Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1883-07-05

iegcd class Let the grangers pom
der we'll over this great betrayal of
the first principals of their order. And
here again Gov lowry has "pigged in
the branch Protesting to believe
! with Barksdale, he acts with the In
mar men a recent Interview pub
lished In the Meridian Ncrcuiy, rep
resents the governor as saying he be-
lieved in the platform, but il was not
time to enforce 1t. He wanted to get
the railroads built and then supervise
them afterwards Itthis be true, il
would look rs If somebody was about
to be cheated. IL bomb-proof charters
are granted and supervision bill
passed afterwards, the supreme court
might call il another ''vain thing,N
after the governor had signed the
charter.
Ifby standing on The Democratic
platform he induced the people who
voted for him TO believe that he favor
ed railroad supervision, and IL OH the
other hand by signing what was con-
sidered "a boom PROOF bin he induced
railroad managers to believe that they
were constitutionally protected from
legislative supervision, independent
thinkers are apt to Dnsider that it was
A FRAUD EITHER ON THE PEOPLE OR
THE RAILROADS.
He went into power as n friend of
| the people, aud believing him to be
such, ! and many others who now be-
long To the independent party helped
To elect him. We knew that under his
administration bank had failed
which made widows and orphans shed
bitter tears, aud we hoped this would
be n lesson of warning that would
make him do better in future. But he
was scarcely warm in his seat before
he began signing charters for those in-
famous gambling associations known
as Marriage Insurance Compa-
ni,s which again brought ruin
and distress TO tie state. His friends
attempt 10 shield him behind the
opinion of the attorney general, who
certified that they Were all right and
proper. But the people are getting q
4 little tired of governor who suffers
an attorney general to mislead him
into approving gambling charters in
furious to them, and who suffers u
secret .ry of state to induce him to
issue a false commission or certificate
of election. And passing over the 9Th
plank OF our platform rs to equ j leg-
islative and cong ce5ionil apportion-
ment which all parties admit TO be
Just, this brings TO he 9th, which
demands "a law to prevent state Off
GERS from issuing false certificates of
election to members of congress-. 1t
is no doubt startling to you who hear
me, and to other states of the Union,
that such plank should become nee
cssai y in the platform of any party in
any state in the Union.
But according to the recent decision
of the supreme court OF Mississippi
there is no law in this state to prevent
the preparation OF such an outrage
The supreme court has said that man
iairly elected may he cheated out of his
certificate of election by the commits
sion of the governor issued TO another
on the false declaration ofthe secretary
of state that such other was elected
and that, too, when the rightful owner
of the certificate brings suit in time
and procures an order from Il court of
competent jurisdiction restraining the
secretary OF state from making any
such declarations. This decision of the
supreme court of Mississippi
surprises the action of the
electoral commission on the Flor
ida case, which was denounced by
Democrats from one end OF the union
to the other. In Florida it was q suit
of quo warranto to try title to the Of
flee of elector, aud all lawyers know
that the acts OF AN officer in possession
of the. office are good pending the suit,
and upon ;his principle the electoral
commission held that the Hayes eec-
tors were in pos session OF the office
when they voted, and that thelr votes
must be counted, though it was subse-
qutntiy declared they were not elected.
! Mt har in &c MI
even his preteXt. The secretary was
positively +, strained from acting, and
by every principle of law his act in
violation OF tais order was void. Upon
this subject ! wish to read you few
extracts from II brief filed before the
supreme coart Of Mississippi. After
citing State vs. Mackey, South Caro-
lipa, 379, ii says:
Here we have precedent in point.
After heAing the opinion of the court
delivered froiRAhe bench on the alterA
native writ that it3eould and would'
issue writ of mandaihNs, direetHg
the state canyassers how to count Rl4e
vote, they rushed out and made thtiS
count before the writ could be issued
and served on them, hoping thus to
escape the plea of too late" now in
terposed here. But the South Carolina
COURT tliu lOb Hesitate I'd uScluFt tIclT
act null and void, and did not thiak il
was transcending lis power in doing
so, Myers, more bold, disobeyed the
writ after it was served on him, aud as
: the court i'm South Carolina said 'by
well settled principles, " his action was
null and void and cannot form the
basis of any legal action. A certificate
or commission from the governor
without n declaration Of election by
the secretary of state would be n
nuIlity. 1t cannot be less nudity
when issued upon n null and void
declaration. But this plea of too
lateN calls to mind the remarkable de-
cision of the electoral commission in
the Florida case. The supreme court
Of Florida had decided that the Hayes
electors We're not elected, and had no
right to vote, and this decision was
made in n case that was commenced
before the voting took place.
But the majority of the electoral
commissioners held that the votes Of
Hayes electors must be counted, be-
cause they were east before the court
had decided that they could not vote.
Justice Field, in his opinion, said:
/, 81 asked was there no
/, remedy? Gentlemen answered ms be-
fore, there was none; that whatever
: fraud may have existed must be pro,
!, ceeded against, and its success defeated
before the electors voted: that what