davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1878-10-03

The Sherman Register responded to
the Galveston soreheads with singular
force when it says John Hancock was
not the choice of the Register for Con-
gress, but a convention of the Democ-
racy of his district nominated him, and
he should receive the undivided vote
of the party. 1t has been persistently
charged that he did not endorse the
State platform adopted at Austin, that
he favored resumption and contrac-
ton, and was no. in harmony with
his party IN the great work of undo
ing the mischief wrought by the
financial mismanagement of the Re
publican party. While this charge has
been made there is absolutely nothing
upon which to base 1t. Mr.. Hancock
declares emphAtically in his speeches
that he stands squArely upon the Aus
Tin platform. Senator Maxey, in con-
versation with the editor Of the Regis
tsr. stated that HancOck's speech at the
AUSTIN barbecue. few days since, was
in entire accord with the policy pro-
posed by the Democratic party, and
fully endorsed the Austin platform
What more can be sskedg II the war
upon Hancock be continued, it wla be
ample evidence that it is inspired by
some other motive than denre for the
snecess OF Democratic principles and
politics.
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1878-10-03

The Medical and Surgical Journal
says: "There is not single well su-
thenticated case of personal contagion,
nor any supposed case of such which
cannot be'better explained upon some
other hypothesis. The only mode in
which the disease can be transmitted
is by infection, and the laws which
govern this transmission are as we'll
settled as those which relate to conta-
gion: BY infection is meant a prin-
ciple which produces the disease, de-
pending altogether upon local cNuses,
and having no relation to emanatlons
from persons laboring under the dis
case, or from the bodies of those who
have died of it. Thus, malariaI spot
or filthy location Is focus of infec-
tio7.'"
Will our local rulers remember this
and at once provide against the posi-
billty of the appearance Of the disease
next summer Put when fright no
longer furnishes preteXts for stupen-
dous quarantine and thus for the de-
struction of trade and suspension of
business, our wise. and ever blessed
rurvrS VIII forget that sucn u 1iSeSSe 1Isease
ever ravagcd the South, Next summer
auimalcule constituting the germs of
the disease, may take different course.
They move evidently IN swarms like
grasshoppers and alight whenever they
discover proper food to prey upon.
Grenada was filthy to the last degree;
Memphis with its back yards honey
coined with undrained sinks and cess
pools and polluted bayou Holly
Springs, level, sandy, but uncleansed,
and at last crowded with people re-
garding no laws of cleanliness; New
Orleans necessarily filthJ since the city
is lower than the river on one side or
lake on the other-these are the places
that have suffered. New Orleans can
only be cleansed by force pumps;
Vicksburg was meyer drained and
never heard of sewer, and Vicks-
burg below the hill is AS filthy as Gre
NADIA. The Medical and Surgical Jour-
no3 will discover In each place desolated
and especially in Baton Rouge and
Port Gibson, iirefutable combinations
of its philosophy and we oAhy beg that
when the awful scare~has worn off and
our city fatheFsa are themselves again
our ruleFs must not lapse into forget.
fulness. Their first duty consists in
making Austin a safe and perfect re-
fuge for the smitten. Remember that
yellow fever is an infection and not
contagion." 1t is an animalcule
that only lives and breathes and de-
stroys where there is foulHess. Let
Austin be perfectly cleaned, and
relieved of all filth so that the iAvisi-
BILE swarm of yellow fever insects,
moving like grasshoppers over the
country, will find nothing to live upon
amid these beautiful hills by the wa
waters of the clear Colorado.
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1878-10-03
THE BLACK SHADOW

