Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1882-07-23
"BOSS" HOUK AS A BULLDOZER
He Writes Threatening Letter to
Col. John b. Br0wnlOw,

He Writes a Threatening Letter to
Col. John b. Br0wnlOw,
To Which Brownlow Replies Vigor-
Ously and P0intedly.
Some Hints Which LeOnidas Caesar
viii Understand.
n Y Herald, July 21st
WASHINGTON, D. c., July 10, 1882.
To, THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD
SIR-I request you to publish the
following correspondence between
myself and Mr.. L. G. Houk, mems
Der of Congress from Tennessee, as
a matter of public interest and par>
ticularly of interest in Tennessee.
---% Yours truly,
JOHN B. BRowNLow.
WASHINGTON, d. c., July Is, 1882.
To LEoNIDAs CESAR HoUK, Esq, Mem
Der of Congress from the Second
Congressional District of Tennes>
see =
SrR-On the 14th inst, by the
hand of page of the House OF
Representatives, I received from you
the following remarkable missive:
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
WASHINGTON, d. c., July ID, 1882.
J. B. BRowNLow, Esq. =
SIR just wish to say there is no
serious division among the Repubi-
cans of the Second Congressional
District of Tennessee, and if it is
your purpose to try to create the
impression here that there is, and
that official pressure should be
brought to bear to retire both Rule
and myself-which is, no doubt, a
part of the programme of the old
Custom House Ring-I will see if l
can't bring some official pressure to
bear in order to send you home to
work for living,
Respectfully, &c,
L. G. HoUK.
! In other words, you threaten to
exercise your influence as member
of Congress from my State to have
me removed from Office because l
prefer the nomination of Mr.. Will
liam Rule as your successor. Ii L
were under any obligations to you
for the place I hold or if you were
worthy the position you hold there
might be some excuse for your I'M
manly threat
You may be surprised at my au-
dacity in replying at all to your note,
especially as for some inscrutable
reason you have for the last nine
months largely controlled the dis
tribution of federal patronage
throughout Tennessee, as well as
the appointment of Tennesseeans in
the department here. But your note
seems to require an answer, and, in
+, asmuch as you are for the present a
public character, I feel that I should
waive all sense of deicacy in con-
descending to notice it or its author,
and thus reply in public manner.
It has been your habit to crack
your small whip over the heads OF
Republicans whose self-respect would
not permit them to indorse your un
clean reputation or devious course in
politics Men like myself who had
the extremely bad taste to prefer the
late Mr.. Horace Maynard or his suc-
cessor, Mr. j. NJ. Thornburgb, tc
represent them in Congress, have
shared your puny spite and maleyo-
fence
You allege as my offence that
. had expressed the opinion that be-
cause the party is seriously divided
as between Mr.. Rule and yoursel
some 'official pressure should be
brought to bear to retire you both il
the interest of harmony and party
, success and to nominate instead {
third man. 1t is true [ did say il
, conversation in the presence of YOU
subservient tools and worthy spies
that / preferred the nomination O
Mr.. Rule to yourself and that if yol
both ran and the Democrats made
e nomination the district might be los
: to the Republicans But [ never sait
[ would try to bring any pressure
to bear to retire you and Rule.
could not pay the tribute to you
i party fealty which would be implied
t by the statement that you would o
e could promote the partys interest a
the expense of your own. I remem
bered that after you had been fairl
beaten IN convention to which yOI
J. submitted your claims by the lat
i Hon. Horace Maynard you ran indie
q pently, in violation of your pledge t.
the contrrry, and that subsequent
after you had been fairly beaten TO
: the nomination by the Hon. j. NJ
Thornburgh, gallant and true mar
under like pledges, you did all yo
d could to defeat the nominee. [ wi
o add that Maynard and Thornburg
:. were elected IN spite of your opposi
ton and party treachery.
And who is this Mr.. Rule whom
. in common with host of Republi
n cans, of the Second District, hay
f the effrontery to prefer to yourself
9 Like yourself he is native Eas
q Tennesseean Though, for the credi
of that section, would be glad t
say you were mott, and while yet
= boy, enlisted in the Union army an
served his country with such cour
age and efficiency that he receive
the commentator of his superio
p officers and well deserved promo
ton. Since the close of the war b
= has been elected by the people c
your aud his city and county 9th
third largest city and county in tn
State) to the most responsible offices
and he has filed them all with abil
ity and integrity. He is the onl
e person who has been elected as
Republican Mayor of the city c
Knoxville (the most rapidly CROWN