The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1879-12-11
HIS MAN FOR GOVERNOR.
"countryman" Stakes His Pile on the
Franklin County Statesman.
Nashville American ,

Hon. JNo. r. BEAsLEY-Dear Sir:
have seen your letter in the
Franklin Review and Journal, and l
am for you for Governor. l see in
that letter that you have"gone back
on" old man Savage and will not
support him for Governor, because
he said in the"assinine convention :"
1--WE don't owe a ceDt-the Govern
ment has no power to issue bonds;
there is no law, human or divine,
for it, but l am willing to give the
bondholders 334 cents on the dol
lar, as a gift" You are correct
Tennesseans amt got anything to
give away. If we owe nothing, but
can give 333 cents, how much could
we give if we owed the debt1
Where does this leave Wilson and
Tolley? Try your mathematics on
this problem. And you tell the
boys that Tennessee amt throwing
money away now-except on claw
yers"-if she knows herself. But 1
always thought that you would
''shCw up at the end'' in the Guber-
material race. And 1 have reached
my conclusions logically. You
know you used to be a preacher,
then an editor, then a lawyer, then
a politician, then a mo nothing" in
religion. (Lord! how you nave
Darwin -ated backwards), and don't
you sec that the very next step
ought to make you Governor of a
repudiating State? Why, it looks
to me like fate had decreed it. You
don't believe IN hell. Well, l have
just been thinking that if we could
nominate you tor Governor, and
put a plank in the platform repudi
ating "helP' and the debt" at the
same time, it would take. Don't
you think so? Because hell IS real
ly distasteful to a good many of our
folks. And when we repudiate the
debt, we want a Governor with
nerve enough to repudiate "helr'
too, and produce a kind of settled
and comfortable feeling among our
people. But, to tell you the truth,
l have never been right well salts
fed aaout that hell question since
joined the party, but am openly
opposed to it, and willing to"plank"
it in the platform. But you must
agree to submit the whole question
to the people before we settle il
finally. But, oh how 1 would love to
see you on the stump in one of
your most fiery, and untamed
moods, when the lightnings played
mysterious pranks around your
eyes and the thunder rolled in som
brest melancholy from your lips,
and the rain fell in rushing torrents
from the eyes of your bewildered
audience, holding up "repudiation"
and ''hell,' with sublime eloquence
upholding the first, and In uumeas-
ured wrath denouncing the last.
What a monumental, Janus-faced
spectacle. 1t seems to me like
would be willing to be the frizzled
end of a dirty rope in a one horse
circus the balance of my life if l
could just see that sight. Do you
raise any constitutional questions in
opposition to hell? Or just the
same old argument against the
debt2 Where do railroads go to
when their charters expire?
| see in your Franklin letter you
event for" railroads, and said they |
ought to pay that bonded debt
The State, you know, borrowed the |
money, loaned it to the railroads, |
and then the railroads paid it back |
to the State; but as you say, the |
bondholders seem to think that the |
railroads still have it. That's all |
right-let them think so, and they |
will quit worrying US. L think we
can appease the railroads by put
ting plank in our platform some
thing like this: "Resolved, That if
the bondholders win their suit
against the railroads, we will reim
burse said roads as they have al
ready paid the money TO the State)
by issuing new bonds, showing on |
their face that the interest is to be
funded semi annually at the ex-
pense OF the railroads and the en-
tire debt repudiated at the end of
thirty years" This, it seems to
me. will strike the railroads below
the belt.) You are right in hating
railroads. Since they we're luilt !
they have taken away from the very
midst of this people millions OF dol
lars worth of corn, wheat, bacon,
lard, coal, cotton-things that are |
good to eat, wear and burn-and |
they have actually charged the peo |
pie for carrying these things away; |
and, besides, look at the destruction |
of stockl Not satisfied with kill |
ing those that accidentally get on
the track, they inveigle them there
by whistling to them, and they never
kill nothing but fine stock. l nev-
er knew d COW killed worth less |
than $50, or hog worth less than
$40. I have known them to run
right by a lousy calf to kill Dur
ham COW. They are great NUS
ances, and when you want to ride
on them you generally Y have to pay.
What made you write that letter to
the Franklin paper-to know wheth-
er it would be policy to Ask the
railroads for half-rate tickets to
your "meetIngr" Did you think
the railroads woult refuse and put
their foot in itP' Which? Now, let
me tell you, don't never refuse a
railroad pass. Il make it a rule
never to do it, A man can travel
ON free railroad pass for five years
ard not necessarily steal anything.
l have tried it, (but l was watch
ed). But still, it is well enough for
a politician to ''remove temptation |
from him" 1t won't do to fool |
with inducements, and people are
so much more liable 10 suspect our
folks than they are to suspect
preachers, amt they? It's on &C
count Of the way the word prey"
is spelt.
What made you tell the editor of
the Franklin paper that l was a
ssrailroaE lawvprY' Now don't |