Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1881-03-26
Special Message.

I
Gentleman fthe senate and house
of Representatives Circumstance:
render it necessary that I shouiC
, transmit to your honorable body 1
a supplemental message In regard
|, to some matters which have arisen
since my former message was writ,
ten, and also as to some matters
! mentioned in that former message
which some OF my friends think
might possibly bear the criticism
that the tidea" wore the toga oi
ambiguity.
/ desire first, however, as a little
matter of pleasantly, in order to
show you that / am not above en-
tering into your little amusements,
to congratulate you on your visit to
Washington, and to express the re-
gret felt by the whole people of the
state that your stay could not be in
definitely prolonged. | trust you
have returned with enlarged views
upon all the questions which de-
mand your attention. OF course
you will, in a great measure, cease
to share the unreasonable prejudice
of the common-people against rail-
way corporations. for their little
attentions must have been very
gratifying, and convinced you that
they are not wholly bad, and none
of you ought to take exception to
the freedom of the passes they
make at you"
i hope your appearance in Wash
ington partially removed the inn
preston entertained north, that
very few people south can read and
write.
The first question desire to call
your attention to is the theft of my
| former message, and to suggest some
remedy to prevent its recurrence.
Perhaps if you would authorize me
to offer a reward of sum eight or
ten times the intrinsic value of the
property stolen, it might induce
some man to lose a days work in
hunting for the parties who got it.
1t is not so much the value of the
thing stolen which ought to control
your action in this matter, but it's
the principle. If parties are per-
mitted to steal messages indiscrimi-
nately, after awhile they will get
bold enough to take one which real
ly has something in it.
1t is true that this message was |
intended to be ''given" to the pub
lie, but at the same time the inten- |
tion was that the "gift" should |
come from me, not some other feI- |
low; and while my contribution |
might be of very little value, still /
it's mine, without regard to the |
question as to whether it would OPP |
crate as an injury or benefit to those |
who actually donated it to the pub /
lie. Besides this, two of the most |
important features were destroyed: /
The "surprise" which it enfolded /
(Which is ''the soul of wit"), and its
dramatic effect, by the ''too previ-
business" of the the denouement.
l suggest that you change the
law and make it larceny, whether
the thing stolen has any value or
not, or whether it's ''carried away"
or left with the owner. | lost it,
yet it remains with Ine; it lost moth
ing in weight or value, but the
spirit had fed.
1t is extremely difficult for man
like me (raised in the country,
where a man might write fourth
of July Grafton and leave it on the
head of barrel in the backyard
during the whole summer unmO-
Iested,) to understand these town
ways.
When I finishe'l that message, l
put it under me in my chair, hold
ing one end of it in each hand, and
at night / sewed it up in sock and
put it in "hair-roofed chist," but
next morning some fellow stuck
newspaper under my door contain
ing nly message, and when / came
to examine my sock, there wasn't
a stitch 'busted," yet the two mes
sages were just as much alike as
twins. / could only account for its
gOneness by the suppOsition that in
reading it over to myself, some of
these new-fangled telephones may
have gotten hold of it, and gave it
to the American.
This is matter which should in
tereSt each of you, as you may
wake up some morning and find
YOUR speech published before you
have even written it out.
My special purpose in sending
this message, however, is to make
some suggestions about convict
labor, as | lost my former message
before | had finished this branch of
it, as you will perceive by the most I
examination. l said great
deal about the matter, but failed to
tell you exactly what ought to be {
done with this labor. Now | intend
to make so plain, so clear, what
ought to be done 10 keep this labor
from coming in competition with
honest labor, "that he who runs
may read"
First, | want to fix your minds on /
this point: We can't support these j
convicts and not require them to
work. This would cost too much {
money and be unpopular; but we [
must make them work at something
that will keep them out of cOmpeti- S
ton with honest labor. / will now
.uggest to you plan. .
1t will not do to permit them to
practice law, because-Well, they
haven't the ability; but [ will sug
gest what to do with them before | S
am done.
We cannot make doctors of them, t
because long association has de-
stroyed those personal antagonisms
necessary to success in that profess
sion but ] will tell you what must
be done.
1t would hardly do to make legis-
Iators of them, because-well, there {
too many of them-that's |
the only objection. But I'll suggest
l
1t won't do to make farmers of S
them, for then they are in competi-
lion with too many voters in the :
country nor 10 make mechanics of !
them, for that brings them in COM /
petition with too many voters in l
the cities and towns. But I'll tell 9
you what to do before Pm done. |
1t will not do to work them in q
coal mines in competition with the {
for these are engaged in a
honest labor" and have some q
voice in political affairs. But my !
purpose is to show you what ought l
10 be done with them.
1t would hardly do to permit 5
them to fish and hunt over the 4
for it would cost too much I
to guard them and be Objectionable |
otherwise; but I'll soon tell you 1
what to do. Now, they must do /
some kind of work to earn their
meat and bread, and not become an
additional expense to the taX-pay-