The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1910-06-30
HE[SKELL'S KEYNOTE SPEECH
KNOXVILLE'S MAYOR THROWS OPEN
THE FLOODGATES.
Demon str alton Sets New Mark in State POlitiCS---
Gives an Eloquent Recital of DemOCracy'S
Work for the State---Char6e of Coercion of
Court PueriIe and InSincere---Cr Crepe for State
Wide.

+ their face value; hope had almost en-
tirely departed from the breasts o
our people, and despair had become
common possession of our citizens.
"Beginning with the election Of Gov.
ernor Senter, and continuing down tt
this hour, with the exception of one
term, the Democratic party has beer
in complete control of the public affairs
Of the State. Has the stewardship OF
that party been faithful or unfaithful'
Have we been true to the people and
to the proud record of our past? To
ask these questions, gentlemen of the
convention, is to answer them, because
1t can be conscientiously said that
everything Tennessee has been in the
past, everything that she is in the
present, is due to the wisdom, the pa
triotism, the foresight and the states
manship of the Democratic party. We
look back to the days since Senter
and among the occupants of the execu-
tive chair we find the grand old man
of Henry, James D. Porter, Peter Tur-
ney and Albert S. Marks, and Robert
L. Taylor, Benton McMillin, John c.
Brown and others whose lives and
works and sacred honor were devoted
to the welfare of the Commonwealth.
DemOcracy's WOndrOus Work.
"But, gentlemen. what are some of
the things the Democratic party has
done for Tennessee? The heritage of
the Civil War and the legislation i'm
mediately following that war placed
upon the backs of our people, to be
carried by them, public debt of $780,
100000 that in the then Impoverished
condition of the State was a weight
that was staggering and crushing. A
part of this debt was honestly con-
tracted and that part has been settled
in full; a part was contracted with
equities in favor of the people, and
that part was compromised by the
Democratic party on terms acceptable
to the bondholders. One of the first
credits, therefore, due to the Demo-
cratic party was fair and just set
Element of the State debt. That settle
ment still left US owing about $16,-
100000, and even this was a heavy
burden to be borne, and in 1899, when
the distinguished gentleman who has
been nominated by the popular voice
for United States Senator, was then
Governor, Hon. Benton McMillin, that
gentleman championed, supported and
signed a bill devoting 10 per cent of
the States gross revenue to the re-
tirement of the bonds of the State.
Permit me to express my deliberate
opinion that this was the wisest public
act ever placed upon the statute books
of Tennessee. I advocated 1t in 1895,
when a member of the General Assem-
bly,, but 1t was too early for it's pas
sage. Four years later saw it placed
upon the statute books, monument
to the wisdom Of the Legislature and
the then Governor and the Democracy
of the State. The carrying out of the
provisions of this act has gone steadily
forward, until several millions of our
bonded debt has been actually paid in
cash, and the credit of the State fully
sustained, and the people relieved of a
part of their burden, and to the ever
lasting credit of the present admins
tration of Tennessee, this beneficent
act is still being carried out, bonds
are still being retired, and the people
are still being relieved Of some of
their financial burdens.