Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1860-05-09
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A Letter to the Shoemakers of New Ranp
shire and Massachusetts.

shire and Massachusetts,
BELToN, BELL Co., Texas,
March 10Th, 1850. !
To the CdiOr Of the DcmocrM Sandud
SIR: Through your columns ask permission
to address some remarks to those shocmakcrs
who aptly chose the birth day of Washington on
which to 50 strike - for higher wages or, ns |
understand it, for such remuneration for toll as
decently and comfortably to support themselves
and families. | shall do so in truth and sober
ness, feeling that am addressing II worthy class
of my distant countrymcn-men who belong to
that class who constitute the' salt of the earth
honest laborers-a class that. in the Southern
States, more than in any other PORTION of this
earth of ours. is respected, appreciated and icl-
lowshippcd, according to the merits of the indi-
vidual man or woman, as Il member Of society,
regardless of wealth or poverty and regardless
of his occupation, whether he be lawyer, doctor,
editor teacher, farmer, planter, blacksmith, shoe
maker tailor, carpenter tanner, merchant, scna-
tor, or governor. We judge less than any othcr
people under the sun, (though. of course, there
are weak-minded people and fools in all countries
nor by the wealth OF the individual, nor by his
occupation but by his character as citizen
Let me say farther, that | am native born
Southron and so have been my ancestry for near
two hundred years that love the South
with hearts fullest devotion that belong to
that great political party whose banner waves in
every State and Territory in this great country
that party whose creed is founded in n strict
construction of the federal constitution, in equal
political and civil rights to all wiHe men in Op-
position to monopolies to benefit the rich at the
expense of the farming and mechanical classes ;
and who have so far saved this government of
confederatcd sovereign States from assuming The
fol and the powers of centralized dcspotism,
recognizing the central heal as sovereign, instead
of the people Of lie reSpecirc .Noies, who are the
only sovereigns in this country. This party is
often charged with being a "disunion, y a"seces
sion,' or .'ire- eating" party. 1t has been pc
riodically charged ever since Jefferson, its first
great Champion saved the liberties of the people
in 1900 The charge is always made through ig-
norance, or through the mulevolencc of men who
would have been Tories in the Revolution in
other words, by men who, under the halcyon cry
of "UniOn, would surrender up every right of
the people and the States rat thcr than take bold
and patriotic stand upon the constitution and
say to the usurpers, whether sectional Presi
dent or n sectional anatical majority in Con
gresS, "Thus far shalt thou go and no farther"
Thus, by compelling all departments of govern
ment to move within the plain letter of the con-
stitution and abstain from the exercise OF powers
not delegated, the Democratic party strives not
only to preserve the Union as it was founded by
your fathers and ours hut, what is of much
more Importance, the liberties of the people,
usurpation, cncroachment, by the
federal government upon the Rights of the States
and the People of the States, as proposed by Nj.
Seward and his followers, can only be prevented
by adhcring strictly and in good faith, to the
principles of this great constitutional, strict con-
struction, Peoples party. In the alternative of
submitting to the rule of such dangers and tyr
annies as the South must expect from the success
of the docmas of Seward, or resisting, the ques
ton will be presented in different form. 1t will
then become in strictness question having a |
Northern and Southern side, instead of as now,
4 question reaching all parts OF the Union, hav-
ing constitutional and 0RticOnStltutionot side.
In that case nv own deep and deliberate cOnyic ,
tion il. that ths South will he much nearer un-
il on their own side, than the thirteen colonies .
we're in la and the first half if not all of l77G.
With these. preliminary remarks, proceed to
he object of this letter. To the shoemakers OF
New HAMPSHIRE, Massachusetts, and all New
England. who are not doing reasonably well, "
who are not supporting themselves and families
iccentlv and comfortably upon fair and reaSOna-
BE labor, say that throughout the South there
$ a demand for their labor but shall only
Ipeak of Texas. In this State of immerse terri
ory, FIVE times as large as Pennsylvania, We have
regulation of over halfa million We have a
,eneral scarcity of mechanics and buy i'm
nensey from the North Of nearly all mechanical
implements but in no branch so universally
leeded by every soul. black and white, old and
-oung, male and female, have We SO few opera
ors as in shoemaking. We have one hundred
md twenty-five organized counties, and IN the
,ounty towns of every one Of these good shoe
maker. by working eight hours per day can sup
L. Il