The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1922-07-14
For State Senator.
The Political Campaign.

The Political Campaign.
Hon. Austin Peay, of Clarksville
Democratic candidate for Governor O.
Tennessee, was in Union City las
Friday to address the citizens OF obi
on County. He spoke at the court
house to a considerable number Of
Democrats who gave the speaker
fine reception Mr.. Peay seems to be
a man of parts. He took occasion tc
saw that he had made a study of gov
eminent and that it was his ambi-
ton, not to be an executive for social
purposes, but to serve the people OF
his State. This paper has no email
lenge to make against Mr.. Peay's abll-
ity, his integrity and his motives, but
we are rather old-fashioned about the
question of government, preterrlng
the lines of simplicity and economy
to those of the promotion schemes
which are very hard to distinguish
from the tenets of socialism. For in
stance, Mr.. Peay undertakes to de-
fend the State normal and university
schools of Tennessee. He refers to
the criticism of these schools as dem
agogy, and he proceeds to laud the
undertaking of vocational training
by the State at the expense OF the
taxpayer. The fact is that the whole
public school system is species OF
socialism, but in the defense of the
common schools we are willing to
concede that they are a sort of BEN
evolent socialism. They do not seem
to attract the politician as do the
big State schools, and so long as that
rule obtains the socialistic feature OF
these schools is not Objectionable.
To say that the normals and the uni
yersity are not in the hands of a po-
litical lobby is to make a statement
that covers a multitude of sins. For
instance, when the university was at
the last session given an increase in
revenues it was not done with an I'M
derstanding on the part Of the tax
payers. But it seems that the lobby
was present at the expiring hours OF
the Legislature and Unanswered to
get an exemption from the sliding
scale, thereby increasing the rate
from two to five cents on the one
hundred dollars and thus getting
from the taxpayers a fund of $685.
500 annually. The issue has never
been carried to the people to make
increases for these schools, but it is
done secretly by shrewd politicians
That school therefore costs the peo-
pie of Tennessee nearly a million dol
lars a year. There is a bond issue
of ane million dollars, and the inter
est and sinking fund on these bonds
exceeds one hundred Thousand dol
lars a year. These figures are taken
from the records of the State Tax
Department.
Mr.. Peay not only defends this
expenditure, but he recommends the
expenditure made to the State uni
versity of Louisiana of some six mil
lions a year. Obion County paid the
University of Tennessee this year
$4,000. If we had the Louisiana
system the university would cost the
taxpayers of 0bion County 100000.
Now, ladies and gentlemen; this
vocational training of the State uni
versity and normal schools is not
democracy but pure and unadulter-
ated socialism. The taxpayers of the
State do not owe the young men and
women a living; neither are they
morally responsible to prepare the
young people of the State to make
living. They do owe it to the chill
dren and to civilization to eliminate
ignorance. They are therefore neg
Letting a solemn duty in the main
tenance of common schools to make
farmers and mechanics in the State
colleges of Tennessee. The State uni
versity and the normal schools OF the
-tate cost the taxpayers nearly a mil