Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1910-10-13


| Democrats, TO the necessity of fair
er laws and cleaner elections. In
other words, they had a much
clearer understanding OF the ma
ture, methods and work of the
road-roller after it had been run
over their own PROSTATE forms a
few times.
They had that fellow feeling
which makes us wondrous kind
| They got busy, and the result OF
their activity is an election law,
which, though perhaps not perfect,
is by far the best and fairest that
| Tennessee has ever had. 1t is the
kind of law which Governor Pat
terson declared himself in favor of
when he first rode out of the West
as the young Lochinvar of reform.
After he got his finger on the lever
of the machine and became faSci-
mated with the swift revolution of
the wheels, his zeal for election re-
form, like Bob Acres courage,
oozed out at his finger tips. He
went through the farce of having
his Legislature to pass law de-
priving him of the power to APP
point the County Election Commits
sioners, but giving that power to a
State Commission appointed by
himself. Wasn't that a daredevil
risk of the Governor to permit him
self to be thus shorn of power and
placed at the mercy of Nath Rob
ertson? The self-abnegation of
that performance is only equalled
by that of Br'er Rabbit, who, ac-
cording to Uncle Remus, was will
ing to undergo any manner of pun
ishment, except to be turned loose
in an old-held briar patch.
And then when the Legislature
of 1909 passed law which was not
a Joke, but really took away from
the Governor his power and gave it
into the hands of the Legislature,
the place where the Governor had
formerly said it should be, he had
to be bucked and gagged and
drenched with his own prescription.
Now he goes over the State abus-
ing and villifying the majority of
the Democratic members OF that
Legislature and the Republicans
who voted for this law, and his
platform threatens its repeal. My
countrymen, there is no reason why
this State should not have fair
election laws and honest elections.
A majority of both parties favor it
and there are absolutely no condi-
tons in Tennessee that justify the
reign of force and fraud. If hon
est elections result in making the
Republican party strong minority
party, so much the better for the
people and even for the Demo-
cratic party itself. The existence
If strong, vigorous and militant
minority party is essential to good
government in a republic like ours.
It puts the majority party on its
mcttle and forces it to put forward
its best men and to administer pub
lie affairs with fidelity to the peo-
pies rights.
PLATFORM DECLARATIONS.
Now, briefly and without elabo-
ration, permit me to refer to few
of the declarations of the platform
upon which | stand. | am in hearty
accord with the declaration in favor
of the fellow servants bill. The
conditions under which men labor
in this day and time are vastly diff
ferent from those simple conditions
that existed when the courts first
held the doctrine that the employer
is not liable for an injury resulting
to an employe from the negligence
of his co-laborer, and, the law
ought to be modified to meet these
changed conditions.
That plank in Our platform which
puts forward the idea of using a
part of Our State convicts to build
or assist in building a great public
highway from Bristol to Memphis
is by no means visionary or i'm
practicable. Such a road would be
a great artery of trade and travel
and would encourage the building
and Improvement of hundreds of
lateral or tributary roads. 1t would
be worth more to the people than
the building of new railroad from
one end of the State to the other.
In the location of such a road, adj
vantage could be taken of pike
roads already built by counties,
which could be made a part of the
State highway. Some of the coun-
ties might be glad to cooperate
with the State and share the work
and expense of building the road,
and still further public road build
ing could be done after completing
of this great State road. The use
of the State cOnvicts in the building |