The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1908-05-08
DEALING WITH CONNECTS.

fuel and lights without paying for
same
DEALING WITH coNvIcTs.
Gov. Patterson has credited him
self with an immense noE of the milk
OF human kindness In his dealing with
the cOnvicts, and | applaud every
word that he utters upon that theme.
However low a man may sink In the
scale Of humanity, I still believe that
/ every human heart is human, and thar
no man can get beyond the pale Of
a good mans kindness. But there are
some things in the conduct of my
competitor which do not square with
his humane professions. Several
years ago there was an investigation
by a legislative committee of affairs
at Brushy Mountain. They found
there a condition Of the most horrible
cruelty. They found that convicts
we're beaten upon their naked backs
until the blood flowed in streams;
beaten until their flesh hung in rags
and tatters; beaten until they were
manned and mutilated for life; beat
en- until one of them died under the
lash. They found that two men were
responsible for these conditions, one
because he either wilfully or careless
ly permitted 1t to be done. and the
other because with his )wp hand he
welded the lash. These two men
we're discharged because Of their
cruelty. Gov. Patterson has restored
both of them to their positions, and
sent them back to the very scene of
their former cruelties. Where was the
voice of mercy then? Where was the
milk of human kindness that has caus-
ed you to turn loose SD many thugs
and murderers upon the State?
my competitor boasts that the
main prison has been kepL under his
SPECIAL care and guardianship. The
result Of this yigIlant ,supe"v sion may
be summarized i'll the statement that
while there has been decrease In the
nmnLef of convicts, there mas been
an increase of about 40 per cent in
the number of guards and an increase
of about $1,000 d month in expenses.
my competitor also takes to him
self all of the credit for putting an
end to the car shortage at the state
mines. Although the Railroad Com
mission had taken this matter in
hand, had made careful investigator.
and, in their opinion, had brought |
about an adjustment of the trouble at |
the earliest possible moment, and had
done this without any assistance from
Gov. Patterson, he puts in his claim,
as usual, to be regarded as the sole
mover and actor in the business
simply because at the last moment
he called a meeting of railroad Presi-
dents to advertise himself as the one
performer. The truth is, there was a
car shortage at the state mines be-
cause there was a car shortage in
every part of the United States. There
is no car shortage now at the state
mines, neither is there any car short
age anywhere else in the country.
REDUCTION OF RAILROAD RATES.
Gov. Patterson also claims for him.
self the credit of having secured from
the railroads a conditional promise
of reduction in passenger rates. Let
me give you few plain undeniable
facts in regard to the history of this
matter. The matter of lower passen-
ger rates was being agitated during
the session of the last Legislature but
Gov. Patterson did not seem to know
it. Afterward, on the second day of
September, | made a public address
on Labor Day, in which | declared
that the State of Tennessee was en-
titled to have and must have as low
rates for freight and passengers as
any of our sister states; that the Rail-
road Commission, l believe, had am
pie power to act In this matter, and
hoped and believed they would. When
made this statement Gov. Patter-
sons railroad organ, the Nashville
American, assailed me with the great
est bitterness. The Railroad Commits
'ion publicly declared that they had
aiken up the matter, and that If the
over rates in other States were sus-
aimed by the courts they would take
occasion to compel like rates in Ten.
lessee. Up to this time Gov. Patter-
on had not uttered one word except
o thank God at a railroad banquet ,
hat the people of Tennessee were not I
Infected with any such mania. After ,
discussion became acute, however, he Y
vent to Union City and made a /
peech, in which he said that the rail- ;
Dads had assured him that If these =
over rates were sustained elsewhere +
hey would voluntarily put them in n
0rce in Tennessee, and Gov. Patter- i
on said that he thought they were q
Ight about 1t.
"He never uttered one word upon f.
IS SUBJECT uuIll IH0 RAILROADS. LOlQ | r.
i'm what they intended to do, and the +,
Ill extent of his own declaration was Il
, give his cordial approval of their u
ction. Later the Southern Road an +
ounced it's purpose to make 2 1-2 n
ent rate In other states and the Rail- o.
lad Commission had taken the mat +,
# up with that road. Thereupon Gov. n
called him another meet a
e of the railroad Presidents, at
hich the SOnfharn Road md all