The South stands III the presence of
remorseless death. Its black wings
overshadow the fairest fields and
homes and cities of these stricken
States. Whether we will or no, we
are forced to contemplate the vanity of
our aims, seltishness and pursuits and
think and dream as meyer before of
the proximity of death. We think of
neighboring commonwealths as if some
demon of desolation had drawn over
them a funereal pail, and as if
cities first, and then wide districts had
been veiled from sight by this deep
black shadow that has moved silently,
slowly and steadily from the sea shore
to the point of confluence of the great
rivers of the continent. From these
lofty hills and through this transpar-
ent balmy atmosphere, we strain our
eyes and hold our breath while watch
ing the mysterious movements of this
fearful desolahon. 1t brings us face
to face, even on this bright Sunday
morning with that memorable fiat of
nature, which George d. Prentice said /:
''Dooms us to dust. We flourish and
fade as the leaves OF the forest, and
the flowers that bloom and glitter to-
day have no Trailer hold on life than
the mightiest monarch that ever shook
the earth with his footsteps. Genera
tlons of men will appear and dlsap-
pear as the grass, and 4he multitude
that throngs the world to-day will dis
appear as the footprints on the sea
shore. Men seldom think of the great
event of death until the shadow falls
across their pathway, hiding from their
eyes the faces of loved ones
whose living smile was the
sunlight of their very existence.
Death is the antagonist of life, and
the cold thought Of the tomb is the
skeleton of all feasts. We do not want
to go through the dark valley, although
its dark passage may lead to paradise;
we do not want to lie down in the
damp grave even with princes for bed
fellows.
In the beautiful drama of Iona
the hope of immortality, so eloquently
uttered BY the death-devoted Greek,
finds deep repose in every thoughtful
soul. When about to yield his strong
existence to the sacrifice of fate, his
'Clemanthe' asks if they should meet
again, to which be replies: i have
asked that dreadful question of the
hills that look eternal-of the clear
streams that flow forever-of the stars,
among whose fields of azure my raised
spirits have walked in glory. All were
dumb; but as l gaze upon thy living
face / feel that there is something in
the love that msntles through its beau
ty that cannot wholly perish. We shall
meet again, Ciemanthe.'"
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1878-10-03

The C0uTier-,j0WyRdI, in long-wlnded.
formal sentences, denies the prevalence
OF the yellow fever plague in that
city. It has moved steadily in that
direction from New Orleans. 1t has
never .diverged from its chosen path.
Most people supposed it would follow
up the Arkansas and Red rivers. even
to Little Rock and Shreveport and
Jefferson, but the sporules of death
have confined their migratory course to
the route of the great river. The
sudden appearance of malignant,
deadly fever in the country about
Marshall and Jefferson startles the
country. But it is not the disease, we
Are told, that ravages Memphis and
Holly Springs, and there has been no
hegira of frightened multitndes from
Marshall. How could the plague have
leaped from VIcksburgh to quiet farm
ers' homes near Marshall2 Germs of
the disease are borne about in clothing
and blankets. Are they also waited by
those eastern winds which have steadi
ly blown for weeks past from the East
We are accustomed to steady breezes
from the South. Ten days ago the
wind came as constantly from the East.
Does Yellow Jack ride on the tempest
rs we'll as on red flannel shirts When
may we speak confidently of laws that
govern its mysterious ways Is it
the pestilence that walketh IN dark |
ness and wastcth At MONDAY 2"
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1878-10-03
THE FEVER AND THE REGIS
TER'S TAEOLOGY.

The Sherman Register says, 1--WE con-
fess the truth that God is not respon.
sible for the calamity that has befallen
the Valley of the Mississippi. We
grant the truth that He is not; but is
that any reason we should not invoke
His mercy in behalf Of the poor, suffer
ing people who are not in the least re-
sponsible for the filth or mis-govern-
ment2 And is not Gods beautiful,
holy Sabbath day proper time to in
woke His aid to stay the fell Destroyer"
We innocently supposed that these
woes were providentially sent upon the
people and would be providenhally
arrested. OF course We did. But
Martin thinks the wretched, stupid
local governments did it and that they
ought to be knocked on the head, and
OF course we can't do this on Sunday.
Very evidently rabble government,
after all, is the 'fell destroyer" that
Martin talks about and we can de-
vote Sunday to the invocation Of
Heavens aid in organizing the party
TO beat the rascals in the next election.
This is Martins argument extended to
its necessary conclusions II bad and
ignorant clty rulers have precipltated
these woes, good government viii DIS
coYer the remedy. Then why appeal to
Providence when results are in our
own handsl Shall We believe in the
miracles done at LOurdss and other
places, and also that Memphis is to be
miraculously curedl Shall the sick
city take up its bed and walk Such Is
Martin's Argument and assertion. and,
perhaps sitter al, be reasons vel, and
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1878-10-03

