The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1909-09-23
WHO ROSE
TO POLITICAL
ENINENCE IN THE EAST
Representatives Tilson Was Born
at Clcarbranch, Unicoi Coun-
ty, on April S, 1866

1t is not regarded as remarkable for
a man to go west from the east or south |
and become prominent in the public |
affairs of his adopted state-in fact,
ambitious ysung men of the east and |
south usually go west for the purpose
of entering into political strife and
gaining political preferment at the
hands of the generous westernerS, and
finally land in the house of representa-
tives or in the United States senate.
The fact is, about three-foarthS of the
men from the states west of Mississippi
in the two houses of congress were not
born in the states they represent. In
! fact, it is the vocation of ambitious
men in Ohio to go to Indiana, Illineis,
Iowa or some other western state and
amuse themselves by breaking into the
United States senate or the house of
representatives. Hundreds of southern
men 90 west and become state and ma
tional figures. Gov Haskell, of Okla
homa, was born in the middle west.
Senators Bailey, of Texas; Gore, Of
Oklahoma; Clarke, of Arkansas; and
Chamberlain, of Oregon, were all born
in the state of Mississippi, thus giving
that state six native sons in the nation
al senate, leading all other states in
that respect. The names of Tennessee
ans who have gone to other states and
become prominent are known to every
student of history: Houston and Crock
EFT in Texas, John T. Morgan in Ala
bama, Joe Folk in Missouri and Martin
w. Iittleton in New York, are known
to all readers even of the daily papers;
and there are hundreds of Others 1t
is not uncommon for westerner or
southerner to go east and become a
captain of industry or a successful law
yer, but it is somewhat out of the ordi-
nary for men from these sections to go
east and get into active politics. There
seems TO be a prejudice in the east in
favor of native sons for public office,
which accounts in large measure for
the ban placed on alien politicians. Out
of thirty-tive representatives and sena-
tors from the six New England states
only four men were born outside of
those states-one in Illinois, one in
Pennsylvania and one in Canada, and
f the fourth, Mr.. Tilson, was born i'll
Tennessee--he being the only man
from the south or west in the house OF
: senate from the New England states.
= In the south and west this prejudice
} does not obtain SO largely, as will be
seen from a casual glance at some OF
the congressional districts of Tennessee,
for instance Take the First district OF
: Tennessee, and it will be found that il
i has been represented almost continue
ously for the past forty years by mer
: who were not only natives of the dis
trict but were not even natives OF thu
y state. The district in 1880 was rep
u resented by the Hon. Robt l.. Taylor
D now United States senator from Ten
Il nessee, but even before that time it hat
/ been represented for number of year,
e by Hon. r. r. Butler, a Virginian
II Succeeding Taylor came Hon. A. IL
Z Pettibone from the north. The distric
J was then represented for eight years b,
Il Hon. A. A. Taylor and Hon. w. {
l. Anderson, natives of the district, bu
Ie has since been represented by Hon. w
j. Brownlow, of Virginia. The las
three representatives from the Secon'
ol district of Tennessee were not native
10 of the state Gibson was from Mary
10 land, Hale from Virginia and Austi
"a from Alabama.