The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1906-03-16

which | recall as being credited tC
. him was, That if you turn owe
the mud stills of hell you will fine
, hereunder the shrlveled soul OF Z
Populist. He also forgets to tel
you that in the same campaign
when he was d candidate tor Con
gress l ran BOB votes ahead of him
in his own Congressional district
have never allowed any man to
beat me in my own Congressional
district. Fellow citizens, | have
never publicly alluded to this record
IN the past and should not have
done so now but for the fact that
the distinguished Senator from
Tennessee has not only questioned
my courage but my character and
loyalty to the Democratic party.
have never paraded my record as
Governor of Tennessee, but since
the question rides on every passing
breeze What has this weakling
done that he should don the mantle
of a giant?' trust that you will
not consider me as going beyond
the proprieties of the occasion if l
unfold to you few facts with ref
erence to that public service.
1t is the pride of my life that my
three administrations did their part
in bringing the State out of the
threatened defalcation and ruin and
planting it on the rock of prosper
ity. You know the troubles through
which we have passed and the bur-
dens which'we had to carry, but we
bore them like men and preserved
the honor of the State. Under my
administration we reformed the fee
system and saved half million dol
lars annually to the treasury. I'm
der my administration and upon
my recommendation we wiped out
the old plan of running the peni-
Tertiary and with it the obnoxious
lease system under which the State
prison was costing the Taxpayers
100000 year more than it pro-
duced, and in less than two years
it was paying into the Treasury
500, 900 year more than it cost.
Its profits have increased a quarter
of million dollars year, and so
has been the success of
this reform that the inspector of
the Federal Government, whose
business it is to examine into the
the management of State prisons,
has pronounced it the best system
in the Union. In my last admins.
tration dared to look the railroads,
telegraph companies and other cor
porations in the face and compel
them to pay their just proportion
If the taxes of the State, and | left
twenty-five million dollars worth of
.axable property on the tax books
IF Tennessee which were not there
when entered the Office.
In my first administration we
,uilt the Cont e d crate Soldiers
Home to give comfort to the aged
ind helpless men who wore gray
md to shelter them from the storms
# life. There is not hardly monu-
nent erected to the old soldiers that :
have not had voice in.
But, fellow citizens, however
many may be the mistakes have
1ade in life, however grievous may :,
ave been my faults, l have never :
ct entered campaign as Mr.. Car "
Jack has entered his, bearing the :
estimonials of Republican Sena- !
ors from Maine, New Hampshire, :,
'ermont, Massachusetts,, Rhode
sland and Connecticut to prove my :
'yalty to the Democratic party. :
ave always been true to my party, :,
rue to my State and true to my :
ountry. Such witnesses as Car !
lack has are not competent in the 6,
Ugh courts of Tennessee. If Car
lack will send for some of his !.
lends from Massachusetts, | will =
wide time with them and will a.
altz with them from the Missis- :
ppi River to the mountains.
/ have never appeared in Tennes- :.
'e as the greatest exponent of :.
emocratic principles after having 8,
stood in National Democratic =
in st. Louis as he has
me, attempting to stab to death =
e leader of my party, the great I.
t friend of the common people, =
e Plumed knight of the West, .
illiam jennings BRYAN.