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Mercer Tells For What He Stanas
Candid ate for Congress Mnkes Known
Platfarm o Voters of Thirau Listric
WILL OF THE PEOPLE SUPREME.
Tariff Should Not Protect the Ciass s Woulc
Drain Swamps and ‘Aid In Road suilding,
Erect Postofiice Buildings Automaiical
/ ly. One Cent Letter Postio ge.
: Regulate Corporations.
To the Voters of the Tuird Dis
trict: ; 7
Yam 8 plain farmer, but I see
no reason why I wm not justitied
in ssking wy fellow citizens of
the ?fl’ifl! District to give me their
support tp, represent them in the
Sixty-Third Congress. . I have an-.
nounced for that office, and in or
der that tlie people may know my
views on public matters [ submit
them the following summary «f
my political beliefs: |
In the first place 1 stand for
and advocate every principle se!
out in the platform of the Derm
eratic party. The supremacy of
the people is the catef corner stors
of our government, and that ~u
premacy showld be muinaioed
any cost. Hence, anything tha
savors of class legisistion is en
tirely foreign to my ideas of rizht. l
The will of the people must cor
tol. In oider that it mav do su:
itis the ! daty of those men whoin |
i people ' elect as ‘thelr repre ;
sentatives to see to it that all px;‘
spressiong of the "people’s wiii nre
enscved into wisely c(mstructed'
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1 will ad®ocat™ and”Vora Tl
reasonable wmegsires that look ’boo!
.the improvemen’ wni. consoev: -
\ %,.ti?n‘ o!th,e_uuhrrul receurees of the |
s untry.ns forosts, soils and th'.er-;
‘ways. lopari:ular, I belicven
such legislatio : as s.cures the eor -
tinued pubdic ownership of public|
Janas contuining pliosphates, me.‘.!
miperals and conl. The interosts,
of the pecple should be carefully |
cousidered in this chnnectibn,‘i
especially wher the lands in ques l
tion vield mineral supplits, such|
as are used 1n the meanufacture of
. ecommercial {crtilizers and other
commodities yialding a profit, ‘
I believe in tariff for revenue;
that is, in sucn taxes or tariffs as |
are necessary to maintain a correct.;
administraticn of the governmear, |
I am opposcd to deriving revenue}
from the nccessities of life, und I
think that there should be su‘c‘h!
' yegulation of the rates and the
. swurces of revenue as will protect
the masses of the ,people ant not.
_gmrich certain classes at the com
¥ favor the Federal copstitution
- providing for the levy of the 1n
- come tax, and believe that this tax
should be collectible on all incomes
of $5,000 and over, The ‘‘un-earn
ed increment,” as it exists in the
ase of plutocrats and non-pro-
ducers, should be qiade 1 bewr it
,shure of the - reral varrder
AID FOR PUBLIC HIGHWAYS,
1 am strongly iu Ifavor of the
govern:vent vivin - s interest d
,attentlon and its actual aid to pub
lic highways uand to the reclamn
tion of swamp lands, If 1t should
become necessary to 1o so 1 should
favor the fluating of governem
bonds st 2 per cent for thus pur
lp()&?, T' ¢ Improvenen of our
“.:üblic highways is to gy u.i_g_r',
the key to the econouiic salvation
of the rueal districts, :
- The-e sections wodt: he « pen o
ap, they would become so aitrac
tive to those imterested in agrienl-
Lure and so uch more comforta
ble aud pictituble to th - tariwing
classes that there wouid of necessi
v foilow in the wuke of road in
proveroent the solution of the pro
blem of the dwindling farm popu
ition. We should encourdge otir.
yoiing men to form pnfnm:stnpsl
with nature’ by Hicoming taimers, |
The quickést and joost protitable
wiy 10 do it is tor gav - the people
thie best ronds that cun he pmviqvi
ed. : h b e
FOit (BETTER AGRICULTURAL ‘CON- ‘
¢ DITIONS 5]
Lo this cor noction L ov suld call]
ationtion . the inct thw ter Lems,
fo lowing the census of 1900 the,
population- ot the Uuited States |
increased 21 per cent, but tle
uumber of furms did not. heep
pace with this muensure i popul. -
tion, M:asured by the humber‘
of farms, arriculture exhibite, a
dimipished rate « f incre:s», and in
large areas of 6 ¢ country we
practically statiovary, Yet, not
withstanding this fact, there lns
been an iucrease of 117.4 per cent
i) the value ot all* land in farms.
