The commercial., December 03, 1915, Image 1

About The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?

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DR. . M. LONG
DENTIST
Over Wehman Hardware Store
Union City, Tenn.
Teleiphone
Office !44j. Residence 689-J'
DR. E. M. LONG
DENTIST
Over Weh man's Hardware Store
.. " Union City, Tenn. -,
. Telephonet-r- . .
Office 144, - Residence 689-J
flMMEBOA
l :
VOL. 25, NO. 36.
Union City Commercial, esta Wished 1890 j ConsoHdHtd SeotmnbM 1 197
West Tennessee Courier, established 1897 i consouoatea September 1,157
UNION CITY, TENN, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1915.
The
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Dcicr.i! cr.n puisne y
uinuuilO run UIIHI1UL ill
cc:;stitutio:j of Tennessee
lBy James H. Malone, in Memphis
Commercial Appeal.)
The recent defeat before the peo
ple in New York of the movement to
adopt a new constitution for that
State will bring genuine regret to
many persons not onlyin but outside
of that State.
The debates in the convention were
able and exhaustive, r and as they
covered subjects of the deepest inter
est to citizens of all the States, they
were followed by air lovers of good
and enlightened government thruout
the union. , -"
The event, however, brings before
us the wisdom of the course adopted
by the Legislature , in Tennessee by
which it is proposed to amend our
constitution. That is to say, the law
under which the people are to vote
in August, 1916, whether there shall
be a constitutional convention " in
Tennessee, provides that in case such
a convention is called, then that con
vention will not write an entirely
new constitution to be adopted or
rejected as a whole, but on the con
trary the convention will be empow
ered only to formulate what, in its
opinion, are proper amendments to
our present constitution. When this
has been done, then these proposed
amendments will be submitted to the
voters of the State to be voted for
separately, by each elector. If a ma
jority votes for a given amendment,
it becomes automatically a part of
the constitution; if the majority is
against any amendment, then it falls
to the ground, and the proposal to
amend the organic law in that re
spect is defeated.
' Herein we have pure Democratic
rule, for its . brings each proposed
amendment home to each voter, who
is thus enabled to vote his own un
trammeled views upon each propos
ed emendment in such way as to al
low the widest possible discrimina
tion which he may desire to exer
cise in voting for or against each
proposed amsudment.
This is precisely what was donejn
Ohio in 1912, for at the election held
in that year there were laid before
the voters of Ohio 42 proposed
amendments to their constitution, of
which 38 were ratified and adopted
by the people and four rejected.
, In 1874 the people of Ohio had re
jected a new constitution submitted
to them tp be adopted or rejected as
a whole, and the people did what the
people did in New York the other
day; that is, rejected it and why?
Because they were opposed to one
j feature of the new constitution with
respect to taxation; hence iney de
feated even the good amendments.
Before the recent election in New
York some of their ablest papers and
writers regretted that the vote could
i not be had as it will be in Tennes-
;i see.
: .We are to-day living practically
i under the constitution adopted in
1834; for while the present consti-
tution was formulated in 1870, it is
( a well known fact ( that the main
' purpose of having the convention
that year was to wipe from our or-
eanic law all traces of slavery and to
enfranchise the negro so as to get
back fairly and squarely Into the
union.
More changes have taken place in
every department of human activity
since .1834 than probably in 1,000
years prior thereto, still Tennessee is
bound hand and foot in her swad
dling clothes. .'
, There will be differences of opin
ion, of course, as to. many of these
amendments, but so there were dif
ferences of opinion when the consti
tution of the United States was writ
ten, as well as the first constitution
Tennessee. There were intellect
ual giants in those days, and certain
ly there is enough manhood and in
telligence left in Tennessee to cope
with the questions of that day; at
least to formulate amendments to the
organic law to be submitted for the
ratification or rejection of the people.-
Among many changes which will
be advocated the following may be
mentioned: " '
First The jury law should be re
formed so as to place the administra-
tion of the law, especially the crim
inal law, in the hands of those best
fitted to administer equal and im
partial justice. This is not now the
Second The Supreme Court should
not be compelled to junket over the
State, ut sit permanently at Nash
ville where the court can have the
case.
advantage of a library, and where
the criminal docket might be called
three times a year instead of once.
