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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