T'he average value of farm land
Pt ece tuereased, uuring the um%
years’ pertoa indicatd, 103.7 cent. |
fu this connection 1t is iutcmoliug’
0 note that there has veen a wuch
more rapid increase tn €iban mhani
Eiu rural pepulation. The popu
lation classed by tin Uensu si
lßurvau as urban copstituted 46 3
per cent ‘of the total in 1216 as
compared with 40.5 in 1900, Inl
view of these facts I believe itis
the bouunded duty of the guvern
ment to study the causes of this
dectease and so to legislate as to
stem the tide that is flowing city
ward: The history of the world
teaches us that the agricultural
classes are the backbone of the
producing power of all pations,
and that when tillers of the soil
have ceased their labors as in time
IHF LFADZAR-INTERPEISE, FKIDAY, MAY 24, 1912
fof war< and disaster, there have
tw-en ~ulfernye and rconomic eramp
in ey ery deparument of the nation
'u lite I beieve that we should
devate sp «u ] thought and ~tudy
to L berterment of eonditions
for the agricultural classes, and
that we should enact legisiatior
that will not only be beneficial but
stimulating in its effects.
' Tam in favor of laws tbat will
prohibit ghishing in farm pro
ducts, an evil that is unquestion
ably responsible for the depression
of prices and consequent injustice
to the farmer. I am, as before
statea, ~trongly on the side of
pood roads, believing that they
are übsolotely essential to the
veneral improvement of rural con-.
ditions, \
POSTOFFICE BUILDINGS FOR TOWNS. |
1 . 1 favor such legislation as would
sotomatically provide postofiice
buildings for all towns, based on
their gross receipts from one thou
’sand to thirty thousand dollars, It
Ishonkd not be mnecessary for a
fspecia} bill to be introduced for
i éach towis when a postofiice build~
}inu is needed, A general bill,
’ sueh us § favor, would automatical
' v nuthorize a building to cost the
léymuum justilied by the gruss re
eeipts ot the office at that:point.
!'fiw demand for Jaborand materi |
‘thes ereated would; give rise to a
very desirable industrial activity.
In case of pecessity’the govern
ment could float bonds at 2:per
l':{:em. At present, in many instan
[ wes, it is puying ten’per cent rental
for buildings used.as postoffices.
Another desiraole 'feature of this
pian which T advoeite 1s the sav
ang-of the. te Go‘ggfess’. “ Under
Ij?he present system, each. bill must
f'i'e passed on separately and With
‘considerable loss of costly time.
ONB-CENT LETTER POSTAGE.
1 fayor apd increased. rate of |
po-tage enadvertising, periodicals,
pawphlets, eatalogs &c,, which|
¢luss of matter the government is
now carrying at a loss, Through
such an increase I believe that a
one-cent letter postage would soon.
justify itself. Based on the re
ductions 1n the past- which have
brought us down to . the two-cent
rite, I am of the opinion that|
with an inercase in the department
veterred to & one-cent rate would
soun be self-sustiging. |
1 he rovul mail seryice is one of |
the greatest and most profitable{
lvestmenss ever .made by the
government, I favor allsuch legis- |
lation as has for its object the|
<trengthening of this arm of our
postal department. I helieve that
vhe highest efliciency should be
the ntm: and that; as a means to
obtam it, increased conipensation
for the carriers, together with the
improvement of public highways
wiil be the most effectual, - |
1 am 1n favor of a genergl par
cels post, but with this resnfiction’;
that it be operated by a well d -
fined zone system. Its object
should be to. hold the local mer:
thant ahd farmer. I would oppose
a measure that would give unique
advantage to the. big-merchant at
n distance 'and to the far-away
‘mail order houses.
REGULATE CORPORAUIONS.
