Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1880-05-29
The Constitution Against the
Empire.
rs IT PEACE ?

WY VI dppAObdbAOu anu GOAAOChAd-
ton, in reference to an article of
ours written two weeks ago than in
the case of anything else we have
written. We speak of our editorial
comments on the nomination of
Judge Hawkins for governor by the
republican party. We pronounced
this nomination dangerous to the
democracy in case the so-called low
tax section should attempt to force
their tenets on the party at large by
attaining a possible majority at
Nashville when the time comes for
the democracy to make their nOmi
nation for the same Office.
This declaration has been made
the subject of comment both in the
editorials of other journals and in
private conversation here and else
where, and, having found our posi-
ton generally misunderstood (of
course from our own want of perspi-
cuity), we deem it necessary to de-
fine our intended meaning more
exactly.
We have listened to the COM
ments of three distinct classes of
readers, all of whom have more or
less misunderstood our intended
meaning. These have been
-State-credit men who have
looked upon our article as declara-
tion of war with the low-tax men,
and applauded US for it.
-State-credit men who
have taken it in the same sense and
blamed us for it as disorganizers.
Third-Low-tax men who have
taken it as a challenge, and an
swered it with prompt acceptance.
All are agreed, therefore, in taking
the article in question as a declara-
tiOn of war, and all are mistaken,
for it was written in the interest of
peace and with view to preserve
the unity Of the democratic party.
In answer to all, we will state our
belief that there are greater facilities
at this time for the democratic party
to act in concert in asserting its
principles against the republican
party than have been in its power
for twelve years, for recent events
have removed that disturbing OBJ
ject, the state debt question, from
the domain of party politics to that
of the law-cOurts, where it is bound
to remain for months, if not years;
for the decision of the district court
in which primary action has been
taken cannot be rendered for several
months, and then there is no doubt
of its reference tc the appellate
jurisdiction of the supreme court,
which implies litigation for an adj
ditiOnal period OF indefinite dura-
ton. While this continues the con-
troversy is on the part of the bond
holders, not with the people of
Tennessee, but with the railroads to
which the bonds were issued; so
that there is no ground whatever
for making that vexed question an
issue in our approaching elections,
and, if any section of the party
should insist upon doing so, it will
be, not because any public interest
demands such step, but because
the interests of certain politicians
can only be advanced by such I'M
necessary agitation. We desire the
attention of the people to this mat
ter, for to the politicians we know |
that all appeals are vain. Those
gentry are in the pursuit of Office, |
and know that the present incum-
bents can only be thrust aside by |
maintaining positions which the !
incumbents cannot as honorable |
men adopt; and to such office-seek-
ers the integrity of the party is
nothing, the welfare of the nation is
nothing, compared with their own
selfish aspirations. To them, then,
we make no appeal, but to the peO-
pie who are not seeking Office, what
ever may be their opinions on the
debt question, we do appeal. We
ask them whether the mOmentOus
interests which the democratic party
is agreed in maintaining are not
infinitely more important than the
claims of any body of Office-seekers.
On one side of this controversy is
the perpetuatiOn of the reserved
rights of the states, on the other a
system characterization and military
despotism; on the one side self-gov-
eminent, on the other the restOra-
ton of carpet-baggery and all its
iniquities. If any man is SO blind
as not to see the paramount import
ance of these issues, argument with
him is useless with him; but to
those who have their eyes open and
are capable of seeing the merits of a
plain question, we put it, can they
give their votes to men who by OBJ
tTuding a distracting element, which
is not now an issue with the people
of Tennessee at all, deliberately and
of DlGLice preDense set themselves to
hammering at the wedge which, if
it enters at all into the approaching
contest, cannot fail to shatter and
disorganize the party which alone
defends the constitution against the
treason of those who would substi-
tute for it a military despotism.
1t is only in case these appeals
should fail of their purpose that our
warning comes in; it is only in case S
the agitators in question should be (
successful in deluding the people so
far as to force on the party by their
votes a position which honest men
cannot and will not maintain, in
case, that is, that it should be at
tempted to identify democracy with
that we tell men bent
ON such a course that they can't do /
il. We tell them that the state {