The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1913-10-24
GOVERNOR HOOPER GIVES OUT
INTERVIEW REGARDING TnE
PASSAGE OF BILLS.
REGULARS POMMELED 10 PULP
Regrets Courts Were Not Strengthen
ed by Enactment of Removal Bill.
Independents and Republicans As
sisted Regulars Into Band Wagon.

made the following comment on tile
outcome of the fight over the law
enforcement bills:
IF any gang was ever beaten to a
pulp it was the organization in the
present legislature alleged to be reg
ular democratic They have put in
nine and one half months fighting tn e
law enforcement measures which
recommended to the legislature, and,
with every advantage in their favor,
have finally been scattered, crushed
and overwhelmed.
Tonight the hired liquor lobby
lists and city gunner have vanished
from capitol hill and the hill Eillies
are The monarchs of all they survey,
The people of Tennessee have
been granted the right to go into the
courts with civil lawsuits and exter-
inmate the lawless saloon. They will
no longer be compelled to sit with
folded hands and suppressed ind,gna
ton while faithless public officials re-
fuse to enforce the criminal laws
The shipments of liquor from one
county to another has been forbidden
and the federal Webb law has been
made effective by prohibiting the
shipment of liquor into the state.
''Of course, we realize that the en-
forcement of these laws will be him
dered as much as possible and that
the courts will have to pass on them,
but ultimately law and order will pre-
vail
In Kansas there are thousands of
men more than 30 years old who new
er saw an open saloon. The boys
that are being born in Tennessee now
will never see one.
Il regret that the removal bill did
not pass. 1t was designed to author
ize the courts to remove city and
county officials who prove unfaithful
to the people in the discharge of thei
duties The servant shall not be
greater than his master. 1t is just a
necessary to punish the law-violating
official by putting him out of office
as it is to punish the law-breaking
citizen by putting him out of bust
ness declared to be public nuisance
The people may yet find the need
either of the interchange of judges o.
of laws making the governor the
chief executive in fact as well as in
name.
1.-The prolonged struggle over these
law enforcement measures, serious as
it was for nearly ten months, wound
up in a farce comedy. The most sub
servient tools Of the liquor interests
in the entire legislature, when they
had vainly exhausted every resource
to defeat the bills made grand rush
for the band wagon and voted fog the
measures. Having worn out their
lungs shouting 'hypocrite' at the sup
porters of these bills they showed
themselves to be the most shameless
hypocrites and political fakirs by vot-
ing for them.
"As matter of fact the bills had
exactly the required number of votes
to pass them in each house-50 III the |
house and seventeen in the senate. !
II we had ever lost one of these votes
in either house the bills would have |
been defeated OF the so in the low
er house "A were Independent demo
Gratis and republicans and regulars; !
Of the II in the senate II were repub
leans and independent democrats
and regulars. Every other vote be- !
vond these was band wagon vote.
1t is true a few other regulars had
been powerfully shaken by the great
mass meetings over the state, and
were almost persuaded or rather driv-
en-.
when the regulars gave up their
fight and began to look with eager
eyes upon the band wagon they de-
cided to take up the hated bills, adopt
them as their own and swear that
they had always been for them. THEY
made advances to the independents,
and here came the best joke of the
session. The independents and re-
publicans held caucus and unani
instructed the independents
to assist the regulars into the bane
wagon, let them introduce the bills
and foot the horns.
And now, although the law en-
forcement bills that passed are in ev-
cry substantial particular the same
they fought for ten months ago. all
Of a sudden the bills have become
regular" democratic bills.
This reminds me of story ! once
heard of an Irish saloon keeper who
lived upstairs over his saloon. One
early before the proprietor
vent down the bartender yelled up