The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1902-01-17
VII Not Make Fight on Ind iua
Legislative Aspirants, but for
Instructions.
Instructions

According to the views OF JOnn
Royal Harris. who is conducting
the temperance crusade In Tennes-
see under the auspices OF the Anti
Saloon League, this element IS Gle
Weeping great strength and vii
make a big showing at the next
session of the Tennessee Leggisla-
ture. He said yesterday afternoon
that the league was not making q
fight upon individual aspirants for
the General Assembly, as had been
suspected and reported, but that
on the other hand they are scriy-
ing to have the people instruct the
candidates for Office to support the
temperance movement in the Leg
islature.
In discussing the matter he said:
"Our policy has been pretty
clearly defined as indicated in our
last address to the people OF Ten
nessee. We are adhering strictly
to this line of work, and SO far as
| have heard has been received by
the politicians with eommendatlon.
We have no desire to grind an ak
for any political party as has been
intimated by some and have, there
fore, the confidence of the leaders.
We make no trades and they have
been given to understand we will
not engage in political trickery.
We mean every word we have said
on the surface; nothing more or
less.
DEFINES THEIR POSITION.
There have been articles print
ed regarding condition between the
Republican party and our move
ment. The fact is we are identi-
fed with no political party, but
will affiliate with the side putting
out the best candidate in the diff
ferent fields. whether Democratic
or Republican party. We are 90
ing to keep free from political
party utilization in the strict sense
of the word, remaining on high
moral and Christian plane. A good
deal has been said, also, about con
centrating our opposition on GER
tain men and defeating them on
account Of their records in the
past. What we want are men who
can be trusted to vote for our
measures. We want the people to
show to these men that they want
certain things and then for them
to carry out the desire of the peo
pie; we want the people to instruct
the candidate for the Legislature
as to what they want, instead of
going into the fight to defeat any
certain man, causing animosities
and party descriptions. We would
rather have the same men go in
under instructions than to cause
this kind Of feeling in the State.
We do not want to appear arb
trary in handling party affairs.
Since studying this matter | have
found that the politicians in gen.
eral are better class of men than
they are given credit of being.
They are more open to reason than
many of the religious reformers
give them credit.
cit is almost inconceivable that
any representative of the people
will 90 directly contrary to their
wishes and in the majority of cases
where they appear to it is a result
of their failing to know their
wishes. What we want to do is to
90 by organization and personal
effort to the primaries and conyen
tons to let these party men know
just what the people want.
INCREASE IN STRENGTH.
''Do you think the temperance
on the increase in Ten
nessee!"
"The wishes of the people in
this matter are unnistakable. The
great majority of the people of the
State would doubtless vote at once
for total determination of the
whole whisky traffic, but they
and others making a
larger majority are certainly in IA
yor of giving an extension to the
four mile law to the towns which
may wish to have it so that the
traffic may be abolished as public
sentiment demands it, and as pub
lie sentiment is strong enough to
enforce the laws against illicit sell
ing when the saloons have been
wiped out.
81 believe if we had the same
back the one we had
two years ago, that many of the
men who voted against the tenn
measure would change
their ballots. So i believe that the
new candidates, as they come in
= 1 L., -, /