712 



TENNESSEE. 



seure, and the Court should have the line ascer- 

 tained and marked. This was met by showing 

 that the marks made in 1803 were still visible, 

 that the line was rerun and remarked in 1856, 

 and that the line was not obscure. 



The decision was in favor of Tennessee on all 

 the points. The territory involved in the dis- 

 pute is about 700 square miles, being from 3 to 

 6 miles wide and 113 miles long. It contains 

 the towns of Bristol and Cumberland Gap, and 

 it involves a serious question of back taxes. In 

 1802 John Sevier, Tennessee's first Governor, with 

 gentlemen from \^irginia, ran the line which is 

 now finally established as the true line. 



Legislative Session. The Legislature con- 

 vened Jan. 2, and adjourned April 11. On joint 

 ballot there were 94 Democrats, 32 Republicans, 

 and 6 Independent Democrats or 'Populists. 

 William C. Dismukes was chosen Speaker of the 

 Senate, and Ralph Davis of the House. 



On Feb. 25 a court decision was rendered in 

 Memphis disbarring Speaker Davis from the 

 courts of the State. The charge on which the 

 action was taken was that Mr. Davis had col- 

 lected $2,250 from a client for a purpose requir- 

 ing only $1,000. On complaint of the client and 

 investigation, the attorney had been disbarred. 

 Meantime he had sued a newspaper in which an 

 account 1 of the transaction was published for 

 $50,000, and procured an indictment of the 

 editors for criminal libel. It was desired that 

 in view of this action Mr. Davis should resign 

 the speakership of the House. Soon after the 

 Hduse assembled, March 8, Mr. Davis called Mr. 

 Truesdale to the chair and made a statement of 

 his position in the matter. He declined to re- 

 sign the chair. A resolution was at once adopt- 

 ed asking him to resign, but he still refused, and 

 then, after considerable discussion, a resolution 

 was adopted, by a vote of 72 to 9, expelling him 

 from the chair. Hon. Julius A. Truesdale was 

 then elected, receiving every vote in the House. 

 Later in March a charge was made against the 

 ex-Speaker in the House, that he had caused to 

 be brought in by another member a bill for the 

 passage of which money was to be paid. A com- 

 mittee of investigation was appointed, who re- 

 ported that the charges had been sustained ; 

 that Mr. Davis, while Speaker of the House, ad- 

 vised those interested in the bill to pay contin- 

 gent fees, and offered to select an attorney to 

 whom money was to be sent for lobbying and 

 for corrupt purposes. After a stormy debate on 

 a motion to decline to receive the report, the 

 motion was withdrawn and the report was re- 

 ceived. It was then voted that it be expunged 

 from the journal by 40 to 32, 27 not voting. 



The Governor-elect was seriously ill in Janu- 

 ary and unable to take the journey to Nashville. 

 The Legislature therefore passed a joint resolu- 

 tion that the oath be administered to him at his 

 home, Wolf's Crag, near Winchester; and the 

 Chief Justice inducted him into the office there, 

 Jan. 16, in the presence of the justices of the 

 Supreme Court, committees of the Legislature, 

 State officials, and representatives of the press. 

 Gov. Turney sent his first message to the Legis- 

 lature Jan. 31. He advised the passage of the 

 " Intermediate Court " bill in order to relieve 

 the Supreme Court and keep up with increasing 

 litigation, calling attention to the fact that while 



that court in Tennessee averaged about 1,250 

 cases a year, the average in the other States was 

 about 400. He recommended that the salary of 

 the supreme judges be raised to at least $4,000. 



Among the other recommendations were : 

 Amendment of the registration law so that there 

 should be but one registration for each year, at 

 which a certificate for each election to occur 

 during the year should be issued to the voter, 

 who will be required to surrender such of the 

 certificates as relates to the election in which he 

 offers his ballot; provision for special elections; 

 and amendments to the road law. In a subse- 

 quent message he recommended the calling of a 

 constitutional convention. 



William B. Bate was re-elected, Jan. 17, to the 

 United States Senate. A joint resolution was 

 adopted in favor of the appointment of a com- 

 mission to settle the claim of the Tennessee Coal 

 and Iron Company in case settlement should be 

 made within ninety days ; otherwise the pending 

 suits were to be prosecuted to the end. An im- 

 portant change was made in the Penitentiary 

 system. The inadequacy of existing prison ac- 

 commodations and the recent troubles arising 

 from the convict-lease system made some radical 

 action imperative. A new prison will be built 

 and the lease system abandoned. 



The convicts are to be divided into three 

 classes. There shall be but one prisoner con- 

 fined in a cell, and the men and women are to be 

 kept in different portions of the prison. The 

 commissioners are to make contracts for the 

 building or extension of railroads to the prison 

 to insure the shipment of the products of the 

 mines or prison, but such roads or extensions 

 are to be built without cost to the State. Under 

 the provisions of another section, convicts can 

 work out the costs of their arrest and conviction 

 on a basis of 40 cents a day. 



The State is to issue $600,000 of bonds to pro- 

 vide the funds for carrying out the provisions of 

 the bill. 



An act was passed entitled "An Act to author- 

 ize and provide for the preparation and issuance 

 to the banks and banking associations of this 

 State circulating notes, to fully protect the same, 

 and to provide for State supervision and exami- 

 nation of all banks accepting the provisions of 

 this act." 



A committee was appointed to investigate the 

 Comptroller's and Treasurer's offices. 



Much of the time was given to a new revenue 

 bill, which makes some radical changes in the 

 privilege taxes. Following are some of the im- 

 portant changes made by the provisions of the 

 law : A privilege tax of $50,000 is to be levied on 

 dealers in futures; in cities, towns, and taxing 

 districts of over 5,000, photographers will be 

 each charged $75 per annum, an increase of 

 $25 ; national banks are no longer exempted 

 from the tax on other banking associations; 

 brewers are required to pay $150 (this tax ap- 

 plies to local agents for breweries selling or 

 delivering beer to the trade); architects and 

 mining engineers must pay $25 ; merry-go- 

 rounds are taxed $10 to $30; laundries in the 

 large cities. $100; shippers of mineral waters, 

 $5 ; peddlers of patented articles, if on foot, 

 must pay in each county $15 ; if with horse or 

 vehicle, each county $30 ; if with more than one 



