The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1922-04-14
State Politics.

State Politics.
General Harvey Hannah, candi
date for Governor on the Democratic
ticket, has issued his pronunciamen'
to. He is following the lines desig.
mated as an expression from the tax.
payers of the State. In a general
way they include readjustment OF
taxes, creation of budget, wedding
out of unnecessary State departments
and officials, reorganization of the
public school system and dispensing
the school lobby. General Hannah is
specific in one item and that is a re-
duction i'll the University of Tennes-
sec tax to half of the present rate,
He mentions also that the eight per
cent interest law should be repealed.
His platform is a popular one if there
is anything significant in the gen
eral protests that have come from the
rank and file of the people of the
State. No one knows yet what Mr.,
McMillin will have to say, but every
one knows that his record as Gov
ernor of Tennessee is about the best
or equal to the best the State has
ever had. The trouble that arises
now is the chances of disaffection
among Democrats. Peay and Han
nah have both declared for fiscal,
expenses, practically along the same
lines. McMillin is no doubt COM
mitted to the same policies. But
if there is a bitter fight among the
Democratic candidates it may be car
ried over into the general election,
and in that case we are likely to have
Mr.. Taylor again and Legislature
made up Of grafterS and pie hunters.
The thing for Democrats to do is to
go to the primary election voting for
whom they regard as the ablest and
best man and then lay down their
differences and vote for the party
nominee.
This is not, positively not, mat
ter which concerns party success
above everything else, but involves
matters of vital interest to every
taxpayer in the State. If the Rob
erts administration was failure the
Taylor administration has been ten
times worse. Maybe Taylor wasn't
wholly to blame, but as far as the
people are concerned the fact re-
mains just the same.
We can see Clabo and men of his
ilk laughing in their sleeves if Tay-
lor is reelected. we say this be-
cause, if the fight between the Dem
ocratic candidates for Governor di-
verts the attention of the voters
from the Legislative race, there is
likely to be a repetition of the same
conditions that existed before in the
General Assembly.
Instead of allowing the campaign
for Governor to overshadow every
thing else, it is a matter of the ut
most Importance to elect a legisla-
tive ticket that will redeem the State
from the corrupt and disgraceful
methods and practices that prevailed
in the last Legislature.
This is not small fight by any
means. There are more than selfish
in this work. The or
which controlled the last
and which has been in
the saddle for some time would ruin
the average taxpayer and citizen of
the State to enrich certain sections
and interests of the State at the ex-
pense of the taxpayer. There are
some newspapers which understand
this, but they either Intentionally or
under pressure ignore the fact.
The nation as well as the State
is running too much to government.
If we grant honest motives to those
who are promoting public establish
ments and extensions of all kinds,
many of these things are neither
practical nor consistent with repub-
ican order and system and therefore
,annOt endure. But if we add to the
Uses of these things the advancement