now laying all raillery and banter, =,
ritlcism and differences aside, the
Terald wishes to unite its efforts with
hose of the American in an earnest,
onest effort to insert That plank in the ca
ext Democratic state platform. la
If the American will unswervingly in
and by that plank, the Herald will CT
stand with the American. &c
othing will advance the interests Sc
the party more or quicker, than to tn
,mand of all it's color bearers, from tn
up t, governor, "a higher W
andard Of public and private moral la
y" Nothing is more urgently an
'manded by the people-and the in
,ople are right in demanding it-than WI
temperance in all things" Nothing sp,
more rulnous to the party, or more pa
bversive of good government, than set
dishonest elections. Nothing is iai
lrer or more democratic nothing in mo-
1ich the people are more interested liz
d concerned, or in more imminent the
ed, than 'the rights of towns and WI
les to self government. of
That means local option; and local Law
ton means more to Tennessee than JUS
, IS to 1 question, or the Philippine nel
estion, or even the tariff and the hui
'ney and the foreign questions all Coz
nbined. Let's relegate those ma asi,
nal questions to the national conven- =
n, and concern ourselves more with
things that make or mar the happi-
10 of our homes.
NE American plank suits us. If
American will stick to its declara- II
a, the Herald will sink or swim by