The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1918-06-21
JUDGE A. 4. ROBERTS ISSUES
CARD TO TENN. DEMOCRATS
Points Out Supreme Duty Of Every
True American at This Time.

candidacy for the Democratic nomi-
nation for Governor of Tennessee,
and at that time stated in detail
my position upon which l conceived
to be the public question of i'm
portance with the solution of which
it would be the imperative duty of
the next Legislature to deal.
l then said: 1T is manifest that
it will be the first duty of the next
State administration to take some
action relative to the levying of
taxes and the curtailment of the ex-
penses of the State government that
will promptly and permanently put
an end to the recurring and rapidly
accumulating deficit IN the State
treasury. This deficit must be wiped
out and a remedy provided against
it's recurrence, IL the States credit
is to be maintained. A careful study
and investigation of this subject has
convinced me that this result may
be obtained without an increase of
the burden of taxation on the prop
erty owners of the State" / did not
at that time consider 1t of great i'm
portance to discover that Tennessee
is under financial embarrassment,
because this, fact is known to all who
read. 1t was my Wow that it is no
service to the people to fix the re-
Cponsibility for this condition or to
set forth the figures which may rep
resent the deficit in the public treas
ury, but the matter of vital impor-
lance was and still is to discover the
remedy for condition as to the ex-
istence of which all agree.
This / did in my announcement,
and so far l believe l am the only
candidate for Governor who has Of
fered an immediate and specific
remedy. The details of my proposals
are easily understood from a perusal
of my announcement. The discus
sion there devoted to the States fl
,nancial needs is quite lengthy, and
cannot be reproduced in this brief
statement. 1t is needless for me to
say now that tho opinions and poll
cies then stated and advocated are
still my matured views upon the
needs of Tennessee to-day.
1t was inevitable, though, that
should be misrepresented and my
statements distorted until their
meaning and purpose could no long
er be recognized. Political cam
paigns seem never to be free from
conscious and studied falschood, and
l realize that 1t was too much for me
to hope that my humble effort TO
serve Tennessee at this time could be
an exception. Wiser and better men
than l have commended with such
methods in the past, but I am happy
to believe that the people have been
rarely deceived and have an uner-
ring way of arriving at the truth.
In the announcement of my can
didacy l made it clear that nothing
would be done by me as a candidate,
or should be done by any citizen,
that could in the slightest degree
distract the people of this State from
their supreme duty to the nation at
this hour. claim no credit for such
a sentiment. 1t was and is an OBJ
vious duty. 1t is solemn thing for
the President of this republic of
more than one hundred million peo-
ple-who have heretofore so lightly
felt the restraints and burdens of
their governmental say that the
very existence of free institutions is
the issue of the mighty conflict now
being wagcd on the other side of the
Atlantic. But he has said SO; he
has, moreover, said that it is the
self-imposed task of America to feed
her allies in France. In this ire
mcndous undertaking every Tonnes
sean has an active part. Despite the
terrible ordealc of last winter, the
prospects, for the harvest among all
our people are the brightest in our
long life as nation. The great diff
ficulty is the shortage Of labor and
the inadequate means that the farm
er has available for saving the crops
with which Providence has SO boun-
teously blessed him.
/ believe that efforts to renew DO
litical hatredc SO hurtful to our de-
velopment in the recent past, and to
bring forward acrimonious debates in
public speakings at this time, must
necessarily Interfere with labors
which our President has constantly
been urging our people not to neg
lect. I have. therefore, decided that,
for the present, it is my duty to fore
go my inclination to undertake a
speaking campaign thruout the State
until time when it cannot possibly
Interfere with the duties of labors
of the farming n0nu1afion of Tannao