THE perpetrators of the horrible,
atrocious determination of the poor
family Of Mr.. Lynch, at Hockey, will
hardly be brought to justice, or if tried
will never be hanged. They are rich.
They have plenty of friends at court,
and this gives continuances and
changes of venue, and witnesses
strangely disappear and the story is
worn out, and people forget the rage
excited when the sun rose upon the
frightful scene Of horror. Then decen-
cy was appalled,, and each citizen felt
himself outraged, that villainy dared
TO compass such deeds in a country We
cali our own. The Waco Examiner
commenting on courts and juries and
prosecuting attorneys says:
A Amurderer is 3 murderer, remarks
the Sherman Register, reviewing the
case Of the Calder murderers. That is
sad mistake. A murder is not q mur-
der If committed BY prominent msn.
The Lynch murderers are said to be
prominent csfizens- The good, mod
est constAbles and sheritIs DO not,
therefore, make arrests. Perhaps they
await knowledge Of the fact that Cor
ernor Hubbard has issued the usual
proclamation, proposing to pay citizens
and sherifs to do their duty. Bot
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1878-10-03

They are having something Of q
wrangle down in the southern part Of
Texas over the bids for State printing
Of this first class. II seems that A. H.
Belo Il Co., proprietors OF the GAL
weston Neios, and w. II. Coyie, of
Houston, were the contendinR parties
and although there was difference Of
SsS, 80 in favor Of Coyle, Belo & Co.
got the "swag." A reporter Of the
Houston Telegram has taken the pains,
and perhaps the pleasure, Of showing
up the ffaud by an itemized account
Of the two bidders, aud calls upon tax
payers to take glance at the bids
These taxpayers, thinks the telegram
reporter, will naturally inquire why
Coyle's bid was not received. Coyle,
like the reporter, was unable 10 under
stand why his bid was not accepted,
and protested TO the printing board
against the o5ntract being awarded TO
Belo & Co.. The board, however. az
ter being in session part Of two days,
decided adversely TO Coyle's bid, and
gave the contract to Belo a. Co.,
whether or no. As the 9elegr0m re-
porter says, taxpayers will probably
inquire into the matter, but what diff
feIence does that make 70 the printing
board, or TO the propriet0Fa Of the
Galveston Ners2 They have fat con-
tract and the taxpayers can
crack their whip. Up here In
North Texas, where we pay the bulk
Of the State taxes, contracts and Office
holders, are ''thin," as compared to
the southern and eastern portions of
the State, yet who IL there in Southern
or Eastern Texas that cares Tor the faxs
payers in this section Of the State so
long as these little thingss 60 on IN
interrupted and swimmingly, and We
plank down the cash 70 par for themf
Whether contracts are legal or frauda-
lent Is Of little concern so long IS We
Of North Texas have plethoric purse
aud pay on demand and say nothing.
SO far as the State printing IL con1ern-
ed, We believe the law IS Il now stands
Is huge humbug anyhow. ETea II i
were not, the practice Of giving ouk
the State printing Of the first class 70 =
bidder whose bid IA absolutely A. vAri-
ance with the requirements Of that
Law. simply because the bidders have =
Newspaper which doth grease and Il
thus creased, il = shame, add can b
called by no other term than down
right fr4ud. The attention Of c4ndi
dates for the Legislature Is called 10
this gross and fagrsnf eYil, and We
sincerely hope that the matter viii be
thoroughly sifted t6 the bottom wheh
The nsxs General Assembly eQnFenfs.
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1878-10-03
HOW THE NEWSPAPER PEOPLE
SUFFER-.

