Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1910-07-21
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What is the Battle

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Our friend, Representative" seems
to not have a clear vision Of the real
political situation as it exists in Ten
nessee today. He evidently fails te
reflect upon the existing contention
and what its elimination may be. II
seems that he is so partisan as to tena-
ciously cling to party name, regard
less of its platform, whether good OF
bad. Our friend admits that to him
the situation is an intricate one and
intimates that if someone would join
himself to his chariot and explain to
him, he fain would join the great
hosts of true republicans and liberty
loving democrats, who are now look
ing beyond mere party lines to the re-
demption of our great Volunteer State
from the coils of the venomous adder.
What is the matter, what does ii
all mean n" asks Representative.
There is much the matter and it means
that battle is raging between Right
and Wrong. 1t means that the state
of Tennessee has fallen into the hands
of despoilers and that the best citizens,
irrespective of party sfiliation, have
formed great coalition in order to
overthrow the subtitle powers SO irwin
chilly entrenched. 1t means that the
people have revolted against the oil
garchy which has deprived the people
of their sovereignty, and has sought tc
centralize and manipulate the affairs
of the state government wholly at the
state capitol, setting at naught the
significance of the term, democrat and
republican.
To one who has been vigilant as tc
the political intrigue, which has been
fathered and fostered by the dominant
faction in this state for the last four
or five years, the status of affairs de-
picts most polluted aspect, Those in
power have constructed the most dar-
ing and diabolical machine that hu-
man ingenuity could contrive. That
machine has its propelling power in
the state capitol and imparts vitality
to its subsidiaries which extend into
the remotest rural districts of the com
monwealth. This machine is an in
vincible Gibralter and is garrisoned
by phalanx of compensated bench
men.
Eighteen months ago when the legis-
lators went to Nashville instructed by
their constituents to support certain
reform measures they were confronted
by the opposing machine which mill
family sought to overthrow and thwart
the will and wishes of the people. The
machine had thirteen members in the
Senate and a minority in the lower
house, only one member in each house
being republican. The anti-machine
democrats had fifteen members in the
senate and a large majority in the
house. They formed coalition with
the anti-machine republicans of both
houses for the purpose of enacting the
reform measures into laws. Among
those bills was that of the general
election laws, which took from the
governor the power to appoint election
commissioners and placed that power
in the hands of the legislature. 1t
vests in the general assembly, compos-
ed of both democrat and republicans.
the power to appoint three election
commissioners, two from the party in
power and one from the minority par
ty, and these commissioners have pow
er to manipulate the election machin-
cry throughout the state. Honest and
honorable republicans and right think
ing democrats conceded this to be the
fairest and most faultless election law
the state ever had. But how was it
enacted into lawH Over the protest
of the machine. The fifteen demoorat-
ic and four republican senators pulled
the bill through the senate and then
pulled it through the lower house by
majority of the democrats and all the
save one. Then these hon
est Legislators passed the bill over the
vetoe of Gov. Patterson. Then as a
last resort to try to prevent this bill
law, the thirteen machine
senators fed from the state. But fail
ing in this, the machine fought this
law to finish before the state su-
preme court, but it was declared con-
Judges Beard, Shields and
Neil, who are candidates for re-elec.
tion, concurring in its validity.
So there may begin to appear a rift
In the cloud which obscures the situa,
tion in our state from our inquirer.
Though he has been pleased to apply
the term "bolter" to those who are
upholding people rule, fair elections
and purer politics, he did it Innocent
ly. AS to the democratic party in
Tennessee, the organization is controll-
ID by the Patterson machine but the
August and November elections will
explode their political bomb and ere
ong Patterson will be as extinct as
''Coin'' Harvey. Patterson is going.
When the writer was in the great con-
vention in the Ryman Auditorium at
Nashville on May 1S, he saw Gov.
Patterson begin his downward couse.
And If Representative" wants to do
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