Third We have entirely too many
elections. ' These should be consoli
dated, the terms of office made uni
form so as- to lessen constant po
litical turmoil. '
' Fourth-r-The ballot box should be
better protected, so as to make it a
crime to buy poll tax receipts and
gather up registration" certificates
with which to debauch elections. ",
Fifth Changes should be made in
our system of taxation, so as to
equalize the burdens necessary to
support the governments, State,
county, and city." Much can be said
on this subject. -
Sixth. No one can be found who
will defend our present fee system,
which impoverishes the people and
makes insignificant offices vast : po
litical footballs to the corruption of
the ballot. Two bills on this subject
have been declared unconstitutional.
Seventh Provision shouldbe made
so as to eliminate our cumbrous and
expensive system of grand jury in
dictments and trials of small misde
meanors, thus saving thousands of
dollars and expediting justice.
Eighth There are entirely too
many county offices required by our
present constitution. Several of
these "could be consolidated, as in
other States,- thus making for econo
my and efficiency.
Ninth Criminal prosecutions cost
more in Tennessee than probably any
State in the union, and we cannot
boast of any efficiency. The fault
lies embedded in organic law.
Tenth The State should have the
power to exempt State, county and
city bonds from taxation, is it is de
sirable for our own people to hold
these securities, especially as they
are not taxable in Jhe hands of non
residents. Eleventh Some means must be
devised to curb what is now called
private" legislation. The "general"
acts of 1913 cover 743 pages whereas
the "private" acts cover 1,635 pages;
again, the "private" acts of 1911
contain 2,127 pages, as against only
390 pages of "public" acts. In other
words, "log rolling" has gone wild
in the Legislature, and even the most
vicious legislation is put over with
out any opposition, provided it is
what is called "a local bill."
Twelfth The Governor should
have power to call out'the militia in
case of riot or insurrection and thus
preserve the peace without first as
sembling the Legislature; and other
wise make the office of chief execu
tive more efficient. '
Thirteenth There should be- a
constitutional board of pardons, so
as to relieve the Governor of this
duty, except in capital cases, and
thus give more opportunity for in
vestigations in applications for par
dons.
Fourteenth The constitution
should be modernized so as to place
the government in closer touch with
the voters, thus enabling them to
declare their will and enforce it with
more expedition than can now be
done, as exampled in the initiative
and referendum and direct primary.
Amendments should be adopted to
bring about reforms in our civil
jury system; regulating expert testi
mony in criminal trials; providing
for the summary removal of derelict
officials; for a change fti their ju
dicial system; throwing safeguards
around primary elections; providing
for the organization of boards of
education; placing a limit upon the
State indebtedness; providing for
double liability of bank stockholders,
and for inspection of private banks;
providing more speedy means of sub
mitting amendments to the constitu
tion: besides many other amend
ments not necessary here to mention.
In some instances two or more
amendments may be required to ef
fectuate one change; for it is a diffi
cult undertaking to engraft changes
on an established and old system of
organic laws.
The foregoing will serve as a birds
eye view of some changes that will
be advocated. Other changes of
many kinds will be brought forward
in due time from various sources,
some wise, some unwise.
Among those that will be sure to
be advocated by many will be woman
suffrage; that is, to give an oppor
tunity to the men in Tennessee to exr
press their views upon the question
as to whether the franchise should
be extended to women.
No doubt an effort wil be made
also to abolish capital punishment,
jsJte- which there is a division of
opinion. "
The great advantage in the pres-J
ent plan to amend the organic law
is that the convention will be called,
not to write a new constitution,
which must be accepted or rejected
as a whole, but the labors of the con
vention will be confined to formula
ting what, in the opinion of the con
vention, wijl be proper amendments
to the present constitution.
When these are formulated the
convention will provide for the man
ner and time in which the various
amendments to be submitted to the
people for their, acceptance or rejec
tion shall be -voter for, but not as a
whole. That is to say, each voter
will have the right to pass on each
proposed amendment separately, For
such amendments as he approves he
will vote "Yes," and those be does
not approve he will vote "No."
