The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1903-04-03
WHISKEY DEMON
TURNS A TRICK
Captures Mass-Meeting at the Court
House, at so Much Per Capture,
II is Said, and Instructs legis-
lature What to Do.

Whiskey sentiment ran riot in the
court house Monday. The mass meet
ing, called for the purpOseoflnstructing
Maurv county's representatives how
to vote on tho Baxter Railroad bill,
was turned into bowling assemblage
of whiskey leaders and their cohorts.
determined to pass a resolution on the
whiskey business. They succeeded ex-
tremely we'll; they never played their
cards better. and though they ran
rough shod over right, justice and every
thing that was fair--a thing they
always do, however-they strutted
from the court house after it was over
unblusningly. and as proud as pea
cocks. 1t was the most disgusting
and most disgraceful outrage ever per
petrated in the court house OF this
county. The mass meeting was called
strictly for one purpose: to consider
the Baxter railroad bill This was
quickly disposed of by the meeting
adopting resolution offered by Mr..
Ben Cneairs that the Maury county
representatives be instructed to vote
on the bill as they thought best. Before
offering this resolution however Mr.
Cheajrs fired some broadsides at Jere
Baxter and his affidavit" face. This
hacKneyed and worn out descriptive
term caught the crowd and it yelled
Justify. In fact, Mr.. Cheairs made
great speech-in the minds of his
audience.
There was not vote against the
Chealrs resolution, which went
through in a whoop. Thus the Baxter
bill was stabbed to death by the clti-
zens of the county that is ground to
the very bottom by the L. q n. rail
road.
Then came forth the whlskey
Achilles, clothed in the fair and beau
tiful garments of a Temperance Leader
Mr.. E. Yoest-in his ''nfficial capaci-
typ He took the floor and began to
rec1te his numerous campaigns for
mayor of Columbia. He said In every
one of them he had been called a
whishey man, when in fact he had been
Temperance man all his life that
he had held mem bership In several
temperance societies, etc., ad
libitum. AS this valiant temperance
champion spoke, the whiskey men APP
plauded wildly. Dispelling the arts of
the orator, with which he said he was
to such frenzy that they went Wild.
The uninltiated began to wonder what
was doing. They were not long kept
In suspense. After leaving his
triumphs as candidate tor mayor, to
which he referred with maiden ike
modesty, the valiant temperance leader
took from his inside pocket careful
ly type written resolution, asking the
legislature not to pass any further tenn
peranre Legislation affecting Columbia
or Maury county. The ridiculous IN
congruity of the spectacle never
touched the crowd, which went wild
some more when the resolution was
read. The valiant temperance leader.
who has always been temperance man,
offering resolution to petition the
Legislature to Kill temperance legisla.
ton for his own city Ye gods, and
little fishes Yet the valiant temperance
leader did his part without blush
John Brown, of Spring Hill,
St conded tho resolution.
Then Mr.. E. Fl. Hatcher arose and
appealed to the citizens not to commit
the outrage they were about to commit.
He said the purpose OF the meeting
was to consider the Baxter railroad
bill, and nothing more; ana to take
up the temperance question, which
involved only the city of Columbia,
without any notice being given to the
friends of temperance here in town or
the county, was unfair, and he APP
pealed to the crowd to stop. He de-
nounced the methods, but all in vain.
Az we'll might he have tried 70 stop
old ocean fury as that whisk tide
that was running riot over the V'ghts
Of the people, Game forth then NMr.
Ben Cheairs Maury countv's we'll
known and leading ''proni bitlonist.
He denounced the proposition to |
extend the Adams law to Columbia