I fivcr government regulatiou
of corporations. No thinking
citizen can say that corpqrationg
'when operated according to law
‘are an evil. They are necessary to
i the economic and industrial growth
'of the country, Properly main-
tained and legally conducted they
are beneficial agency rather than
otherwise. But the tendeney of so
many of these heavily capitalized!
iconcems bas been to operate sglely |
' for their own ends, and in their
'own interests, rather than with
! due regard for the public good and
| for the laws of the land, that the
lintervent.ion of the government
| has been necessary in many cases,
iI believe that the government,
'having taken the very wise step of
iest.ablishing a court of commerece,
i:should see to it that there is a rigid
| enforcement of the laws. .
i I am opposed to the dominance
'of our legislative bodies by the “spe
'cal interests.” When we consider
ithat in a majority of cases these
" special interests are engaged in the
utilization of public or natural re
sources for private gain, that they
are suppressors of fair competition,
that they pay unfairly small wages
to the workers who are in truth the
producers of their wealth while
they themselves are piling up ener
mous and swollen fortunes, we
realize that the menace from the
“special interests” is great. Thad
they should ‘maintain lobbies and
seek to control the law-making bod
ies of the country is a peril that
should be handled with severity
and dispatch. |
DANGERS OF INTEMPERANCE
I am in favor of all laws that tend
to suppress and restrict imemper-l
ance in the use of alecoholic liquors
deleterious narcotics. Just how tol
' handle the problem so as to secure
the desired results is a matter for
' the serious consideration of all good
citizens. lam well aware that in
'many cases a strict. legal prohibi
tion of the sale of spirituous liquors
has the effect of adding to the evils
‘which it was designed to remove.
Whatever will teach the dangers of
intemperance and whatever will
impress upon communities the im
mence importance of regulating the
traffic and holding it in stern eheck
ought to be made apart of our code.
1 am in favor of baving the truth
concerning the dangers of aleohol- |
ism and otner intemperance im .|
pressed upon the youth of our land,
and 1 believe that oug schools should |
teach as far as pessible what these
dangers are and what they mean
to the future of the race. I favor
the legislation already enacted look
ing to the safeguarding of the ship
ment of liquors from .other;:states
thito prohibition communities.
. OPPOSES “LOOPHPLES LAWS..-. . -
- I strenuously oppose laws that are
framed with “jokers™ or loopholes
for the purpose of defeating or off
setting the very result which the
law' itself “or “the.spirit of the-law;
was designed tosecure: - Child laber
is an. example of what I mean. Ex
empted from the provisions of this
law are childrer who have no pa
rents or disabled parents. Such
children are the very omes who
should be provided with an educa
tion in ovder that they may be en
abled to maintaim themselves and
become useful citizens. The gov
ernment is able to provide an edu-’
cation for this ¢lass and should see
that it is done. Aneother example
of the “leophole™ Faw is the framing
of a law against unlawful business
deals and then leaving to some court
the interpretation of snch terms as
“unreasonable restraint of trade.”
I favor a strong Department of
Laber, to be maintained separately
from the department of Commerce.
[ believe that the man who fills the
cabinet office of Seeretary of Labor
should come from the ranks of the
loboring people. The emphasis that
such. an appointment would lay up
on democratic freedom from “class”
would, I believe, go far toward
strengthening the bonds between
the government and labor. It would
'not-only be a merited recognition of
;r:this great element of our national
‘population;.but a ‘sure’method "of
securing a desirable and friendly
‘co-operation.
. SIX-YEAR TERM FOR PRESIDENT =
I favor an amrendment to the Con
stitution fixing the term of the Pres
ident at six years and make him in
eligible to re-election for the succeed
ing term. The criminations and re
criminations indulged by the candi
dates and their advocates in the
present race by both the dreat par
ties I regard as regretable by all
good men. This amendment will
serve to preclude the probability of
such a spectacle in future contests
for the highest office of the greatest
government on earth. ‘
The foregoing are the main. fea
tures of the platforin on which I ask
your support. I believe these to be
the tenets of the true political faith
and for them, if elected, Ishall stand
firmly. If you honor me with elec
tion I promise no great or sweeping
revolution, no visienary reforms. 1
can and do pledge toyou, however,
a fair, honest and conscientious
discharge of every duty connected
with the high effice of representa
tive in congress. I believe in the
application of conservative and sen
sible business methods to the duties
’of the office. It is a great honor @
lrepresent such a constituency anad?
if you should bestow it upon me 3
lahall esteem it as a sacred trust, and
!employ my very best eundeavor to
Iserve you acceptably and in such a!
