Putnam County herald. (Cookeville, Tenn.) 1903-1922, 1920-04-15
HOW t. p. / WAS CREATED

cratic party with a unanimous nOml
nation for representative from Put
nam county, was elected and servet
as a member of the Fifty-ninth Gene
raj Assembly.
Soon after being nominated | con
ceived the idea that this section
needed a state normal school, talk
ed the matter over with certain citi
zens of Cookeville, and when max
ing the campaign for election told
the people who heard me in nearly
every speech that I would undertake
to create another normal and locate
1T in Cookeville.
: When the House organized l was
honored by Speaker w. p Cooper
who named me as chairman of the
committee on enrolled bills (the e-only
committee assignment that carried
extra Compensation and member OF
the committees on rules, education,
labor, railroads, and public printing
all important committees.
During January l attended to my
official duties as best l could and
made a number of friendships that
will endure to the end of our days.
/ took especial care to treat every
member with consideration and rem
dered each such assistance as could
as chairman of the committee on en-
rolled bills, and found later that for
q verify bread cast upon the waters
returns to him who cast it,
On January 20 the legislature re-
cessed until March 1. I came home,
saw the business men of Cookeville
and told them believed / could se-
cure the passage of a bill creating
the fourth state normal school and
locating it in our city, and that II
they would get behind the plan /
would attempt to put it over. They
promptly agreed to support me and
when the legislature re-assembled on
March we began to discuss the
matter with state school officials and
members of the general assembly.
Col Jere Whitson, Hon. o. e. Hol-
laday, Col. r. l.. Farley and ]. N.
Cox came to Nashville and work was
begun in earnest. At first the normal
school officials were strongly oppos-
ed, but gradually eased off and final
ly proposed that a technical school
be created instead of another normal.
To this we heartily agreed.
State Supt. s. H. Thompson offer
ed to prepare a bill and Col. Whitson
went to swork upon another draft of
the measure. When both bills were
ready Col. Whitson worked out
new draft from the two, which was
submitted to Mr. Holiday for his le-
gal opinion and pronounced sound
by him. This completed the prelimi-
nary work and the matter was ready
to be transferred to the floors of the
Senate and House.
On March 9, 1915, during the after
noon session Senate Bill No. 5S6, the
+. P. I. Bill, was introduced in the
Senate by Senators Ewell, Gore and
others, and passed first reading
Senate Journal, page 357 (Senator
Ewell was chairman of the senate
committee on education.)
On March 10, in the morning ses-
sion, House Bill No. 757 (the same
as s. B. $3.50 was introduced in the
House by myself and others, and
passed first reading House Journal,
Page 431.
On March IL the bill passed the
Senate on second reading and was
referred to the committee on educa-
ti0n.--S. J. p. 401.
On March IL the bill passed the
House on second reading and was
referred to the committee on educa-
tiOn.-H. ]. p. Ats.
Each committee on education held
4 public hearing on the bill and the
committees jointly held one public
AT all of these hearings
The bill was discussed by its friends
and opponents, members of the leg
stature and others.
4 On March "a the Senate commit
Zee 0 neducation recommended the
bill for passages. J. p. 675.
On the same day the bill was put
ipon third reading and passed by
vote of rs to Us. J. pgs. 579, $50.
Those voting aye were: Abernathy,
Ashcroft, Berry, Church, Cummings,
Ewell, Freddie, Gardner, Gore, Hit,
daskins, Ingram, Jarvis, Johnson,
lyle, Mccall, Murray, Pardue, Par.
lam. Parks, Todd, Turner, White,
Wilson, Speaker Hill.
Voting no: Cartwell, Clement,
)owlen, Elkins, HOFFMAN, Stvens,
Norley.
On March rs the bill was reported
'ngrossed and ready for transmits