The quarantiners still insist, in their
action, that Boston and New York pa
pers may catch yellow fever somewhere
on the route from those cities to Aus
tin, and these papers are not suffered
to pass Texarkana or Denison. The
originality of the Texas press is now
tested to its utmost. Northern CITY
Sunday papers supplied the average
Texan publisher with matter of the
most tasteful and agreeable character.
but this vigorous quarantine at Texar-
kama and Denison has damned up this
well-spring of Texan intelligence. and
editors wi;hln this pent-up Utica, if
devoid of productive genius and accus-
toned 10 borrow freely from foreign
sources, are starved to emaclatiop.
Several Of our exchanges are almost
wrecked. We observe that two or three
are getting up a. fresh sensations "
from their old files. Another is COPY
i lg whole chapters from threads a r
copy of Mark Twain; aud still another,
printed lass Saturday the Lords Pray
er and ten commandments, no doubt |
the freshest possible news to most of
its readers. The Waco Telephone is
growing angry and says it will never
do to ''invest doctors with such au-
thority. They are not used to 1t.
They grow wild and overshOot their
mark. They are generally kept out of
,he papers and out of the public view,
md when they do emerge from the
neshes of their code of ethics and
lave an opportunity to become con-
picuous, they do forget themselves
md the peoples rights." This is an
xtrene and unjust view of the matter.
agents of quarantine appointed by the
Ioctors are unwilling to separate
Northern from Southern mails. They 6
10 not inquire whether bag comes
rom Boston or Memphis. All alike .
re thrust aside and the poor editors {
utfer as we have described. DIR.
rutherford will speedily apply the
roper remedy, and this growing dis
atisfaction.will soon end.
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1878-10-03

THE Dallas Commercial justly says
''tbat the decline of the San Antonio
Herald leaves a good field for the Ec-
press, one of the most ably edited news
papers in the State 1t Is independent
and liberal, and has lived and pros
pered, furnishing another proof of the
fact thet Texas people do not want
narrow and bitter partisan papers.
Most people are fully aware that all
questions have two sides, and some
times more, and they generally prefer
paper that is liberal and courageous
enough to give them full view of the
whole case, to one which speaks
strictly according to the lines LAID down
by the rule and compass of partisan
prejudice"
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1878-10-03
ton and many others thought wise and

ton and many others thought wise and
right. HIS theory of patriotic duty
and OF the relations of the State and
OF the citizen to the Union in lS60-5.
was that which obtains to-day. The
bayonet, blind arbiter of right as 1t is,
enters DEGREES that are final and bind
ing as those Of boasted human wisdom.
Might gives right and even if Hancock
had fought in Union armies on every bat
tlefeld of the war, he is no less worthy
of public and private confidence, and
no more or less fit to serve us in Con-
gress than any of these men who de-
nounce him. If John Hancock's opin-
ions on dead question, when he was
surely practically wiser than we, rem
der him unfit, concurrlng with us as he
does to-day, for place in the Federal
Congress, then prejudice and passion,
and not sound sense and reflection and
devotion to the interests of the State
should guide us at the ballot box. In
other words, in 1873 we must be con-
sistent in outward acts with ourselves
In 1907. II secessionists then, we
must still vote and speak and act as
through all the years
Of our absurd lives. In truth, per-
yerted notions of consistency resolve
themselves into asinine obstinacy
and 'Nat Q's" correspondents will |
find, when they strike out for offices
and honors, that gratuitous denuncla-
ton of those who concurred with Han
cock even IN 1SG0-1 will not be for
gotten even after 1873. Texas of to-
day ia not the Texas even of seventeen
years ago. People have learned to
.hlnk for themselves. The war was a
schoolmaster and blow
and violence OF denunciation
IAN ncVermOre shape results of popu-
ar elections
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1878-10-03
AN UNFORTUNATR STATE OF
FACTS.

