Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1876-08-12
EsHOTSPUR.o
He Visits GAINESVILLE and Gives his
Views On the State of Things.

and purposes, and like all the tribe
ready to fly off at tangent on any
thing touching political affairs, and
moreover, hearing that GAINESVILLE and
all its inhabitants excepting, of
course, its editors, lawyers and poll
ticians) were greatly be-addled or the
subject of Reputation" / felt anx-
ious to go down and see whether all I
had heard was true or not. Accord
ingly on the morning of the 3rd inst,
| entered the town, and from the
scene presented in and around the
precincts of the Court House and up
and down the thoroughfares called
Franklin Avenue and Ras berry AL
ley, | verify thought that Olarksville
was about to ''Repudiate'' instanter, or
atall events that its Uor popui had got
on top of its GdUaEorenT, which l have
heard the chill doctors in this section
say, is an infallible sign of an ap-
preaching attack of the ''yaller jan
ders."
/ looked around in unmitigated
surprise, for | have always thought
Tennessee was opposed to 'Repudia
ton The word sounds too much
like tartar emetic, or pulverized rhu-
automatically speaking-and too
much like Il take it all back. in a
moral sense, and altogether too much
like rebellion, " as that foul, dishon-
oring word" is used by the rib-nosed
yankees when speaking of the white
men of the South.
As | was saying, the excitement
among the gentle jayhawkers, who
filled the street and made it musical
with Rah for Ramey," and Rah
for Mosely," was noisy, furious and
peculiar, and the crowd appeared to
be chiefly of the loose-built order,
and something after the style Jacobs
cattle in their general rigging, and
among this host of round-shouldered
and tramped-on tax payers it was
frightfully evident that there were
many
"Whom sudden, sharp disaster
Followed fast and followed faster"
and had so often overtaken and at
tackled their rear, that the cross patch
es which from time to time had been
placed there to dull the sound of
blows had grown into wilderness of
complications, such as would render
it impossible for half dozen cats to
catch mouse in the seat of their
breeches.
The Queen of Sheba- when she Wis
tied Solomon, and sa assN temple and
his soldiers and other real estate said
''the half had not been told her" and
this, in another sense, | found to be
my situation. The crowd was not
trying to "Repudiate," but were only
| engaged in electing Sheriff, and were
| INDUCING in their war-cries and other
usual recreations incident to those
grand occasions when the sun-browned
/
American voter of African proclivities
filings himself in multitudinous mag
nitude into the political arena, and
patriotic candidates emerge upon the
surface of public events and cluster
around the precincts of an election
thicker than feas on swimming pups
ear.
[ felt relieved when | learned that
it was only a local election, and as
such, of course the voters had right
to conduct the affair in their own way,
for certainly the discussion of RE
pudiation" is out of place in the pres
ent campaign. 1t is furnishing con-
ISOLATION, if not solid comfort" to
Radicalism all over the State-and
very unjustly too, for they claim that
the present State debt is the result Of
Democratic legislation. IF, however,
you hear any man say that the last
two legislatures were Democratic, tell
him that he is no judge of long-eard
stock. A legislature that would send
Andrew johnson to the U. S. Sen
ate would not be likely to do much
for the credit of the State in either
finance or morals. Dorsey B. Thomas
is their figure the Radicals
have inherited whatever of claims
they may have from such legislatures,
and this together with their share of
the State debt makes up their chief
political capital rather hashy legacy
over which they are now rejoicing
with a mixed gladness such as is ex
pressed in the old negro song of long
| ago:
"a long tailed rat in a pail of souse,
| Jest foch'd down from the white folks
| house"
The CHRONICLE, always clear head
ed, and firm as the hills along the
Cumberland, could (if 1 may be per-
mitted to suggest it) put damper on
this intermittent fever by cooling
application of good advice. There is
! uOluiuS III dAI IuIS lCpuuldLlOu DIuo-
ter. Tennessee has never repudiated
any demand upon its patriotism, and
the people will soon find out that in
all this sound and fury there's a
great deal of cry, and but burned little
wool" as the Devil remarked when
he was shearing the hog. The way to
stop this nonsense is to elect legisla-
ture of sensible men-your own county
man, Hon. Charles G. Smith, is one
of that kind-and let them appoint
committee to add up the debt and
count the interest. If any bonds have
been illegally issued or fraudulently
sold, select them from the others and
put the question before the courts for
decision. If they are just debts, pay
them if they are unjust, don't "repu-
date" them, but send them as heave-
offering to the Devil-according to lam.
spent pleasant day in your town,
meeting with many old friends, among
whom it always gives me pleasure to
write the name of Capt. J. J. Crus
man, whose generous good nature in
these peaceful days so becomes the