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

Democratic party? You say that the
rule itself is ample protection against
fraud, but you had some reason for
taking this power out OF the hands OF
/ men who come fresh from the people
I and putting IL into the hands Of two
/ wire-Working machine politicians who
I come fresh from Gov. Malcolm R. Pat,
! teTsOn. Give me some honest rea-
son. There is no honest reason.
COUNTY RETURNING BOARDS.
This plan further provides that
two nonresident politicians. extreme
/ partisans of the Governor, shall APP
board, which win likewise be COM
posed of partisans of the Governor,
which shall make their return to a
central authority in Nashville like
wise partisans Of the Governor, and
these returns must be accepted by
them as final and conclusive. No
matter how false and fraudulent they
may be they cannot be challenged or
impeached, there is no plan by which
you can go behind the returns. You
remember that the old Louisiana Re
turning Board, of Infamous memory,
lnACh OuN ChOu6n OOnOCAal NOtCS W
give the election to Hayes, and that
the Election Commission, of equally
infamous memory, decided that they
could not go behind the returns In
this way the great presidential steal,
the most infamous political crime in
all history, was accomplished. Ii has
been said that history repeats itself;
but who would have believed that the
70 ~ hn ~ I
Returning Board would be repeated
by a Democratic Committee in the
State of Tennessee?
FAIR ELECTION DESPITE CON-
MITTEE.
"Ah, you say, we shall have a fair
election. Yes, we will have a fair
election-no thanks to your commit
tee. We shall owe it to the reused
spirit of free people who never
crooked knee to mortal man.
have never known the most consum.
mate scheme of fraud to succeed
where the people have been fairly
warned, and this committee made its
great mistake when it climbed to the
top of Capitol Hill and proclaimed
from that proud eminence that it in
tended, in the language of Gov. Pat
terson, to rob the people of their
rights Yes, the people are deter.
mined to have a fair election, and be
fore this campaign is over the au-
thors of this scheme will crawl and
whimper at the feet of an outraged
and indignant people.
"One remarkable feature of this
committees action is the tests and
standards of Democracy it has estab-
Iished. 1t has provided two tests
one is as to how you voted in the last
election, and the other is as to how
you will vote in the next election. To
vote in this primary man must two
years ago have voted for every nomi-
nee on the ticket. If he scratched the
name of some whiskey jug or COM
mon CRATER who got himself nomi-
mated for the Legislature, he must
be read out of the Democratic party.
But the powers that be decided that
they could not afford to apply any such
rigid test for the next election. They
said to themselves, a great many of
our leaders never did and never will
vote for William j. Bryan, and we can-
not make that test. They said that,
because of the intimate relations be-
tween Brownlow, and the State ad-
they could not draw the
line there. They knew that a great |
many of their saloon friends would
not vote for temperance nominees for
the Legislature, and they could not |
shut them out So we have the amaz- |
ing situation that while a man must |
two years ago have voted for every |
single nominee on the ticket or be |
read out of the party, he may this
year vote against William j. Bryan,
ne may vote for a Republican nomi-
nee for Congress, he may vote for any
white or black, for the
legislature, and still be entitled to all
he powers, rights and privileges of
/ Patterson Democrat. Such are the
conflicting tests and standards of
Democracy which this high and
mighty committee has set up for the
Democracy of Tennessee. In the
lame of all the gods at once, upon
What meat do these our Caesars feed
hat they have grown so great?
my countrymen, | have dwelt at
ength upon this question because |
lgreed with everything said by Gov.
Patterson two years ago as to the inn
'ortance of the issue and of the nee
'ssity of adopting the direct primary
n order to restore power to the peo-
lie. How stands the account of Gov.
Patterson upon this great issue and
romise of his campaign?
1.-TWO years ago Gov. Patterson
numbered against the great machine
hat had been built up in this State
nd asked you to elect him that he
night destroy its vast and oppres-
i've power. How has he kept that
ledge? He has simply strengthened
he machine in all of its parts, ex-