Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1882-10-21
THAT DERT OF GRATiTUDE.

1t Is claimed by the Readjusters
that the State owes Gen. Bate a
debt of gratitude which can only be
paid by electing him Governor.
Has il been classified as State debt
proper, or how? With every re-
curing election of United States
Senator, for several years, he has
been pushed forward for that posi-
ton, but now they claim the Cover
norship. Does this mean that they
put it on the same footing as the
railroad debt and are willing to
"scale it" from Senator to Cover
nor, that is, half principal and half
interest? Or is the GovernOrship to
be added to the other as accrued
interest? Far be 1t from US to
withhold from Gen. Bate anything
which the State may owe him, but
since the matter has been put in
this light, il Is well enough to ex-
anime into ii and see exactly how
it stands. How was this debt con-
tracted /? Is it for eminent states
manship? How, where and when
were the services rendered? In
what do they consist? Was it the
campaign services with PettibOne,
or with Foote? 1t rather seems
that Hon. +. A. James should wear
the colors, won in the Foote fight.
These are all legitimate questions;
his supporters are in the habit of
Growing over his very superior abil-
tiles as a statesman and the people
have right to ask and to know II
these have ever been exerted for
the good of the State or party in
times where every good citizen and
Democrat did all in his power for
the public veal. There are men in
this community who have at all
times come forward and taking the
banner, have borne it through
many hard battle, who have new
er received any reward and yet
neither they nor their friends per-
sistently thrust forward their SER
vices and demand payment in
offices within the gift of the people,
or require men to ignore party
principles and vote for them, or in
common parlance "scratch the plat
form and vote for the candidate"
But they say 'his splendid mill
tary record entities him to our sup
port" Why he, above thousands of
other Teunesseans who have made
as devoted and as gallant soldiers as
he? Gen. Bate made a good soldier
there is no question of that, but he
does not stand alone in that respect
"by large majority )" We have
amongst us many, very many, as
true and brave as he, who have
sacrificed as much and fought as
valliantly, to whom no peans of
praise have been sung and upon
whom no hOnors have been lavish
ed, and yet these men go quietly
along, content with the approval of
their own consciences without hav-
ing their deeds blazoned forth and
demanding public recognition after
a lapse of twenty or forty years.
But then admitting Gen. Bates
military record to be all that gal
liant soldiers should be, and which
is no doubt the case, does that make
him any better Democrat than any
one else? Does that entitle him to
the support of Democrats, blindly
given, regardless Of the policies
which he may advocate? Is that
any reason why man should sac
rifice his personal convictions of
what is right and wrong or abandon
his political faith? 1t cannot reas-
onably be expected that any sane
man, in the cool and deliberate eX-
ercise of the highest prerogaive of
an American citizen, shall cast his
vote for a man who advocates a
policy which the voter regards as
ruinous to his State and diametri- |
cally opposed to every principle OF
his party, simply because the can
didate had good military record.
Yet Gen. Bate seems to think 1t
should be so, for he said, at Lewis
burg, tif you can't vote for my plat
form, vote for me anyhow" lay
aside every other consideration but
vote for him, certainly strange
mode of procedure. He says al
endorse the platform from center to
again, "if / am
elected Governor, and the bOndhol-
der will not take 50-3, will fold
nv arms and let his bonds moulder
and rot" And State Credit men
who believe in the validity of the
state debt, who believe that justice,
right. the prosperity of the State,
the unity of the Democratic party
and the success of the National
Democracy depend upon the sus-
tanning of the COS settlement, are
required to support such man on
his military record, when his mill
tary record has about as much con-
with it as the length of the
tail has with the price of
corn.
]
The mere fact of man having
been a General in the Confederate
army does not necessarily make MIN
a simon pure Democrat now, Tor III
stance, Gen. Malone, of Virginia
land Democrats should examine
and see il there is any diff
ference in the principles involved
and the results to follow, was a gall
liant soldier and a successful and
popular. business man, yet by his
intense desire for Office and ques-
tionable means to promote his per-
,onaI fortunes, he has made ma
honism" synonymous with re-
corruption and fraud, a
hiss and by-wOrd throughout the
nation. Other men, Generals, Col