The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1880-03-10
NO AFFLLLA 71ON WITH REPUDE
AT0RS,

Tennessee, we took occasion to say
among other things that the coming
Gubernatorial race ought not to be
made With three tickets in the field.
We estimated that the Reputation |
party in Tennessee could muster 75,-
600 voters, the Democratic party
40, 900, and the Republican party
80, 900. Estimating the strength Of
parties thus. we expressed the opin-
ion that with three candidates in
the field, the Reputation party
would certainly win. This result, we
stated in substance, ought TO be
avoided by the politically honest
men of the State. We saw no way
to avoid 1t except by combination
of the two old parties 10 an effort to
exterminate this deleterious fung0id
growth upon the body politic-the
Reputation party. The article so
published by us has attracted some
attention from the political press Of
the State. A number of substantial
Democratic sheets have given it to
their readers without note or COM
ment; others have spoken approx
ingly OF 1t, while such hybrids as the
Franklin ReviesU and JouTnaL-a Re-
pudiation sheet published at Frank
lin, Tenn.-have attempted to kick
up quite q little dust about it. AZ
ter quoting from cur article, it says !:
Gas Democrat {? ? y high credit or
otherwise we are ashamed of this fel-
low"
In another part of his article he
characterizes the GAZETTE as " So
called" Democratic sheet! We who
have dealt in words all our life
thought we knew the meaning Of
"egotism" before. We were mistak-
Ell. We who have spent long, long
years in newspaper Offices thought
we had seen journalistic effrontery
before; but we had not. 1t has been
left for this Reputation editor to
show, in one short paragraph, more
of discourtesy, more of egotism and
effrontery than we have ever seen
before displayed. (Here, Tom, lift
the thing out with your tongs and
see that 1t is planted deep enough
TO abate its stench.)
Pardon this depression. We start
ed out to reiterate the sentiments
of our article of two weeks ago.
There are nO1O three parties in Ten
nessee. 1t is true the Repudiation'
lists in the main claim to be Demo.
Gratis. But no claim could be more
preposterous in character, or untrue
in fact. The very greatest enemy
the national Democracy has to con-
tend with to-day is the Reputation
party Of Tennessee and Virginia.
True they are comparatively weak,
but their power to injuFe lies in the
accidental fact that most of them
were once Democrats, and that they
try to cling to the old name. This
fact is seized upon everywhere by
Republicans and is hurled with stun
ming force into the face Of the Dem
ocracy. No single fact will hang
with such deadly weight about the
neck Of the Democratic candidate
for President, in 1880. as the fact
that the Regulators of Virginia and
Tennessee are largely from the De
mocraLic ranks and claim still to be
Democrats. We here repeat what
we said before. This excresence
must be severed from the body pol
itic. This unRstural hybrid must be
eradicAted from Tennessee soil. This
new party must be crushed before ii
finishes the ruin it has already well
nigh brought upon the Democratic
party. One way to fight the devil is
with prayer. But it is said he ought
some times TO be fought with fire,
So, if our Republican friends will
unite with US to elect James D.
Porter for our next Governor, or
some such man, We will say they
have acted most wisely. If they
cannot see it in this light, then let
them offer US some such man as DIR.
w. z. Jones, Of Nashville, or Others
whose names we might mention, and
let the Democrats run no candidate
and we will see if the two old parties
cannot give quietus to this new
upstart. And when 10000 Demo.
Gratis shall have voted for a Repub.
lican to beat RepudiatOr, they will
all be Democrats still. Or when 49,.
900 Republicans shall have voted
for Democrat to beat a Repudiator
they will be Republicans still. But
if Democrat votes for a Repudia-
tor to beat Republican he thereby
becomes himself a repudiator and
helps to destroy his party and to
bring his State into world wide in
fanny and disgrace. There is nothing
more certain, as we believe, than
that Savage, or Wilson, or perhaps
Marks will be tie Reputation can
didate for Governor. 1t is equally