The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1908-08-20
A BIFURCATED
Political Order is Re-
publican Party.
VACCINATIONS TO DEVIL
If the Democrats Had In
voked Almighty, Says
Commercials

The republican party of Tennessee is
what might be called an amoosin little
cuss. 1t has no serious purpose in life
except the pursuit of pie, Occasionally
a dissatisfied democrat is heard to de-
liver himself of the venerable "chest-
nut" that it would be good for the state
to have republican administration oc.
casionally. There is about as much
wisdom in this idea as there would be
in the contention that it is good for a
man s system to contract a case of small
pox every now and then.
There would be no sense in selecting
a republican governor unless he could
give the state something that demo-
cratic governors had failed to give.
There is no use to swap horses blind
folded
The people of Tennessee know what
the democratic party has done for the
state. They do not know what the re-
publican party would do if it should
get complete possession Of the govern
ment; but they can hazard a guess that
it would be something disastrous. A
republican governor, held in check by
a democratic legislature, could secure
the passage of no laws, and he could
only do an infinite deal of harm. He
would, for instance, appoint the three
election commissioners for the state,
and two of them would of course be re-
publicans. These commissioners would
of course appoint two republicans and
one democrat for every county i'll the
state to hold elections. Thus the entire
election machinery in the state would
be in the hands of the republican party.
But there is of course no likelihood
of republican success in Tenness this
year. In the first place, Gov. Patterson
made successful campaign against q
foeman worthy of his steel. He won
the admiration OF those who were
against him. He pitched his campaign
on high plane, and he won an honest
victory. He is entitled, therefore, to
the vote of every one of the 100, 900
democrats who voted in the primary
He has given the state successful ad-
ministraton on which there is no taint
What does the republican party offer
instead of Patterson?
two.headed monstrosity, political
curio. A party SO loosely joined to-
gether that it has to hold two conven-
tions and put out two tickets is entitled
to no sensible mans consideration.
Both republican conventions offer
the people of Tennessee nothing but
state wide prohibition. They might as
we'll have offered us the moon. There
is absolutely no sincerity in the plat
form of either wing OF the party.
In the recent democratic primaries
the question of statewide prohibition
was thoroughly threshed ont, and the
democrats decided that there was NJ
need of further liquor legislation. The
party has placed every existing anti
liquor law upon the statute books. The
saloons are allowed in only four out O
the ninety.six counties; and under the
operation of the present law, any o
our cities can by the will of its people
inaugurate prohibition of all liquor
selling in its contincs. No town ha
been coerced by other towns or coun
ties to go dry. In a manner not alto
gether perfect, each town has decided
the question for itself. There is NJ
prohibition issue in ninety-two ooun
ties in Tennessee. Therein the ques
ton has been settled. Outside of tn
professional prohibitionists who max
living out of the agitation of tn
liquor question, the people in the DIR.
counties are not keenly interested il
the question of coercing the wet coun
ties, They have got what they wante,
and are satisfied,
Mr.. Carmack gave the cause of state
wide, compulsory prohibition an impe
tus that no other man in the state coul
have given it. But it failed before tn
democracy of Tennessee.
OF course the action of the Ohatta
nooga republican party and of tn
Nashville republican party was tn
logical outcome of the action of tn
democratic party, The latter being de
clared against statewide prohibition
both republican conventions have de
clared for it. II the democrats had dc
clared for the Golden Rule, it is q SAT
bet that the republicans would hav
pronounced against it. If the demo
Gratis had invoked the Almighty, tn
republicans would have rendered il
carnations to the Devil.
Both republican conventions declar
for statewide prohibition, and neithe
of them believes what it pronouncei
Zach has picked up the issue becaus