The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1922-04-21
To Obion County Citizens:

Last week we had a suggestion
from Mr.. Burrus that the chairman
of the Democratic committee writ
the district members to select othe
men, three from each district, AM
let these all meet and write a plat
form for the guidance of the candi
dates for the Legislature. This is ;
very good suggestion, but the chair
man of the committee feels deli
cacy in undertaking % call another
meeting or to act in any capacity fol
such a purpose, the first meeting hav
ing failed to accomplish results.
The Commercial has been asked
by several citizens of the county tc
try and organize for the purpose OF
getting the voters and citizens to-
gether to discuss and take some &C
ton in regard to State legislation.
The suggestion was made that petit
tions for a mass meeting be circu-
lated and that call for such a meet
ing be made. An effort was made be-
fore to get all shades of politics rep
resented-to get a general express
sion of the people of the county. The
Commercial is not particular wheth-
er the meeting be non-partisan or
Democratic. The things that the peo-
pie of Tennessee are vitality interest
ed in affect both Democrats and Re-
pub1icans. So it seems to us that
the platitudes of Renewing our AL
legiance" and Pointing with Pride"
are meaningless terms employed by
politicians to obscure real issues.
They are generally used by side
show artists in the interest of the Of
fice-holding class.
What the people of the county
need to do is to get down to ceases"
to talk facts. Now there are num-
bers of people in the county interest
ed in State finances and taxation.
They can, if they will, get together,
organize and call mass meeting and
make known to the candidates for
Governor and the Legislature what
measures should be taken to relieve
the people of the State from onerous
burdens and political jugglery.
Now, if no better way is recon-
mended we suggest that people from
the various districts write us in time
for next weeks paper and indicate a
suitable time for mass meeting. Let
everyone interested write us, and
then by your authority we will ac-
cept the opinion of the majority and
call a mass meeting for that date and
place. Let these representatives of |
the various districts come prepared |
to say what they want. Let some
resolutions be written and offered for |
adoption by the meeting.
The Commercial would like to add |
to the suggestions to be made by 9TH
ers that should the first Monday in |
May be selected no doubt Judge Ell
kins, who is himself interested in
good government, would adjourn
court for an hour or so for this meet
ing and perhaps make a speech on
that occasion indicating the general
policy to be pursued by the meeting.
Everyone has the highest regard and
the utmost confidence in Judge Ell
kins's political judgment and integ-
rity and would like to hear from the
Judge on State issues.
The Commercial has been dis
for some time and would like
to see incorporated in the resolutions
to be adopted some such demands as
the following:
That taxation is the most impor-
,ant function of government and that
The most urgent demand is tax re-
iorm; that the system in Tennessee
las been revised without relief; that :
revision has been so incomplete that 1
instead of balancing the burdens of ]
axation, the burden upon the agri- {
cultural classes has been increased, {
while upon the corporations and f. {
lancial interests it has been reduced I
We therefore hereby declare and af- ]
irm that the system is a constitu- ]
ional deformity and should be en- {
rusted to the hands of honest men e
n the Legislature, who will make it t
heir solemn duty to see that taxa C
ion in Tennessee shall be made to v
ear equally and alike upon all o
lasses- specifically that corpora n
ions and moneyed interests shall pay c
heir just portion of the taxes. t,
That the institution in Tennessee r
nown as the baek-tax organization fl
70 forever abolished and that the P
ounty trustees of the State, or the F
ounties themselves, have entire ,ju- d