Dresden enterprise and Sharon tribune. (Dresden, Tenn.) 1907-1997, 1915-09-23

y 1T was my conviction, DELHI
= erately reached, that steps
Z ought to be taken to eliminate
Il q the growth of every pound Of
4 cotton in the United States in
2 1916"
q On yes; In his speech Senator Lea claim
y that he is the friend Of the farmer. Bn
i what is your record on the subject of III,
= farmer? In 1914, when the farmer needed
& YOU, Senator, where We're you? Were vol
]. for him, or We're you against him? Were
you in favor of the government aiding ths
. farmer by tlding him over, or were Won
: against him At that time Won want4d ~
take away from him the right to raise those
!. crops out Of which he made, by the sweat If
i his brow his daily bread and enough to buy
his meat ~ Wy
This is taken from the Conoress;ono, poo
: ord, pages 1890 to 1898 inclusive. He de-
cried the Hoke Smith amendment and fbo
Henry amendment, and declared these ntaae-
ures for the relief of tn cotton farmers yyara
impractical and taught with many dangers
! to the cotton growers. After saving ali he
! could against this plan, which is the plan now
being considered by the British Governnoent
he then said he had plan of his, own anJ
that plan was as follows; that Congress- an an
proprlate million dollars to pay all the ex-
4 penses of cotton convention in WASHINGTON
over which the President of the United States
! was to preside, and that convention. COM
posed OF one delegate from each county in
( the south that raised more than one thous-
and bales of cotton; that State .hanlrors
should elect ten delegates from each State.
that the Governors and Commissioners Of
Agriculture should be delegates; and that the
commercial bodies, consisting of cotton ey
changes, merchants exchanges, business
mems clubs, bucket shops and other organi-
za'lons' snoui a. send as many delegates as
they cHose The requirements of his pro-
posed amendment were that this convention
eScomposed as | have stately should mass
resolution declaring that no cotton should be
grown in the South in 1915, and then these
delegates were required by Senator Lea to 90
back home and call extra sessions Of their
legislatures and have these legislatures mass
laws prohibiting the raising of any cotton.
ms was Senator LEAFS statesmanlike method
OF dealing with the cotton situation in the
South.
Now the condition of the cotton market this
fall will be almost identical with what Il was
last fall. No doubt Senator Lea believes the
British Government is all wrong in wanting
to advance Southern cotton farmers money
IN order to steady the market He no doubt
still believes the government should not lend
any money to cotton growers to steady the
market or improve the price of cotton during
this period OF world war. If he has ever
changed his opinion about the matter he has
not said so. Ii he was for outlawing cotton pro
duction last year, no doubt he is still for out
laW1ng cotton production. Is that what the
cotton farmers want? Is that what the to-
bacco farmers want? Do the growers Of
these two. great products in Tennessee desire
to eliminate all tobacco and cotton crops
next year? If so, it is their duty to vote
for Senator Lea But if they do not want
to eliminate the production of cotton and to-
bacco next year, it is their duty to. vote
against Senator Lea. In my own judgment
such plan is ridiculously absurd, and do
not see how any cotton grower and dealer
and merchant, or any tobacco grower and
dealer and merchant, or anyone else interest
ed in these great crops in our State can vote
for the upholder of any such plan.
Inns is Senator LEAFS record. Can you vote
for him on it, or not?
In his speech, Senator Lea says: "If it
This record) meets with your disapproval
do not expect your votes, because my public
service in the past is an indication of my
course in the future"
With such record on labor; with such a
record about the farmers; with such record
OF lnetticlency; with such record of absen- :
teeism; with such record of inattention to
official duties, your reply to him can be but
one thing, meme, meme, takel upharsin."
Senator Lea tells you himself if that record {
meets your disapproval he does not expect 9
your votes, because his course in the future
will be what it has been in the past. / sup :
pose he also means that his political future
can only be judged by his past political ca {
reer. 1t there is any doubt in the minds of :
any OF you. as to what Senator Lea will do 9
politically, suggest that you ask ex-Gov- t
ernor M. r. Patterson Senator LEAFS former I
friend; ask Ex-Governor B. W. Hooper, Sem {
ator LEAFS former friend; ask Ex-Governor S
McMlllln, Senator LEAFS former friend; ask 9
Ex-Governor James B. Frazier, Senator LEAFS G
former friend; or ask B. A. Enloe, or Thomas n
+. Preston, or T. W. Sims ,or E. B. Stahlman, I
Or any other former political friend and as {
sociate of Senator Lea a
Governor PattersOns Political Record.
now turn to the political record of Gov
ernor Patterson, for six years Member of
Congress-, for four years Governor of Ten P
nessee He has been an Office holder for the 81
greater part of his life. His political life !,
has been stormy. 1t is known to you all. e
need not discuss it, except to say that he has 81
already received much at the hands of Ten ;.
1essee democracy. He has been a democrat a
all the time, but he has never been a party Of
worker. In so far as l know or believe, his ',
interest in politics has always been for him G
self. have never known him to take part s.
n any campaign for anyone else He was +
Attorney General of Shelby County from "
1894 to 1900. He was Congressman from 81
1900 to 1905 He was Governor from 1907 y
until 1911, In 1910 he was nominated by +
The democratic party as a candidate for Gov Il
ernor. He voluntarily gave up this nomina- g
ion, knowing that he could not be elected to y
hat office. He had been the leader of his II
party during the time he was Governor, and g
The result of his leadership was that the ef
party was unable to succeed in 1910 and the ~
State was lost to the republicans In 1912 G.
he democratic party again honored him with N
he nomination as it's candidate for the Unit e
I'd State Senate, and yet he gave that up and r
vas not candidate for that office. What as
'urance have you, if you give Governor Pat hs
erson this nomination, that he will not re- x
urn it to you after he receives it, or change pi
lis mind as he did on two former occasions, m