1t is painful to reflect that the Ruta.
baga constitution is having the very
results anticipated when its trainers,
who followed the leading spirit of the
body, reduced the per diem of mem.
bers from five dollars to two dollars
for each day more than sixty through
which q session was protracted. There
must be some local measure in which
3 citizen of frst-rate ability is person
ally interested to induce him to seek
seat in the House or Senate. Few
men OF learning and experience in leg
lslation have therefore appeared as
candidates. In several counties we
discover that the people, having little
respect for those who have sought and
seized nominations, endeavor to induce
Worthler and sbler candidates TO pre-
sent themselves. But modest gentle
men of taste and excellent attainnen
and OF strong native intellects are un-
willing to thrust themselves before the
country as eager claimants for honors
which are not honors. The unworthi-
ness of the class that seeks offices rem.
ders contest repulsive tC those who
could serve well the commonwealth.
1t was once true that most men of good
native ability, when mature years came,
had gathered sufficiency of the worlds
goods to make them indifferent as to
the amount of the per diem when they
became placehOlders. When this ques-
tion of fixing salaries was before the
constitutional convention, these very |
considerations were presented again
and again, and yet it was insisted by
the leaiing spirit of that illustrious
body that he could live on less than a
dollar day, and that he was voting
away the peoples money with sufh.
cient extravaganza when he assented
to the per diem of So. The State was
cheated if it paid him and his worthy
associates the smallest possible sum,
and would haYe been profited If 1t had
proffered $50 per diem for proper con-
stitution makers. We confess this
now when we confess the stupidity of
chrystalized into an or
ganic code, and we must ever confess
it when we see that since the war learn
ing and ability and true worth are not
always blest with competency, and
N order to secure the services of
.hese virtues in law-making bodies
hey must be paid for. Until the
States organic law may be reformed,
there is no remedy for the misfortune
hat befalls the State. Meanwhile, it
becomes intelligent, honest citizens ev-
erywhere to exert their personal influ-
'nce IN behalf of the elevation of men,
who have learning and ability enough
% frame law, and personal magnet
SIN and force Of intellect and charac
enough to have it enacted. Many can
iidates before the people, if the news.
paper be not mistaken, are incapable !
If any task requiring knowledge either
If men, history or of legislation. The ,
esult of this state of things will be s
he appearance here and there of inde-
yvudDuU Ouuvrrsuv,,-,, ~,.-vSs.r,s s,vETIszs 4
uccess of those whose relations to {
parties alone entities them to Office.
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1878-10-03

If Ben Butler triumph in Massa-
2husetts, as he may if there be
thorough cooperation between the
Greenbackers and Democrats, he will
probably be the Greenbackers' candi-
date for the presidency, and if the
Greenbackers had strength in the
South that could be transferred to
Butler, he would be so formidable a
candidate for the presidency that
Grant alone could cope with him. But
Greenbacklsm is only strong where the
homeless multitude Is strong. Democ-
racy supplants it in the West and
South, and the Republican papers now
tell US that we will be forced to
choose between Grant and Ben Butler.
should await results in the Northwest
and in the South. These two sections
cooperating, propose to make the
next President of the United States.
Even if Ben Butler were supreme mas
ter of New England, he could not be-
come the country's master. New Eng
land has governed long enough, and,
least of all, will its supremacy be re-
produced by the arrant demagogue
and scene-shlfter. Ben Butler.
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1878-10-03
GOD'S PROVIDENCE.

An intolerable idiot, writing for the
Waco Examiner, says the STATESMAN
does not believe that Gods providence
had aught to do with the woes that
atflIct the towns and cities of the Val.
ley of the Mississippi, and therefore,
says the profound philosopher of Wa
CO, the STATESMAN is an ''atheist. ~
We do think that ignorance and
knavery In municipal governments.
filling the air of Heaven, pure and
fresh as God made it, with every foul
ness, begets these fatal diseases which
grow more terrible as these towns and
cities are more perfectly honeycombed
with repositories of filth. Except
to the extent that the Creator made
the men who made the laws and ruled
these hapless towns, we do not think
that providence has interposed. Peo.
pie suffer In obedience to natures eter-
nal fixed immutable laws which they
have wilfully violated. Elch person, lit
is commonly supposed, worships his
his own IDEAL which he calls God. He
whom we adore, and in whom we can
not help believing is God of good
ness and love and not of wrath. He is
no purveyor of calamities, dealing
them out to Memphis and Grenada,
while he suffers snch an idiot to live
and breathe as the writer for the Er.
aminer, who would array against the
STATESMAN the prejudices of ignor-
ance and superstition, and yet will not
declare that he differs in opinion from
us. .-.-
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1878-10-03


GOVERNOR HUBBARD feels heap
better since it has been found out that
Governor Bell, during his term, pro-
claimed day of thanksgiving in the
middle of Lent. "This, says the Tele-
gram, sis jollier blunder than Cover
nor Hubbard's proclamation making
Sunday fast day." But what harm
has been done? We have only learned
that Governor Hubbard adhered to the
maxim ne sutOr ultra erePiddm-- each
fellow stick to his trade. Ought not
the governors Of Texas, like Bell, Hub
bard, Coke and long line of these
illustrious, pious men, have regular
spiritual advisers to keep them out OF
trouble when they get tangled in the
Scriptures.