Newspaper Page Text
GOVERNOR HOOPER ISSUES TRUMPET CALL
SO room among the conquering reform
forces of Tennessee for the bugler and
the drum corps that cannot sound a
“charge.” Gov. Ben W. Hooper, the
plucky, fearless leader of the Temperance Re
publicans and Independent Democrats, who
has practiced the inspiring doctrine of “final
perseverance” in forcing the law enforcement
bills through three sessions of the Legislature
over the combined efforts of the liquor crowd,
has given out a comprehensive—and he couples
with this convincing review a clarion call to
the partial victors to close ranks and fight
upward until they stand in complete triumph
on the top of Capitol Hill. •
America’s Eyes on Tennessee.
Because liquorized lawlessness has been at
the bottom of Tennessee’s political turmoil for
several years, the eyes of America are on the
“Volunteer State,’ ’even as every liquor sym
pathizer in America is seeking the scalp of
Richmond P. Hobson of Alabama. The center
of the stage is pretty well divided between
Alabama and Tennessee, and we are passing
on to the student of good government wherever
The Golden Age is read in America or across
the seas the ammunition of Christian states
manship as furnished by Gov .Hoopers power’
ful proclamation. Here is the heart of the mat
ter :
Record of Fusion in Tennessee.
“The fusion movement has contributed one
of the most notable chapters to the history of
American politics. It has no parallel in any
other state in uniqueness of character, persis
tence of purpose and wealth of achievement.
It has wrought moredeeply than does the tem
porary wave of reform which occasionally agi
tates the surface of political stagnation. Its
results have been more permanent than those
which customarily follow the quick thunder
storms of popular indignation. It has had in
it the steady lift of the sun and the constant
pull of the force of gravity.
“Born of an honest purpose to better govern
mental conditons in Tennessee, it has refused
to follow r the devious meanderings of individ
ual ambition, and has declined to be swerved
by considerations of national politics or to be
controlled by the promised reward or the
threatened deprivation of federal patronage.
“What has been accomplished by the com
bination of independent democrats and repub
licans? Let me tersely recapitulate, lest we
forget.
“1. The enactment of a statewide law pro
hibiting the manufacture and sale of intoxicat
ing beverages.
“2. The removal of the government of this
state from under the corrupt and tyrannical
control of the liquor interests and their allied
vices.
“3. The enactment and administration of an
election law which has made it possible for a
Tennessee citizen to have his vote counted as
cast. Without this law our elections would be
a travesty on popular government and the
clean citizenship of Tennessee would be at the
mercy of political crooks.
f*
TENNESSEE’S PLUCKY EXECUTIVE SENDS OUT A PATRIOTIC WARNING TO REFORM FORCES TO STAND BY THEIR GUNS.
CONVINCING REVIEW OF WHAT “FUSION” HAS ACCOMPLISHED—LET THE BUGLER BLOW A “CHARGE.”
ZIyTHE GOLDEN AGE FOR WEEK OF DEC. 11, 1913
“4. Against the desperate onslaughts of
the liquor interests we have so far held this
election law upon the statute books, in spite
of treachery from within and corruption from
without.
“5. From our movement has proceeded the
earnest and unceasing agitation in favor of the
I
enforcement of the laws, which has resulted in
arousing criminal judges from their lethargy
and has placed on the statute books a part of
the law enforcement legislation for which we
have fought.
“6. This movement discontinued the dis
graceful abuse of executive clemency and the
odium of pardon brokerage.
“7. It elected ten appellate judges for a
term of eight years, in order that our courts
of last report might be untrammeled by private
or political interests.
“8. It has built up the public school sys
tem, greatly increased the appropriation for
education, promoted the cause of consolidated
schools, established compulsory education, re
formed the method examining teachers and
kept the educational department out of poli
tics.
“9. It has revolutionized the work of the ag
ricultural department and made it serve the
farmers rather than the politicians. It has in
itiated the work of the immigration bureau,
which, with the limited means available, has
been doing effective work for immigration.
“10. The prison of Tennessee has been hu
manized and modernized, and the parole sys
tem and indeterminate sentence law have been
adopted. More progress has been made in
this line in less than three years than in the
one hundred years preceding.
“11. The long talked of reformatory for
boys has been built, and is in operation.
“12. The health department has been re
juvenated and the important vital statistics
law at last enacted. The department of pure
foods and drugs has been greatly increased in
scope and efficency.
“13. The law establshing the banking de
partment and providing for the examinatiin of
state banks will go into effect January 1 for
the protection of bank depositors and stock
holders.
“14. The long needed auditing department
has been established and is paying for itself
over and again.
“15. The deposits of the state’s funds have
been placed on interest by legal requirement
and are now a source of $30,000 revenue per
annum to the state, instead of a private polit
ical asset.
“16. General laws have been enacted which
will hereafter greatly diminish the flood of lo
cal legislation.
“17. The movement for good roads has been
stimulated to an extraordinary degree and ben
eficial road legislation has been enacted.
“18. Without the aid of legislation, the back
assessment graft has been cut out, and the way
has been paved for needed legislation on taxa
tion.
“19. Independent democrats and republi-
cans have stood for economy in public expen
ditures and have strongly opposed extravagant
and excessive apporpriations.
“20. More just and humane laws have been
enacted for the benefit of labor than at any
other period in the history of the state. Among
these may be mentioned the following: (1)
Creating the department of workshop and fac
tory inspection; (2) Creating a workmen’s
compensation commission; (3) Limiting and
regulating the hours of labor for woman and
children; (4) Requiring fire escapes on work
shops and factories two stories or more in
height; (5) Requiring reporting of accidents to
the department of workshop and factory in
spection; (6) Requiring first aid supplies to be
kept at mines; (7) Providing for the mainte
nance of rescue crews at mines; (8) Amend
ing the child labor law so as to prohibit night
work; (9) Providing a semi-monthly pay day;
(lOi The purchase of the Baxter farm, 2,312
acres of land adjoining the main prison farm,
which will ultimately go far toward the set
tlement of the contract labor system in the pen
iteniary.
“No party in any state in this union has
traveled so far along the lines of progressive
government in such a short time and under
such difficulties.
Why Change the Policy?
“And yet, while the masses of the people are
satisfied with the past record, the present
status and the future hope of the fusion move
ment, it is evident that the effort made a year
ago to disorganize the independent democratic
vote is about to be repeated in 1914.
“Every well informed man knows that the
so-called ‘harmony’ movement of last year cost
the independent democrats enough members of
the legislature to lose us control of that body.
The men we lost by it in West Tennessee alone
would have given us a safe margin in both the
senate and house.
“ Why, then, should this disastrous mistake
be repeated? We will hear -two fallacious ar
guments used to justify it.
“It is said that the independent democrats
should abandon their organization in the in
terest of harmony or party unity.
“The gist of this plea is that the independ
ent democrats of Tennessee should harmonize
with the liquor gang on state issues in the in
terest of the national democracy. The weak
ness of this proposition lies in the fact that the
independent democratic movement in Tennessee
has had no bearing on national politcs. The
original strong, loyal friends of President Wil
son in this state, before and after his nomina
tion, were the independent democrats. Their
(Continued on page 8.)
Send $1.50 for 1 year’s
snbscription to THE GOL
DEN AGE and a “dandy”
pair of shears or brass-lined
pocket knife free.
5