The Nashville globe. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1906-193?, 1913-06-13

righteous. That Is what | want
every house and home to be under
our new charter. That's my plat
form in nutshell, and upon it beg
and shall deserve the support Of all
our people.
Rule of TriumvIrate.
Our city will hereafter be ruled by
five commissioners, one of whom, the
Mayor, is given control of the police
and health departments, subject only
to the vote of three members Of the
board of five. The charter gives any
three members of the board who
choose to vote together the power to
rule the city, collect and spend its
money, elect and dismiss its en-
ployes. Under this charter the way
is open for triumvirate to rule us,
like that which once ruled Rome. A
triumvirate of good men could make
an ideal city, but triumvirate of bad
men, like Octavius, Lepidus and An
tony, could quickly hurry us to de-
struction.
Our Mayor and police speak our
ideals to the world, bugling us a
Sodom or a Zion. So we may well
ask what commandments are laid on
them? On this point the new char
ter is a model of perfection. 1t puts
the Mayor in control of the police
and then, in section 35, it says: at
is hereby made the duty of the merto
politan police force that all times Of
the day and night and the members
thereof are accordingly hereby there
unto appointed to especially pre-
serve the public peace, prevent crime
detect and arrest offenders, suppress
riots, protect the rights of persons
and property, guard the public health
preserve order at elections, see thai
nuisances are removed, and restrain
disorderly houses, houses Of ill-fame
and gambling houses; to assist, ad
wise and protect strangers and trav
elers in the public Streets at steam
boat landings or at railroad stations;
to enforce every law of the state and
ordinance of the city relating to the
suppression and punishment of crime
or to the public health or to disorder
ly persons.
Here are the plain and positive
commandments to the Mayor and Il
the police. We have stringent state
and city laws against practically
every evil. The charter reaflirms
all these laws and commands the en-
forcement of them all. One and
only one path is marked out for the
Mayor and police to travel. 1t is
a highway of virtue. AS our next
Mayor shall keep the spirit and
letter of the new charter. No hon.
orable man would do otherwise, And
speak the standard of every known
code of morals when | say that no
man who wishes to preserve, segre-
gate or palliate single saloon,
brothel, gambling or sorderly house
anywhere in this city can honorably
be elected, nor honestly fill the office
of Mayor. For we have both city
ard state laws positively forbiddins
all these evils, and the Mayors chief
duty is to enforce these laws. Start
ling as it may seem to some, the
eeent Legislature through this new
charter, has reaffirmed all our anti
saloon, anti-brothel, anti-gambling
and anti-vice laws. There is 1Ow
no question Of segregation. The
charter requires not regulation nor
segregation Of evils, but their supres-
sion everywhere. And I am can
didate under the charter and not
above it; to obey it and not destroy
ii.
st. Patricks Policy in Our Charter.
This charter pursues ST. Patrick's
policy in driving all the snakes out
of Old Erin He didn't drive all the
snakes out of the countries into Dub
lin, and leave them the~e to breed
and bite the urban people, and then
creep back to bite the hills and val
levs. He pursued a statewide pol
lev in the state Of Ireland and drove
all the snakes out of the countries
cities; thereby setting the evamrle,
honorod in our new charter, o. utter
ly suppressing every evil wherever
fornd Fve~v evil is like those
snakes. If you don't decapitate evil,