The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1883-03-29
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There seems " be crave mlsappehen.
sion ON the part Of great number Of inc
press, and Of many otherwise wellinformed
persons, a. 10 the true status Of the penl-
Tertiary lease question and the present
governors connection herewith. IL APP
pears TO be quite generally assumed That
when the legislature shall have acted upon
tho contract Of lease. u must 80 TO the
governor for approval or disapproval' THIS
idea Is entirely erroneous The lease was
made by the Penitentiary Board, composed
Of GOVERNOR RoBERTs, TREASURER LUBBOCK,
and SUPERINTENDENT GoEEE, which board,
by law, was given the power to lease sub
ject to the action OF the legislature. Gov
RRNoG IRELAND had, therefore, nothing
whatever To do with the making oil the
lease, nor will he have anything officially
whatever to do with the confirming OF IT,
This is the real status Of the lease, so far as
| the present executives connection with IL
gees. Nor had he ever voice ia, nor did
he give expression to any opinion on the
subject when the penitentiary board had
it under consideration down to final action
Therefore it is that we have observed with
pain the violent opposition and the
wholly unwarranted heaps OF abuse that
have been leveled against the governor. Ii
there is anything the American people. DO
like, it is fair play and honest treatment
Undeserved criticism and wrongful vitu-
peration always recoil. The Austin
Statesman has been especially severe ana
denunciatory, for some reason, against the
administration, and, day after day, its col
umns TEEN with bitter words and charges
against GOVERNOR IRELAND. The animus
for this has been said to spring out
! of the fact that brother-in-
| law of the editor of that paper was
not appointed state health officer, in &C.
cordance with that EDITORS persistent re-
quest. Mr.. CARDwELL denies that he ever
persisted in such request. On tue other
hand, the friends of the governor contend
that he is in possession of letter from MR.
| CARDwELL pressing the claims OF DE. RUTH
ERFoRD, and that letter is couched IN
language not only indiscreet in its express
sions, but abusive and intimidating IN It's
character in the event of no heed being
taken of its warnings. If Mr. CARDwELh
did indeed write such style Of letter, then
truly is he highly censurable, land GOVERNOR
IRELAND did right and properly maintained
his own dignity in refusing to conform 10 a
dictated course for an official act. 1.-The did
not write it, then the friends of the COVER
nor are doing Mr.. CARDwELJ great wrong.
| 1t is matter of fact, however, whether or
not such letter was indeedwritten; and if it
was, then Mr.. CARDwELL must have copy
of il, as he would scarcely allow such cor
respondence to 60 out without such case; or
the governor may have the original. In
all this elimination and recrimination, the
proper course is the production OF
the letter, that it may speak
for itself in the general estimate. In the
meanwhile affairs became still more COM
plicated in the publication OF an Austin
communication in the San Antonio Express
most bitter and severe in its references 10
the editor of the Statesman. The author
being demanded, Mr.. JossELYN, private
secretary to the governor, is ascertained 10
be the man. This affords fresh fuel for the
Statesman's wrath, and it says that that
clerk is paid by the state to be pubic
slanderer," and the governor Is de-
clared to be "without tue courage
TO come to the front himself
The consequence of all this Is that the poll
tical atmosphere in Austin is getting to be
-red-hot, and violent explosion is hourly
looked for. The truth is, the governor
never knew, and has repeatedly avowed,
and Mr., JossELYN swears to it, that such a
correspondence was at all meditated; and the
first thing he ever knew of it, was when his
attention was directed TO 1t in the Express
He Immediately deprecated in the warmest
terms the action Of his secretary, and so ire
quently expressed himself TO the latter.
The author replies and insists that he
never for a moment supposed that the &C.
ceptance of a position from the
administration would forever seal
his lips as private citizen
when great outrage was being daily perpe-
trated to prejudice the minds OF the people
against a grossly misrepresented Official
And yet the Statesman continues, day by
day, to abuse the governor. And, indeed,
its reckless articles have been so intensely
bitter as TO have the effect of actually pro-
ducing reaction in favor of thepenitentiary
lease. This is the story Of all such intem-
perate and extreme attempts. The discus
sion Of a great question upon its merits the
people will listen to and he influenced by,
but constant impugning OF mo-
tiyes and mass OF abusive
epithets will never drive the
enlightened American mind, and especially |
a TEXANS into opposition against the at
tackled. The present governor of this great |
state has raised himself from the humber
positions in life, on. through judicial and
legislative honors, TO the present exalted
Of chief executive, and his purity
Of motive, action ard manner is absolutely
unAssailable throughout the whole long
course. Assuming as correct the state
ments that he favors the penitentiary lease
contract, which the HERALD has so OPP
pssed. is be not entitled 10 his views quite as
fully as the majority In the senate who voted
for the ratification OF the Penitentiary
Boards action? He is entitled 10 honestly
believe in the error Of the proposed resump-
ion. And. what is more. he is equally en-
tiled to 90 express himself ifhe sees proper,
o his friends, or those seeking his ex-
,erienoe or his views, wherefore 1t is, that
he war upon him in this connection is
....,i... ,r.d shauaeful
IL Waxeth Warm.
The war which has been wagiDg between
,e city and county officials for some time
,ast, a. 10 who should have JURISDICTION