The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1906-11-02


day at BlountviIle, Sullivan County:
MY Friends and Neighbors: l come
to accept your nomination to repre-
sent you in the next State Senate
From the depths of my poor heart
thank you most sincerely. for the ia
vors you have shown me, from my
earliest boyhood to the present time.
Your confidence in me has never wav-
cred; your support of me has never
faltered. Throughout my stormy and
eventful life you have believed in me
and stood by me. You have bestowed
upon me greater legislative honors
than you have bestowed upon any
other son during all the past. In ev-
cry position with which you have hon
ored me l have honestly and faithful
ly discharged every duty devolving
upon me as God has given me to see
the right. | feel that in the legisla-
tive halls and in the Governors chair
have helped to improve the condi-
ton of your schools, your charitable
and penal institutions, your financial
condition, helped to make better your
revenue and assessment laws and to
pay your bonded Indebtedness.
But enough, and no more of this.
My face is turned to the future. l
come with whatever experience
may have gained in all the positions
with which you have honored me, with
my heart, my brain, my energy, to con-
secrate it all to your service.
But few days after taking the
oath Of Office as Governor of your
State, on returning to Bristol, to be
given flattering reception, said:
When my duties shall have ceas-
ed as Governor of your State I shall !
return again to take up my abode in |
the good old county of Sullivan, where
my people have lived and labored for |
40 years, and l shall come with no
higher ambition than to again repre-
sent you in the legislative halls of
Tennessee ! said then what | de-
sire to repeat now with emphasis, that
the position of legislator is one of the
most important within the gift of the
people. | have said in my contests
for the Legislature that no man should
represent you in the making of your
laws who is not qualified to fill the
office of Governor of your State or
to represent you in the United States
Senate. It takes broader experience
to make your laws than it does to
execute them. Any honest, indus
trious, intelligent, sober man can make
you good Governor. There has new
er been a time since have occupied {
the Office of Governor that Iwould not
have preferred to be your representa- {
tive in the legislative halls. If you
send the right kind of men to the Leg
islature, you will have good whole '
some laws. With such laws the peo- I
pie will not mourn. We have had, for (
the most part in Tennessee, good leg (
islation. We have had an honest and i
faithful execution of these laws. With {
all of the charges to the contrary not 4
| declare that Tonnes a
see is one of the best governed States r
In the Union. All the charges /
to the contrary, nevertheless, O
maintain that we have the best pen D
Itentiary system in the country: we Il
nave aroused the greatest educational e
interest to be found in any State in "
the South we are liquidating our e
bonded indebtedness without unduly Il
our people with taxation; e
We are meeting every obligation due t,
rom a benevolent Christian commu- G.
lity to its insane, It's deaf. its dumb, 81
is blind and its poor. Every Obliga- Il
ion to it's wayward and criminals. II
Ne are caring for our old soldiers who In
our beautiful Southland, and, II
n addition. protecting the widows of s,
he Confederacy. All this claim as d.
he heritage of the Democratic party h,
t Tennessee. All that our party in
ccuo 10 W purge hscil vi ITO 'IiduuC- &C
RS and its traitors. a,
In accepting the nomination so to
rendered me, l desire to :"
riefly mention the policy I shall ad p
ocate and the laws I shall seek to -
nact 90
Election Laws. on
81 shall favor an amendment to the II
ection laws that will provide for the &C
election of three Election Commits I'M
oners, one from each grand division sh
the State, to be elected by direct W
tie of the people. giving these off, no
ais power to appoint Election Com 1t
issioners and Commissioners of Reg sis