The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1908-06-05
TAYLOR SCORES
MACHINE ORGAN
TELLS WHY NASHVILLE AMERi-
SAN so BITTERLY ASsAILED
HIM ON RECENT SPEECH.
DENOUNCES BOGUS PRIMARY
Believes That Every Democrat Should
Be on an Equality in
Elections.

Be on an Equality In
Elections.
NASHVILLE, Tenn, June 4.-Sena-
tor Robert L. Taylor was in Nashville
yesterday, having Just returned from
Washington city, where he has been
since last December when congress
convened. He left last night for Tex
as to fill contracts for lecture engage
ments and will be gone until early
fall
The senator was interviewed while
here and had some interesting state
ments to make with reference TO poll
ties in Tennessee. He paid his re-
spects to the Nashville American, es-
pecially with reference to a recent
editorial commenting upon his adj
dress to the senate published in that
paper. The senator was evidently
deeply hurt as well as offended by
what the American had to say and
smoke his mind on this subject rather
freely.
Have you anything to say about
politics." the senator was asked.
We'll, | might say good deal about
politics, especially in Tennessee, but
the cats got my tongue, and the Nash
vile American is trying to get my head
on a platter, and it may yet succeed.
You know, If at first you don't sue
coed, Just keep a-sucking till you do
succeed
His Enemies.
81 am not now nor have l ever been
an enemy to the railroads of our coun-
try. but some Of them, without a
doubt, are my enemies, or rather some
of the men who manage the railroads
in Tennessee seem to delight on every
occasion to hold me up as an object OF
ridicule and contempt before the peo-
pie.
"The invisible and almighty spirits
who preside over the Nashville Amerl-
can, a newspaper under the control OF
the Louisville & Nashville railroad,
do not lose many opportunities to bow
their backs and come at me sideways,
and | can't tell whether they are going
to hook me to death or merely paw up
the earth to scare me.
They made a lunge at me not LONG
ago in a vicious editorial 1t was on
the occasion of the meeting the Ten
nessee Bar Association at Nashville
It was on the occasion of the. visit OF
the secretary of war to our people
They entertained the guests OF my
home city by throwing me over ten
rail fence in that editorial and leaV
ing me for dead on the arena. Inc
/. attack was so purely personal and 81
t nasty to all decent people that ! snail
0 not reiterate it, but shall only draw
. the curtain for a moment and let my
). friends take a glimpse of the motives
e behind it.
/ when | was governor OF Tennessee
S the last time, appointed railroad
d commission under a new law Whlcl
@ had lust been enacted by the legisla
O ture. and that commission went t
v work vigorously to unearth as nearl
q as possible the true valuation OF RAJ
road property in Tennessee. They as
sessed that property, not at its full
value, but conservatively The raj
roads appealed to me to set that al
sessment aside, but my oath OF ono
p forbade it. The state was on IN
y verge of defalcation on the paymen
of interest on its debts, and | stuck I
nv cath and the people of TENNESSEE
and without the slightest malice t
ward the railroad, confirmed the al
sessment.
% Walls of Wrath.
" Since then the state has prospere'
is the railroads have prospered, GU
i credit and our honor have been pr
h served. but nevertheless the Walls
10 wrath have been waiting for me. an
the editorial to which | have referre
II, is only one OF the walls.
or There is another motive. Whe
C. the democratic state executive cor
in mittee formulated and proclaimed ii
at plan of the primary in the presel
of campaign | saw in that plan the seet
hit of revolution in party management
the state. l saw in 1t the danger
st the final overthrow of the power
he the majority of the democracy to q