The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1882-11-02

BossIsM has thrown dismay into
Republican camps in New York and
Pennsylvania. 1t helped TO defeat
the Republicans in Ohio, and Vir-
ginians, caught unawares IN the
trap of the bosses, are struggling,
we hope successfully, to rid the Old
Dominion of bossism that has dis
graced the grand old state. The
Republican party in Texas has been
under the guidance of a boss, who
has absolutely bossed the poor
thing to death. This boss was f. j.
Davis; and finding his party dead
beyond resurrection, killed by his
own hands, he got himself selected
as the boss OF Independentism in
the state, aud in one short canvass he
has ridden this poor thing until it is
even now, before the election, in the
throes of death. Hon. George Wash
ington Jones was selected as fig
urehead to catch votes and hold the
Independents together, if possible,
while Davis and Ochiltree were to
win congressional seats; but poor
Wash, deluded George Wash, has
been in turn bossed to death, and
already his political grave has been
dug deep for the reception of his
political carcass, and after Thursday
next the poor subject will be laid
away in the shades of an everlasting
seclusion. And still we are not sorry
for poor Wash; he is of age, and has
been in congress, placed there by
Mr.. Davis, and he may be consid-
cred, except when under the influ-
ence of lemonade, as responsible.
His end has been encompassed
in bossism, and submitting to being
bossed by E. j. Davis is the most
diabolical servitude yet known. Yet
this is the end to which Wash Jones
has come. Should Texans not feel
glorified that they have not yet been
duped into being tie slaves of bosses?
Mr.. Davis, as governor, was a mill
tary boss, having his overseer, David
son, to punish the disobedient at
will. But what in reality is this
bossism? 1t is born of Radicalism,
of expressing the masses, of taxing
the poor for the rich, of corruption
of fraud, of the basest purposes in
government, and to maintain all
this iniquity the Republi-
can party proposes to rule
the people for its ends.
Over a hundred thousand place
men are now employed by the fed
eral government, distributed over
all the state, to engage in the plan
of enforcing bossism. The steady
tendency of Radicalism has been to
bossism, pure and simple, and this
army of placemen is used to serve
its purposes. Their salaries furnish
a taxable basis whence a corruption
fund is annually derived, and from
the highest to the lowest, each is
employed to drum up, buy or bully
recruits for the ranks of the party.
The sole test for place on the federal
pay roll is capacity as a "worker,"
to quote the expressive slang of the
day. The safe guards 10 retention
of place are the preservation of the
favor of the man who secures the
appointment for the recipient, and
shrewdness enough to cover the
tracks in any "crookedness" which
may be practiced. The public SER
vice and the public works, the cost
of which the whole people are taxed
TO defray, are thus persistently and
defiantly abused to the use of the
dominant party" which has kept
itself in power largely through its
army of Office holders, while what
this could not supply for that
purpose was drawn from the will
ing beneficiaries of the party, upon
whom liberal favors had been con-
ferred at the public expense. 1t |
needs only blind docility ON the part |
of the people to endOw Radlcalism
with perennial power, which must |
eventually eliminate in naked des-
potism. Bossism was once Grantism
and though Grantism, as personified |
by him that gave it name, is dead,
having fallen at the bidding OF the
people, its spirit is yet rampant and |
must be put down, if the republic is
to be preserved. 1t is gratifying |
indeed, in the midst of all this pollti-
cal corruption, that Texans not only
freed themselves of Radical bossism
nine years ago, but that they now
show no disposition TO be blindly
led into the shambles. Mr.. Jones
has been used for this base purpose,
but he will be defeated by
seventy-five thousand majority, and
Mr.. Davis, whom he was to serve, in
turn viii be reminded that Texans
cannot forget and forgive the base
insults offered them from 1879 to
1878 by Gov. Davis. An individual
Texan like Wash Jones may sell out
for the hope of reward, but like the
Old Guard, the Democratic masses
OF Texas never surrender to the
enemy.
Gov. DAVIS did not build school
houses in Travis county, though
tax was imposed for this purpose.
Under Democratic rule school houses
have been built for white and col
ored people.