The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1880-10-14
An Old But spicy Letter Suited 70 These
Times

oil the Republican state central commit
tee, asking for contributions for the sue
cess of the Republican party. 1t is re-
plete with sound sense, wit, satire and
sarcasm:
GALVESTON, December "a, 1870.
Hon T. J. Davis. Chairman, etc, etc, Austin,
| Texas:
.Tr-l our favor addressed to me, as
postmaster at Galveston, Texas, dated
| December 20, 1870, in the form OF n regis
| tered letter, mailed AT Austin, December
"a, 1873, with = witness. came to hand late
last evening. The mailing OF il four days
after II was written was no doubt intend
ed to afford you ample time to apprise
your adjuncts here Of its contents before
| IL should become known to me however.
no more than the usual amount OF espion-
age and peeping in at windows has been
done by them. so far as have observed.
| The brigade seems to he still holding the
corners at all hazards.
| That you should make an effort to get
| at portion OF my salary to defray your
expenses 10 Washington Is natural
enough, but in days gone by do not re-
member Of your ever having contributed
| anything toward my expenses there, or
| toward those ofany other person, although
you seemed to be the greatest beneficiary
of those trips. The state once paid your
| expenses there, you remember, while |
| paid my own. But | never thought you
would ever get so low down as TO try to
wiring apittance out OF the hard earnings
of the poor men who earn their bare
bread out OF this Ufiive. 1t rather out
HerOds Mexican assessment.
You who have drawn 5000 a year for
over four years, without eKpending dol
lar for anything save your food and
clothes, while wasting the political power
conferred upon you with profligacy
m ca1 10 hn nj N n
around for samples OF clerk hire with
| which to defray your Washington eX-
| penses, is rather too ridiculous.
1t was represented here that you went
| there on professional business" The
corners all proclaimed that to be so, but
| did not believe il then, nor do I now.
You went there for scalps. 1t was pre-
| liminary movement. The secret circular
| of your friends became known here, not
| withstanding the most studied secrecy of
the committee of ten. Ii is true that /
have as yet been unable to obtain one of
| those circulars, and would thank you for
| a copy, If You have any left.
| You are aware that | cannot Use gov
ernment money for the purposes express
| ed, nor do | suppose that you desire Ii !:
| and of what little | can manage to save
out of my salary | shall, as Is customary
with ME, bestOw II for the establishment
and maintenance OF sound Republican
1
ment of the martyred excellence of a
| Davis or Flanagan
| l have carefully noted the tone and
studied the phraseolOgy of your letter.
see while on the one hand ii would be
agreeable to you to get my money to pay
your expenses to Washington, that on
the other ii would suit you just as well,
and perhaps better, to have me refuse, in
order 10 afford you pretext for open
| hostility,
| Your letter Is replete with whereases
with the whereases left out, otherwise 1t
would look like paper once presented
me, although somewhat more modest In
Its pretensions
| You speak Of the representations of my
| friends as if they had appealed to you for
the mercy of the notice afforded by your
letter. The generosity of the rattle be-
fore the fatal spring? Thank you. fmy
friends had explained to you that | re-.
garded you as huge "cask of dynamite"
to the Republican party, they would have
had it about right. The wrecks you have
| made of the party in the past, and or all
the strength given you by friends, It is
too fearful and sad to contemplate.
| | shall not contribute to aid any set of
! men to cut my own throat, or assist them
in cutting up antics for personal display,
for that is about the way lregard you and
| their performance.
| III udb DeeU DTOuull auNtTllhcu by your
| friends, through money obtained, that
! you would control the voter of the eight
Texas delegates to the next national Re-
| publican convention, and others aud my
self have been from time TO time threat
ened with your power. work hard In
| my Office and earn my money, and when
! you have rendered the Republican party
rs much service ~ have II will be time
for you TO put on airs and read Inc lectures,
by placing yourself in the attitude of AS
suming 10 doubt my Republicanism.
So far as known, your personal cOntri-
| buttons to the Republican party have
been heard from, while the tens and tens
OF thousands Of dollars you have re-
ceived from it seem to have gone to "that
bourne from whence no traveller returns;"
indeed, to some unknown place from
! whence there is not even SO much as n
| spiritual manifestation, much less the ap-
pearance OF any materialiZed shadow of
dollar fef1ecting back the thin semblance
of itself upOn its former path. No, my
dear Edmund, as party dollar nears
! your pocket,
| ''lt IL like the snowflake on the river
moment white, then pesshes forever.
| have felt very anxious for a long time
| past TO try TO resurrect the Republican
party in this state, but whenever there
4 was an opportunity for SO doing some
| body would set up as its terrible dyDam-
| ite, and thus irighten one OFF; and IL il
| likely that the grand explosive principle
| will continue TO be tried a. long as there
are any hopes Of blowing anybody up.
| We can stand all this well enough al
home, but must confess that have hopes
| that the shameless effort to auction Off the
votes of the eight Texas delegates will
| fail. Put on any amount OF explosive
force, but do not go TO hawking off the
party for any consideration TO the yari-
Gus presidential aspirants at Washington,
with the commonplace formula of " How
| much am l offeredY" How much am
| offered - How much am offeredy'
Colonel ). also contributed for one
! issue OF your organ SS-eight beautiful
dollars, and the adulterating incense rose
| like the fumes OF myrrh before your altar.
! I refer you to the columns Of that paper
your own organ. published with money
obtained of General s. and Judge F.
not only for ITS abuse Of them, as well as
myself, but for the advertisement Of sale
| of the votes of Texas delegates. IL claim
| ed that you alone could control them or
| dispose of them. Why did you rcbuke
| this thing. instead of being fiattered by
| It: If you have the honor or the good OF
the Republican party at heart, why, my
dear sir, do yOu allow these men to vaunt
| you forth as the only man who can con-
troll the votes OF the Texas delegation In
| the next national Republican convention!
| For shame! that you should feel fiat
| tered at the humiliation and debasement
1 OF your party.
/ Has the Republican party indeed fallen
| so low that any one man can carry Ii In
his pockett
| 1t seems long since TO have worn your
4 pockets through, and to have fallen out !;
| but even now, IL these pretentions are
true. IL would seem to have recovered
| from the cold and shiyering sensations OF
having once been thus engulfed.
| I think that there can he fOund men
| enough In Texas who are willing to pay
| their own expenses, and would feel proud
| OF the honor of attending a national Re-
| publican convention.
II so happens that we are all very poor,
| with the exception Of several immaculate
| survivors Of the Twelfth Legislature. and
we cannot spend money by the hundreds
| of dollars to journey North TO cut OF the
heads OF federal officers, or otherwise dis
play our dynamics
| Since my advent into office you have
been In the steady pursuit OF Federal Of
/ ficials. You have not worked TO do any
/ thing for the party, but have labored
solely for individual aggrandizeinent.
| have no objection 70 your growth and
| grandeur. but why do YOU make war
| solely on Republieansf You cannot get
a. Office in the state, and IL seems 10 make
yOu unhappy TO see any Republican have
one unless he will stand before you
4 swinging his ceneer OF adulating incense
| All the dissatisfied element about you
would feel just as unhappy II they were
10 hear yOu munehIng the corn rs they do
to hear ms. Nothing but their getting In
| the pen. with a clear chance ai q full
| trough, will ever satisfy them.
They did not throw over many loose
kernels when they were in before, and II
| you were 10 throw them out handful or
! so now. they would devOur n in 4 mo-