As each voter will go into the
booth and will there register his will
or decision on each proposed amend
ment, with no one to dictate to him
or interfere with his free agency,
there will be no chance to buy up
the result or to pack a convention or
run rough shod over the will of the
people.
I do not think a fairer scheme could
be devised to ascertain the will of
the people.
U. S. PIANS BUILD SHIPS
800 FEET LONG
Monster Cruiser Much Bigger Than
Any of U. S, Navy Be Constructed.
Washington, Nov. 27. Some idea
of the size and power of the super
battle cruisers proposed as part of
the new naval program may be gain
ed from the fact that each one would
be 800 feet long more than twice
as long as any battleship which par
ticipated in the Spanish-American
war, more than 200 feet longer than
any battleship now afloat and ten
feet longer than was the Lusistania.
Tests of hull models for tha giant
cruisers are proceeding at themodel
basin in the Washington navy , yard
to determine Just how much horse
power will be required .tp drive &iem
35 knots an hour, the speed flxeJ by
the navy general board. It will fiake
six separate sets of steam turtijfies,
it is understood, operating six pro
pellers to 'attain that pace and the
hull designs of the models show a
huge, square cross section amidships
in order to accommodate the mass of
machinery.
There is no longer any doubt about
the amount of horse-power required
to drive a ship of known design at
any desired speed. The model basin
has done away with speculation on
that point. It is a huge tank several
hundred feet long and thirty feet
wide, above which runs a traveling
bridge arrangement carrying compli
cated mechanism to measure the re
sistance offered bya model hull
towed thru the waterl The average
battleship model is twenty feet long
and is in exact proportion to the
ship it is planned to construct. It
has been established as a law of
physics that the power required to
pull a model thru the water at six
knots, for instance, will show exactly
the force necessary to drive the ship
herself at a pre-determined rate.
The effect of any minor change in
hull construction is instantly shown
bv the recording instruments. An
eighteen knot speed can be reached
in the tank. ' t
Death List Goes to 20.
Hot Springs, Ark., Nov. 27. The
care of the injured, the provisioning
of that outskirt population deprived
of homes and left dependent, and the
arranging of funerals for the twenty
known dead of the cyclone that
Thanksgiving day swept in a cres
cent about the city, : and left its
shadow of gloom, occupied the at
tention of the populace to-day.
Reports now show that ten persons
were killed and about 25 injured oilt-
side the Hot Springs district, and
with the ten dead and 36 injured
near Hot Springs, the ,total for the
State is 20 dead and more than 60
injured.
With wire service resumed, reports
begin' to come in of desolation
wrought by the tornado which tore
its way thru Southwestern Arkansas,
changing scenes of Thanksgiving re
joicing to desolation and death.
The scene of the storm in Hemp
stead, Lafayette and Nevada counties
is hilly,' and communication is poor,
and it is feared the lists of dead and
injured will be increased. One death
is reported from Fulton County in
North Arkansas.
WHY WOMEN ARE
INTERESTED IN WATERWAYS.
Never call a big, strong man a
liar; it is safer to hire some other
fellow to break the news to him.
Extracts from an address just re
ceived by Mrs. Rice A. Pierce from
the National President of the Na
tional Rivers and Harbors Congress.
Address of Mrs. Jos. M. Strout at
National Rivers and Harbors Con
gress. This subject is found embodied in
several reasons.
First Is it not a fact women's
sphere knows no limit?
Second If we are to rely upon the
good Judgment of a statement which
many times has been repeated, about
"the feather's weight of worth with
out a woman in it," we have truisms
furnishing splendid reasons why wo
men are interested in waterways.
Then, should you desire another
proof quite as good, we refer you to
that organized force among women,
seeking, the improvement and sanita
tion of waterways, which adds great
ly to woman's power and opportuni
ty, when public action is the object
desired.
We see prejudice which for years
bound woman to the past give way
to a spirit of co-operation. In fact,
the change has been so great that
now almost every constructive meas
ure seeks woman's influence in the
shaping of public opinion. Why?