'manner as to merit your fullest ap
{ probation. !
j S NOT A POLITICIAN :
As to the methods I am using in
my race may I say this word: I am
pot following the tactics of thei
average politician. I am a plain|
man and am content to run my,
race in a plain way. Because of bad;
roads, press of work and bad weath-i
er, I have thus far traveled the dis
trict but little. ‘
[ I »m pot sending out circular
letters in the hope of making the
people think 1 am writing to them l
personally. I do not like the idea.
I¢ strikes me as rather bad tastei
to thus address a man whom I havei
never met and whose hame is known
to me only through a list paid for
at so much per name. i
As to stump speeches, I think the
people are weary of them. I shall
not isflict upon the district a series
of oratorical fireworks and long:
talks. Iwant to reach them with
‘the least possible motion, thus sav
ing their time and mine. :
T am net in favor of hiring mana
gders'to ¢oaduct my campaign for
‘me, paying them either in. money or
in promises of appointment to office
after election. The only statement
T have made in regard to appoint- |
‘ments is this: That 1 will appoint,
if elected; my secretary from the
county in the district that gives'mé
the largest majority. of votes, by per
‘centage, regardless as to whether it
is my own county. (Terrell) or not.
" ¥ AN OLD-FASHIONED DEMOCRAT
. I shall not form “clubs”, as I do
not believe in this threadbare old
trick of getting unsuspecting voters
to commit themselves before . the
iele'ctio_n. I am old-fashinded enough
to believe that every voter shouldl
wait until the day of election and
then express his own convictions at|
the ballot box, regardless of heelers; |
fixers and so-called leaders. i
- I have told you simply and I
trust comprehensively, what 1 be-
Keve and how T hope tO secure your
votes. [ ask your careful attentioni
to every word of the foregoing and
feel assured that if you will con-|
sider all the facts I shall be perfect-l
o A HAPPY
§=) HOME
Joy \Gom AOF ALL
AND S&EEmA R S T—— S
SICKNESS W\ 4
DON'T CHUM N &
TO BEHAPPY KEEPWELL = ) 2~ "S 5
DR. KING’S &™\
NEW DISCOVERY '‘BROUGHT
o TOCURE ... .. JOY
COUGHS AND COLDS \ o /
WI'IOOPING COUGH Millions :
AND OTHER DISEASES OF
THROAT ANng”gNGS :;!eo'soe and $l.OO
' DENMARK DRUG COMPANY |
T. M. Hopper
Old Harness Made Good as New, both in
Looks and Durability.
See me : fSétisf—&ctio-JTG;;;-ante;fi——
- o =OB Jo--Pane- Street:
CITY PRESSING CLUB
211 SOUTH GRANT STREET
Proxe 367. :
Clothes called for and delivered, .
= W
Keefer's Barber Shops
UNION BARBERS
BATHS
FITZGERALD = = MANCHESTIR
__________—-——_——__._"——"____—-—_--——-'-__.___-
$160,900 to Loan
OMN BEN HILL FARMS
And on Fitzgerald €i. l’roporty’
Loans Negotiate ! 'vomptly ¢
. Terms the Best; Interest
the: Lowest.
Come and See Me.
Garbutt-Donovan Building
Room No. 311, Fitzderald, Ga.
Representing ;
ELLIS & ELLIS, Tifton, Georgia
DR. J. H. POWELL
Specialist.
Eye, Ear, Nose i Fhroat.
3§
315 Century Building
ATLANTA. GE@RGIA
5 Room House For Rent—All
_conveiniences. nearschool, Park
‘and: bathing pavilion. Appiy to
Mtzgerald Tailoving €o., South
Grrant st, “‘" L 564 t, 3
FOR' RENT—Three unfurnished
-rooms: with: al¥ conveniences and
close in. Apply Phone 465. 37-tf
bik SRR R L
ly safe-in your hands when election
day comes.
If you enderse my platform and
my metheds give them the seal of
vous approval by casting your vote
for me on the day of the primary.
Very truly yours, '
o JOHN R. MERCER.
i
p' :“I‘:’ )
'_7::\\l:::'s f 2 13 ‘_é
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