The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1913-08-22
Fusion POSITION
FORcEFULly GIVEN
BY STATESENAT0RS

| BY STATESENAT0RS
.emssRs ARE UNDER NO obi.
CATION TO ANSWER THE CALL
OF JOHN |. cox.
| HAVE PERFORMED Their DUTY
J., An open Letter to Senator Dorsey
a. Thomas the Independents and
eeoubs ms Give People Grounds
for, Refusal to Make Quorum.
Special to The Herald.
NASHVILLE, Tenn, Aug. 19.-Fu-
s,on members of the senate have
written to Senator Dorsey B. Thomas
letter giving their reasons for not
attending days session of the legis-
lature called by John l. Cox, Stanton
and company. In this letter. they
show that they have made every eff
fort in the past to secure cOnElitu-
uonal appropriation bill; that the
failure of the bill makes it unconsti-
tutional to pass another at this SEES
don.
The letter, which Is signed by a
number of fusion senators, is as fol-
Hon. Dorsey B. Thomas, Nash
vile, Tenn.-Dear Sir: We have
learned through the public press that
the legislative steering committee OF
the so-called regular democrats, com
posed of Hon. John I. Cox and 9th
ers, has called faction Of the gen.
eral assembly to meet at the capitol
Tuesday, August 10. The object OF
said meeting, as stated in the call, Ia
to pass an appropriation bill and 9th
or needed legislation N k& II
"As your colleagues in the state
senate, we desire to communicate to
you our views upon this matter, fol
the reason that you are in Nashville
where you can make such use of this
letter as you may see at.
I'VE do not recognize the authority
Of the Hon. John Isaac Cox and his
associates to cal1 the legislature to
gether in what practically amounts
to an extra session. AS members Of
the state senate, we served the full
seventy-fve days required Of us BY
the constitution We afterwards sery
ed three days additional without com
pensation, in order to enact necessa
ry legislation for, the handling of tht
state debt and the preservation o
the states credit. We did our ut
most at this time to secure the pass
age Of a legal appropriation bill, bu
the regulars refused to pass lega
bill and failed to pass an illegal one
Upon this occasion the same legisla
tors who are now posing as the pa
triotic guardians of the state, suhor
dnated the state debt to politica
considerations and consumed thre'
days in what could have been dom
in one, while they played politics.
Now they cali the legislature t
reconvene to pass an appropriation
bill and other needed legislation
Just what other Legislation is neede'
and who needs it is not made plain.
"As to the appropriation bill tn
people thoroughly understand tn
rank hypocrisy and insincerity o
the Hon. John Isaac Cox and his al
lies. 1t is we'll remembered that MI
Cox personally conducted filibuste
of regulars in the house to proven
the passage of constitutional arpre
priation bill. 1t is also remembers
that the Independent democratic an
republican senators openly offered t
guarantee quorum In the house TO
the passage of the senate apprcpris
ton bill, but the regular senator
persisted in passing the house bill
which had passed the house withou
quorum. When the governor W
toed this bill and the legislature wa
again in session with quorum i
both bodies, the republican and inds
pendent senators once more made tn
public offer upon the floor Of the SCI
ate either to pass new appropris
ton BILL or to permit the regulars t
pass their unconstitutional bill owe
the veto of the governor The Iegt
lars refused to pass new bill an
proceeded to try to pass over the vet
of the governor the unconstituticns
measure. The bill failed of passag
over the executive veto for the lac
OF one regular vote, when they ha
two men that did not vote for 1t.