The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1884-07-03
Ireland,s Weakness.

hat quality is revealed so will his
strength pass away. He is a reticient
man, and a provident. We have moth
Ing to do with his early history and
career. That is said to have been
lowly and humble; that he came up
poverty and hardship to the
place in the public econ
omy he holds to-day. If so, he de-
serves all praise for it. But we sub
NIT that it is ridiculous thing that
such origin and early hardships alone,
entitle him to stand for two years more
at the head of agreat state, to give the
law to free, intelligent and progress
sive people; that while it is personally
honorable TO him, as a man, the people
dare take no sort of cognizance of it
when estimating his fitness for the
proper discharge of the functions of
governor of one of the greatest of the
sovereign states of free America.
After many years of beating about
and roughing it at one thing and an
other, late in the morning of his man.
hood, Mr.. Ireland turned his attention
to the law, as many worse man had
done before him, and will do again.
His utmost efforts in this way could
never lift him above a painful medi-
ocrity. He ranked mere "nisi prius"
lawyer, and by dint of keeping his
mouth closely sealed when other men
were talking, he managed to build up
a character for wisdom which he did
not possess, and this fatal deprivation
has become painfully apparent since
he, from the gubernatorial chair at
Austin, has attempted to direct the
course of one of the proudest common
wealths of the nation. The position
he holds to-day was won by no quail
ity either of the head or the heart.
Without the least intention of being
rude, or of wounding his or the
"amour propre" of his attached friends
and he has many of them,
too-we say that his men,
tai range and grasp is far
below mediocrity. There are
sixteen ear-old boys at school to-day,
in Texas, who have dived deeper into
the problems of state-craft, especially
Texas state-craft, than has the gov
ernor of the commonwealth. His
mind is so constituted as that it is i'm
possible for him to rise above a mere
partizan view of matters, and to act
from the broader and more catholic
standpoint of the good of Texas.
Like all men constituted as he is, he
can never get to the bottom of prop
osition himself, and being too proud to
call in able council, he founders
about, as likely to go wrong as
right, and by accident charity
whispers-he lhas gone wrong far Of
tener than right.
1t gives the STATESMAN no pleas
ure to state all this; on the contrary,
quite, we feel the keenest pain and
modification when eyer we are COM
PEELED by memorable duty to direct
public attention to these glazing de-
fects in the states chief magistrate
To justify the position we have as.
sumed above, we have only to refer
briefly to part of his career as gov
ernor. The facts found scattered
thickly all along his official pathway
justify and point back with express
i've pathos to the defective education
and preparation for the discharge
of high functions requiring the
loftiest craftsmanship, the best nat
ural sprightlessness and the severest
} training. None of these has the gov
ernor enjoyed. and some of them hi
never can enjoy, by reason of the
composition of his mind. He found
upon his induction into office, a vast
, cash balance in the treasury, and the
paper of the state eagerly sought
after in every money market in the
country. Within less than two years
and without haYing anything in sight
to show for it, he is to-day confront
ng-standing in the very presence
of deficiency of very nearly
a million. Were his complacent
constituency to ask him where thu
money went to, he could never tel
them, or by what lack of wisdom il
: has been suffered to glide from hi
grasp. And still we must needs give
{ him another whirl at the wheel be
cause custom wills.
, He found the state at profound
peace, all classes of the people work
ing tremendously together. Ere {
year had glided away, one class o.
people were busily cutting the fences
and destroying the property of al
other from one end of the state to The
other. And yet we must re-elect
this man governor because
rule says so. He called the legisla
ture together to devise ways
and means to suppress the lawless
ness. He enumerated the subjects
upon which special legislation was de.
sirab In his message to the legis-
lature upon assembling, he went
totally back on the call, and in sub
sequent speech to the stockmen's con-
vention, he went back on the mes.
sage, in turn. And yet he is to be re-
elected for another term. He is a
states rights democrat, and opposed
to federal interference in our domes-
tic affairs, and yet when a half
dozen drunken negroes went on lit
tie shindy over at Gauze, he rushed
off to the federal commander for
military aid to suppress the up
rising. This brings ridicule
upon the state. And yet he must be
governor another term.
He monkeyed with the lease of the
penitentiary, and his satellites were
into the lobbies to leg for his views.
The fact is one grows sick before the
record of his numerous weaknesses, as
it does before the stupid stolidity CT a
people who will continue this man in
power, when there are five Thousand
men within our confines who are un-
questionably his superiors. The
l