Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1882-09-07
A SPICY LETTER. .
THE REPUBLICANS OF THE SECOND
DISTRICT NOT TO WEAR COLLARS
Hon. j. M. Thoi inburgh Replies to ID b.
Henderson's Letter..

\ Scsthins Rebuke of Impertinent Inter
meddiing by Outsiders.
A few days ago D.. B, Henderson, Secre-
tary of the Republican Congressional Com
mittee, addressed letter to j. M. Cordell,
of Scott County, in which he undertook to
dictate to the Republican voters of this dis
trict that they should vote for l.. G. Houk.
Hon. ]. NJ Thornbrgh, Chairman of the
Republican Committee, addressed the fol-
lowing reply to Henderson, which was pub
lished in several of the New York, Boston,
Cincinnati, Caicago and other papers of yes
terdsy morning:
Rooms OF THE
REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE,
SECOND DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE,
KNOXVILLE, Tenn, Sept. 2, 1882.
D. B. Henderson, Esq, Secretary Republi-
can Congressional Committee, Washing
ton, DC.
SIR: see it stated in the newspapers
that you have written an official letter to
John M Cordell, Esq, chairman, &c, in
which you say that your committee, after
investigation, have reached the conclusion
that L. C. Houk was regularly and properly
nominated for Congress by the Republicans
of this district, &c. You reprobate the
action of the convention which nominated
MIR. Rule for that position, and crltlclse
their conduct as injurious to the Republican
cause You then urge the Republicans of
the district to support Houk. You give
him certificate of character as a member
of Congress, and promise freely the aid of
your committee to secure his election.
We are not aware that the Republicans
of this district have submitted this matter
to your arbitration.
Assuming that you have authority from
some members of your committee to write
this extraordinary letter, intended to in
huence the Republicans of this district, We
have right to know who, if any, of your
committee were. consulted, and authorized
this impertinent and dictatorlal action.
Some years experience as member OF
that committee, and my personal acquaint-
anee with many of its present members,
Intiuces me to believe that'lf more than a
small minority of the committee have au-
thorized your action, the facts connected
with the contest in this district have been
grossly misrepresented to them. Your
statement of co ciaslons reached III regard
10 regularity, ETC., of the Houk convention,
and y our denunciations of the men COM
posing the convention which nominated
Mr.. Rule indicate that you must have ac-
cepted the statements of Mir. Houk rs the
basis of your action. e.r
There were two conventions held here;
One nominated Mr.. Rule, the other MIR
houk.~ Mr.. Houk happens to be member
of your committee. You indorse his uolni-
nation and assume to rect Republicans of
tennessee to support him.
Mr. Rule is, and has for many years,
been the Tennessee member of the Nation
al Republican Committee, of which the
Hon. Marshall Jewell Is chairman. 1t would
be an easy matter for Mr.. Rule to convince
his committee and the country that the
statements on which you have acted are
false, aud your conclusions unfounded.
The contest here is not between Stalwarts
and Independents, nor between Garfield
Republicans and supporters of this admin
istratlon, but it is a conflict of intelligence,
| honesty, sobriety and morality, against all
that these antagonize; and i'll this contest
| you and your committee, and probably the
funds intrusted to you, are beng wrongly
| used.
| There is no Democratic candidate for
| Congress in this district, nor is 1t likely that
| there will be, considering the fact that Ill
| the last Presidential election there were
more than two Republican voters In the dis
| trict to each Democrat
The truth is that thousands of intelligent,
thinking Republicans OF this district have
determined to submit no longer to be rep
resented in Congress by MIR. Houk. The
preamble and resolutions unanimously
adopted by them in convention state their
reasons for this determination.
This convention was composed of farm
ers, mechanics, bankers, laborers, lawyers,
clergymen, physicians and business men
| many of them ez-Federal soldiers
| representing the best elements of
society, filling large court house to over
flow, and were as regularly selected N pri-
mary conventions from the various counties
in the district as any who attended Houk's
convention of officeholders.
And that you may not longer remain en-
tirely ignorant of the causes of dissension
in the party here, will insert one of the
resolutions above referred to, and which
shows, in part, the cause of the trouble III
the district
'Resolved That the electors of the Second
Congressional District of Tennessee will not
submit further to the humiliation and dis
grace of being represented In the Congress
| OF the nation by q man whose character and
habits have debarred him from respectable
society, whose associations and sympathy
with criminals, whose hypocricy in religion,
whose public and notorious drunkenness,
! whose preference for falsehood to truth, and
whose odious character, have become the
theme of comment and illustration in the
newspapers throughout the land, and have
brought shame and reproach upon worthy
and reputable constituency"
4 The Republicans of this district feel they
are competent to manage their own affairs,
and that they have the right, without dlcta-
ton from abroad, to select Republican
who will represent the intelligence and NOR
/ allty of our people. ..
The whole theory of our government is
that all power emanates from and belongs
to the people, and that they should be left
free to cast their ballots, without outside
dictation, money or influence.
We deny your right to interfere with or
I. t. meddle in this canvass, or to dictate for
whom we shall vote This extraordinary
and impertinent action of yours is an insult
| to the people of this district, and neither
| your guarded certificate of Houk's character
as a member of Congress, nor your self
assumed guardianship of our voters will pre-
vent Houk's defeat, unless you go further
and furnish our people proof that the Con
| gressional Record is false which shows that
he was absent from his seat, neglecting his
duties, and not voting, more than six sew
enths of the time during the last session of
the 10th Congress, and that the Record of
| the last session viii not show a state of
| affairs still worse; that he has not been re-
! peatedly intoxicated on the floor of the
House of Representatives and elsewhere;
that he has not been arrested and locked
| up by the police of Washington for
being upon the streets drunk and
disorderly, and that his conduct and habits
have not become such as to disgrace his
| constituents.
And we protest that the money which you
collect from ofice-holders shall not be used
in this canvass for Houk against better
man and better Republican and that to
do SO is an outrage upon our people and a
fraud upon the men who gave the money
for different purpose,
] And notwithstanding the efforts of small
of hnlI x1rbs hcx-a han n n