The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1910-06-30


him as a man and as a Chief Execu-
tive in whom are combined courage,
honesty, intelligence and patriotism.
We indorse his action on the cleo
ton and prohibition bills passed by
the last General Assembly. His mes
sages disappearing those measures
admiration.
Liquor Traffic.
We reaffirm and indorse the plat
form of the convention of 1908 in the
following declarations:
1--WE expressly approve and indorse
all the temperance legislation now on
the statute books of the State, and
pledge our party to take no backward
step on these questions, but to extend
and apply those laws to all portions
of the State not embraced in their
operation whenever the people of the
communities to he affected thereby
give their consent, believing they have
a right to determine this question for
themselves"
The Democratic party Of Tennessee
has enacted every law that has served
to promote true temperance. The evils
moral and economic. not political,
questions, hence the Democratic party
has for more than thirty years exer-
cised the wise policy of regulating
such traffic where regulation suff1ced,
and of prohibiting it where regulation
had failed.
When the Legislature of 1903 met,
the retail sale of liquor had been pro-
hibited throughout the State, and with
the consent of the people comprising
the places affected. But the Legisla-
ture passed a Statewide bill over a
majority of it's Democratic members
and over the veto of the Democratic
Governor, whereby compulsory prohi-
bition was imposed upon those places
thereby destroying property of value
without compensation and depriving
the State of revenue without promot-
ing temperance, good order or respect
for the law.
We condemn the manufacturers
bill" passed by the last General As
sembly as q wanton destruction OF
property, a ruthless interference with
labor, an unwarranted usurpation OF
power, a vicious and illegal measure
reducing the revenues Of the State
and doing great injury to law-abiding
citizens, with no corresponding bene-
fits. We pledge our party to counter
act the Injustice of the passage by it's
repeal.
we condemn the compulsory prohi-
bition bill as gross invasion of the
rights of local elf-government, a
right always held sacred by the Demo-
70
destroying much needed revenue this
law has increased the burdens of the
Taxpayers; that it has failed signally
in application for operation, and on
the contrary has been and is the pro-
Queer of intemperance, the creator OF
deceit and the cloak of hypocrisy.
We pledge our party to the amend
ment of this law wherein it affects the
communities of Nashville, Chattanooga,
Memphis and LaFollette, and further
pledge our party to the restoration to
the people of these particular commu-
mites the right to control their own
local affairs as they existed prior to
the passage of that measure.
We oppose and in convention here
assembled. declare unreservedly against
the unrestricted liquor traffic In tile
communities mentioned, and ia the
event these affected should conclude
to take any action under the laws
amendment, we favor the enactment
of laws strictly regulating and con-
trolling such traffic, and we are I'M
alterably opposed to return to the
open and unrestricted saloon in the
State of Tennessee.