Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1872-10-17
THE GATHERING RAM DISTRICT.
The Congressional Explorers Heard
From.
ThOrnbnrgh- Garrett-CaldwelI
Special Correspondence of the Chronicle
CARTHAGE, Tenn, Oct. IA, 1872.


Ten DAYS ago three gentlemen aspiring
to Congressional honors left Knoxville for
the western portion of the gathering
ram" district. Since then they have scarce
ly been heard from by their most intimate
friends With no other motive than to
satisfy their friends that all is well with
them, l left Knoxville OIL Friday noon,
and after travelling over three hundred
miles l found them safe and sound at this
ancient town. They look jaded, it is true,
but are amply able for their daily proven
der After a pleasant rest until to-day
at eleven o'clock, A. NJ, the candidates en-
gagged in q joint discussion, according to
previous appointment, in which each tried
to convince the people that he was the
most suitable man to represent them in the
43d Congress.
COL. THORNBURGH'S SPEECH.
The discussion was opened by Colonel
| Thornburgh, who i'll q speech of one hour
ably and vigorously defended the record of
| President Grant and of the Republican
party. His speech was plain statement
of facts, and straight forward defense of
| principle. He was bold and unequivOcal
in defense of what he believed right, and
condemned the wrong without reserve.
He charged that in the adoption of the
Baltimore platform, which approves of
the 18th amendment, the Democracy had
approved of all the prescription with
which they had charged Republicans.
He charged Governor Brown with extrav-
agance and laundering incapacity, saying
that not single dollar of all the taxes col
| lected by him, had ever been applied to
| the reduction of our State debt. He VEN
tillated the penitentiary lease, and showed
how the State is losing thousands of dol
lars in order that the Governors favOrites
may grow rich. He gave the case of Mai.
| Hodge, who embeZzled United States
funds and went to the penitentary ten
years for it, as an instance of how the Re-
publican party treats defaulters. Boss
| Tweed had stolen millions and was re-
| warded by his party with seat in the
| New York State Senate, receiving twelve
thousand majority.
PAYS HIS RESPECTS TO 20 CALDWELL.
He called attention to Caldwell's record.
Said he was elected to the Legislature as
Union man and turned rebel. He was
rampant but took good care not to put
| himself in danger. When the draft came
he had procured exemption papers on the
| ground that he had "Sore earD He was
captured, took the oath of allegiance, gave
bond for his good behavior, and seized the
| first opportunity that presented itself to
violate the conditions of his obligation
He said Caldwell had claimed to have been
q private in the confederate army, but he
| could not name his company, his Captain,
or his Lieutenant. He defied him
to do so. He said that he
too had been a soldier. He invited any
one who felt so inclined, to attack his rec
NC 10 Il nd
Caldwell for having been a soldier, but be-
cause he had espOused a cause and then
skulked from defending it when he had
encouraged others to emperil their lives.
Honor and shame from no condition rise:
| Act well your part, there all the honor lies"
Col. Us. speech was we'll received, and
even those who differ with him, rebel SOL
diers, openly avowed their admiration for
his boldness in defence of principle.
GARRETT SPEAKS.
He was followed by Col. Garrett, who
pursued very much the same line of argu-
ment followed in his Knoxville speech,
| He spends considerable time in giving his
views on the rottenness of latter day con-
ventions. He said he did not think it ne
cessary among people where he is known
to wear collar labelled convention. He
charged that Caldwell had received the
nomination through conspiracy fraud and
! tricks, and read letter from Col. John
! Williams in proof of his charge. He read
! Caldwell's record on the Reunion and Re-
| form question and said that the Democratic
party had taken good DEALT had taken
Greeley with a Republican platform, but
he would swear he could not see how thew
could take Caldwell. He spent some fiji
teen minutes on the financial policy of the
Republican party and presented a tumble
of figures such as it has never before been
our good or ill fortune to hear presented.
He very modestly claimed the paternity of
the law reducing the revenue force 800
persons.
CALDWELL DEFENDS.
He was followed by Caldwell, who re-
hearsed his piece-the same he spoke at
Knoxville, with only few variations. He
talks Tor twenty minutes very fiuently on
the theory of government. Another
twenty minutes he consumes with intem-
perate denunciations of Grants admins
tration. He says that Grants friends de-
nounce Trumbull, Sumner, Banks and
others, as rebels and rebel sympatbizers
because they do not endorse all he SAYS and
does. He spends time in replying to
Garrett on the convention question. He
| told one or two good anecdotes. He paid
passing notice to Col. Thornburgh's attack
on the State government and illustrated
his theory with an anecdote about cat
that fell into we'll and didn't get out. He
eloquently defended his secession record
for which he was applauded. He denied
| that he had ever violated an obligation or
an oath of allegiance as Thornburgh had
charged. His remarks failed to elicit much
applause considering that he is the regular
candidate of the unterrified Democracy.
WHO PASSED THE WHISKY LAWS.
1 al in
minutes speech, which was vigorous and
directly to the point He replied to the
savage attacks made upon the revenue laws
by Garrett and Caldwell by showing that