Sequachee Valley news. (Sequachee [Sequatchie], Tenn.) 1896-1952, 1910-10-13
SPEECH OF
HON. B. ". HOOPER
CANDIDATE FOR
GOVERNOR OF TENNESSEE
NOMINATED BY THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND ENDORSED
nv LIE INDEPENDENT DEMOCRATIC PARTY
STATE TICKET
For Governor HON. B. W. HOOPER
FOrR. R. Commissioner HON. B.A. ENL0E

MOUNTAIN CITY, Tenn, Sep
TENDER FL. = Before a magnificent
crowd, in which Capt Ben W.
Hooper's old comrades-in-arms OF
the Spanish-American War played
a conspicuous part, Capt. Hooper
opened his campaign for Governor
here today. His speech in full fol
lows:
Ladies and Gentlemen:
It gives me great pleasure to
open my campaign for the govern
orship before the people OF John
son County. There was much dis
cussion at the meeting of the Re
publican Executive Committee as
to where | should begin, but l
never could get the consent OF my
mind to open elsewhere than here.
Although this is the first time l
have ever set foot upon your soil,
your county holds place in my
heart only second to that OF my
own. One-half of the company
which | had the honor to command
in the Spanish-American war came
from this county. While we had
no opportunity to distinguish our
selves and have never posed as mil
itary heroes, we were associated to-
gether for a period of nine months
in a way that has left us with an
everlasting feeling of comradeshlp.
Our humble service cannot compare
in hardship or distinction with that
of the grizzled veterans OF the CiVll
War, but it was not SO soft and
easy as some might think. Another
reason for opening Our campaign
here in this extreme northeastern
county of the State and carrying 1t
on across the State to Shelby is to
typify and symbolic the manner in
which the people of Tennessee are
going to sweep the Patterson ma
chine before them from Virginia to
Arkansas.
This will be recorded as the most
remarkable year in the history OF
Tennessee politics. Perhaps we can
not yet say that the political mil
lenium has come, but we have Ger
Al Il.
tainly made long strides in that dl-
rection. We have recently seen the
Republican party of Tennessee rise
above partisan considerations and
thrust aside the tempting posslDll-
ity Of electing ten Republican
Judges of the State. Since then
the Republican party has still tur-
ther shown its liberality and pro-
pressiveness by endorsing for Rail
road Commissioner that great
Democratic champion of good gov
,rnment, B. A. Enloe. Following
swiftly upon the heels OF this came
he Democratic convention OF sep
.ember ID, which nominated Enloe
for Railroad Commissioner and
endorsed the Repub-
lean candidate for Governor.
NO POLITICAL BARGAIN.
1t is said, however, by Governor
Patterson and his adherentS that
,ur course in these various matters
las not been dictated by motives OF
patriotism, but has been the result
If a political bargain. | say to you,
ny countrymen, that the man, who
hus interprets present political
conditions in Tennessee, has ut.
erly failed to grasp the trend OF
public thought or rightly read the
igns of the times. That which he
S pleased to denominate a bargain
S the voluntary uprising of the bet
er elements of all parties in this
State, animated with the patriotic
to free this common
Wealth from the clutches of a Grim
nal despotism that has disgraced it
4 the eyes of the world.
While this sequence Of events is
Unprecedented in Tennessee poll
les, it contains no deep and hidden
1eaning after all. 1t is due to the
xercise in politics of that ordinary,
onmon sense characteristic of the
people in their everyday
fairs. 1t would be extremely abb
urd for the forces of temperance,
NV and order to be divided in this
ontest along national party lines.