Because women do things for hu
manity that men do not. The wo
man influence gives a touch to ac
tivities affecting not men, alone, but
women and children.
Meanwhile the thinking woman
acting on the side of large issues
in striving to improve conditions
gains a broadened view-point of life.
In this connection we cannot call her
"a clinging vine," as she as once
pictured; for to-day she is alert, ac
cepting the situatiQn or offering sug
gestions, as the case may be, even
if she may not lay claim Ho a vote
or a voter. Moreover, have we not
been told, time and time again, that
if we as a Nation are to rise to a
nobler civilization, woman must take
her place in all great movements for
community betterment?
As water is one of the essentials
to the maintenance of life, does it
not create of itself one of the vital
problems of the day?
Why call for a better reason why
women are interested in waterways?
In transportation by waterways we
have an economic question for solu
tion. However, you may be asking:
What have women to do with econo
my, women who have been held re
sponsible for much of the waste and
frivolity of the time, women who
have been slow to consider them
selves a part of the economic ques
tion? "All things are changing,"
saith the prophet. Why not women?
Do we not, at the present time, al
low the female contingent to become
an important factor in our industrial
life? Do we not find them learing
monetary values conjointly with
their brothers as well as seeking in
formation on the commercial aspect
of questions governing supply and
demand and legislation covering
many topics?
No sign could be more hopeful of
a successful outcome than the desire
on their part to study and apply the
conservation principle to matters
closely concerned with the pocket
book. More and more women are
making the family purchases, hence
the greater amount of knowledge
they can obtain governing values and
cost the more creditable will be
their service to home and country.
Classified facts assure us that from
the economic standpoint, the pur
chasing public is greatly benefited
when commodities used in every
home are shipped by a water route.
This makes a lower freight rate one
step nearer lower living rates. The
casual observer takes the matter of
the carrying charge into almost no
account when ordering the family
dinner and, little appreciates the ex
tent to .which his interests are af
fected. Besides, every human being
is a consumer and pays his pro rata
tax on all articles moved for his
benefit. . .'
The significance of European and
American waterways cannot be pass
ed by without notice; nor how the
Panama Canal and its commercial
possibilities have caused a world
wide awakening to the enormous
asset we have in nature's gift "wa
ter" contains vafuable data. Sure
ly the women of the land have not
overlooked these points.
So much activity centers around
the word "waterways" that when we
become analytical then it is we find
how much we' depend upon them for
daily comforts. ,
Cherry!
oss Grain Co,
Winter Grown Barley,
Crimson Clover Seed,.
New Crop Rye,
Rape Seed,
All Kinds Field Seeds,
Tennessee Horse Feed,
Tennessee Dairy Feed,
Corn, Chops, Oats and Bran,
All Kinds Feed.
CHERRY-MOSS GRAIN CO.
Wholesale and Retail
Grain, Hay and Field Seeds
Telephone No. 1
10
NEY TO LOAN S
FARM
AN D S
I am authorized to take applications for loans on lands in
Obion and Weakley Counties, Tenn., and Fulton County, Ky.
The terms and conditions upon which this money will be loan
ed are most favorable to the borrower. All or any part of a
loan may be paid after one year, interest being stopped on
payments made.
Now is the time to arrange your farm loans while the money
can be had at a low rate of interest and on long time.
O. SPRADLIN
Attorney At Law j& Union City, Tenn.
"Qualify First"
WE HAVE THE BEST GRADE
Winter Rye, Barley and Tort Oats
Crimson Clover, Red and Sweet Clover
Timothy, Red-Top and Blue Grass
.....WE SELL THE...
Improved Kentucky Grain Drill
Peering Corn Harvester, DeeringDisc; Harrow
International "Gasoline and Oil Engines
Oliver Chilled Plows, Buggies, Wagons, &c
"Quality First"
Tisdale h. JacKson
F oans
On improved lands in Obion or Weakly County.
FIVE YEAR. TERM, 5 J PER CENT INTEREST
CAN GET YOU THE MONEY WITH LITTLE DELAY. '
W. E. HUDGINS UNac.IIY
$1 Pays for The Commercial 1 Year
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