The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1884-02-06
HON. SAMUEL j. RANDALL.
AN INTERESTING LETTER FROM THIS
TRIED AND TRUE DEMOCRAT.

Hun. 81 M u Ill u. A<14FOA IL
AN INTERESTING LITTER FROM THIS
TRIED AND TRUE DEMOCRAT.
To Messrs: ]. ID. Lamb, @. W. Jones, W n.
Wright aud :. ID Tiilnau, Fayetteville, Ienn'i
Gentlemen-I thank you very
sincerely for your frank and friend
ly letter of the 9th inst. You ex-
press your sincere regret at my de-
feat for the speakership "althouga
we may differ touching one of the
political ques ions of the day, and
vet that in common with the great
mass of the people of this great
Democratic county of Tennessee,
We held you in high, very high es-
TEEN, personally and politically. We
have never forgotten, and L trust
never shall, the effort made by You,
in behalf of our oppressed and per-
secuted people, on the floor of con-
gress OF the United States; and
should the opportunity present,
would gladly show our appreciation
at the baltic box"
Shakespeare tells us that ''praise
from Sir Hubert Stanley is praise
indeed" and when recognized
among your number the name OF
Hon. George w. Jones, who served
for sixteen years in the House OF
Representatives Of the United States
from lS43 to 1869, and left an hon
orable record as the watch dog OF
the Treasury" which SO many OF
us have tried to emulate, 1 feel that
1 am not altogether witbour conso-
lation in the loss Of the speakership,
which has brought me your marked
and generous approval.
Do what a man may he cannot
save himself free from misrepresen-
tation by his enemines, and L shall
be content to stand upon the Ohio,
Virginia and New Jersey platforms;
where / always have stood from the
beginning, opposing alike the
diverse theories of mere doctrinaries,
impossible of practical application,
and seeking only to do that which
was possible, and at the came time,
in my judgement, most conducive
to the best interest and general we'll
fare ofthe whole people. My whole
public career, if it has had any pur-
pose at all, has been one of unrelent-
ing opposition to monopolies of every
sort and description / have never
forgotten the lesson of history that
Carthage, were individual citizens
were richer than kings, was so
enervated by luxury and corruption
as 10 fall an easy prey to the brave
and frugal and far from wealthy
Romans of that day; and 1 have,
therefore, been an humble follower
of Albert Gallatin, the most wonder
full administrative financier this@lor
any other country has ever produc-
ed, who was in favor of the most
economical administration of public
affairs and opposed to all unneces-
sary taxation, producing surplus
revenue and leading inevitably to
extravaganza, fraud and corruption.
With him, l have regarded the ex
else, or internal taxes, as offensive
to the genius of our people, and
tolerated by the trainers of the con-
stitution only as measure of neces
sity in the emergency of war, and
that Just so soon as the occasion for
them had passed away they should
cease to exist. He and Thomas
Jefferson, as the very first act of
Jefierson's administration, secured
repeal of the internal taxes, and re-
iieved the people from their inequal-
ity, inquisitorial annoyanees and
hordes of officials clothed with dan
gerous powers. Only In these lat
ter days have | heard men calmly
claim that these war taxes are still
necessary, q generation after the
war, which gave rise to them, had
closed; and it is a very suggestive
and supicious feature of the affair
hat those upon whom the tax is
aid clamor loudly against it being
aiken off, regarding it no doubt as
4 protection against competition to
he large mon0polIes. q
As / have been in the past, SO l
shall strive to be in the future, and
t will not be my fault if the House
If Representatives shall not be sue
.essful in maintaining an economi-
al and honest appropriation Of the |
public funds. 1t has been a favorite
maxim of mine that frugality has
made some people great, while it
las never Impoverished or ruined
my; and it is just as true now as
'ver before. '
Thanking yOu very heartily for
7our good optimism, and begging to
De especially remembered to each
md al, ] am very truly yours,
SAM. J. RANDALL.
The forthcoming report of the
q !. 4 4. Il L