Show CLEAN POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS The candidates for Governor of Tennessee Ten-nessee are brothers though representing represent-ing opposite factions of the political fam ily and as such a thing has never been known before in American politics the battle between thu two men will be the best test of the leanings of the people of that State possible to conceive or apply The Courier Tournal hits off the case in the following manner The people of Tennessee are to be congratulated con-gratulated on their present prospect of escaping es-caping in some measure tho character of personal politics which so often disgraces heated campaigns The Gubernatorial standard bearers of the two parties being brothers the Republican candidate cannot well call his opponent a slabsided son of a sawlpe without reflecting at the same time on his own origin while the Democratic candidate will be restrained for the same reason from hurling the charge against his antagonist that his grandfather stole a setting set-ting hen from her nest 1 This has a touch of humor in it it is true but it also conveys a lesson which should be studied by every man who enters politics as a professsion It will he remembered by our readers how bitter and personal was the war between Bacon and Gordon in Georgia even to the verge of pistols to settle it and now that it has been decided how foolish and unmanly the whole thing looks Both of the latter gentlemen are thoroughgoing thorough-going lawyers with the best of reputations reputa-tions in all walks of life and but for the chance of both seeking the same political bauble would doubtless be the best of friends They became involved in a wordy war and all the State was worked up into a frenzy as the friends of either obtained a small advantage until the race looked more like that of two bullies for spoils than that of two gentlemen for an honorable position which was open to any gentleman in the State for a competitive trial The beastly and indecent talk I bandied about the country in the last presidential campaign was such as to bring down upon the people the merited scorn of other nations and today outside out-side of politics in the home life many hearts are aching in consequence All these optrageous proceedings could be dropped just as fullv between any two gentlemen as they are dropped between the Taylor brothers in Tennesee and political battles could be fought on the broad plane of gentility with untold effect for good on the people if only the candidates and their friends would strenuously object to per sonalisms and turn their backs on men who proposed such blackguard means Political meanness can go no lower than it reached in the list national campaign and let us hope that this happy choice of the two brothers in Tennesee may be the harbinger of better days in politics and the death knell of unseemly and un nn christian abuses as they have existed for years It has been so that the bravest man in the land has shunned a political race only because some opponent would delve into his private life and bring forth as a magnified scandal some event which ho could not explain ex-plain to the world and which was the sacred property of his family circle This should cease and men who are judged fitting and competent to hold office by legal testsshould be allowed to make the fight solely on their present merits and the man who would delve into the private affairs of a candidate should be held to be the common enemy of both parties and be forever ostracized from fellowship with public men G I |