Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-09-17
SECRET ORGANIZATIONS IN POLL.
TICS.
The eng Law Heing Put ON in Tarrant
County with Vim.


County with q Vim.
Editor GAZETTE: That an at
tempt is being made, and TO con-
siderable extent successfully, by the
leaders OF certain secret political organi.
cations In Tarrant county to throttle free
discussion Of the political issues now be-.
fore the people, will not be denied by any
thinking man In q position to judge. The
aversion shown by their leaders, In fact
/ their absolute refusal to meet the speakers
Of the Democratic party in joint discus
sion, together with other evidences,
among which may be mentioned the d.
rect testimony Of members OF those or
ders to the effect that the members are
warned, II not forbidden, to discuss the
political issues of the day, is certainly
convincing proof that gag law is being
enforced right here among free American
citizens. This, however, is not surpris-
| ing, for it is but the natural sequence of
secret organizations In politics in every
country and In all ages.
| Among the French Jacobins the leaders
laid the plans and did the talking, and
the people were welded like a machine.
Under their auspices the reign of terror
was inaugurated and the advance of ma
tloual liberty retarded for years.
Here few self-constituted leaders are
the spokesman, and the rank and file are
required to follow implicitly. That such
a thing was possible in France, where for
ages all the burdens Of feudal system Of
government had obtained, where feudal
service was paid to lords, tithes to
| priests, and taxes to the king, 1t is not
strange that an uneducated and, from
their peculiar religious training, supersti-
tious mass OF people should yield
implicit obedience to set of
turbulent demagogues; but in our
land, where every man Is king
in his own right as citizen; where the
laws are made and executed alike for rich
and poor, and the humblest man has the
right of the elective franchise, that such
sway can be exercised over the people Is
''passing strange" Individual, uncurbed,
| freedom OF thought and speech are rights
inestimable to every citizen under re-
publican form of government, "and are
formidable to tyrants only and the polit-
ical party or secret organization that
seeks to invade those rights is as veri-
tably tyrant as any monarch. Freedom
Of thought and speech are the inalienable,
indefeasible rights Of every man under our
government, and have been ever since the
adoption of the federal constitution. They
have been migrated into every state con-
stitution, and every encroachment upon
them has been instantly resented by the
! people. The first exhibition of their re-
sentiment being the defeat of the federal
lists at the close of Adams' administra-
ton for passing the seditlon
law in 1889, that law being re-
garded as an arbitrary inter-
ference with the right of citizens to freely
express their opinions on all public and
political measures. Yet we have here a
lot of office-seekers, would-be-leaders of
the people, tampering with these sacred
rights. What the argument is that these
place-seekers use to so blind the people
that they do not realize that they are be-
ing robbed of the highest privileges OF a
freeman, 1t Is hard to conjecture. Do they
claim infallibilityp Do they claim to have
reached such an exalted plane in the field
OF knowledge that they are above error?
Do they claim to have attained such ex-
cellence in morals that nothing but
golden truths can fall from their lips
Certainly to lay claim to any of the above
attributes would bring down upon them
the disgust of every sensible man. Let
us see then If we discover some reasons
for their secrecy and anxious desire to
throttle free discussion. Is 1t not be-
cause they have by sophistry and false
hood woven q web about the peo-
pie that the strong arm of
free and honest discussion will break?
Is 1t not because they are bring
ing to their aid "ways that are dark and
tricks that are mean,n which will not
stand the calcium light of free and honest
discussion? Have any mean tricks been
| 1tgnOVpTpd9 I mill ofv n
tention to one case that by accident has
been unearthed, and that is the secret cir.
cular sent out against Judge Sam Furman,
al honest man, "a good citizen, "a good Dem
ocrat, who for years has lived among US
and retained the full confidence and res
pect OF our people. Yet we find that
secret circular charging him with
malieasance In Office is being clandes-
timely used against him over the county.
Bearing no date, no postmark, no sigma
ture, containing an infamous lie, as the
county records Will show, and giving him
no chance upon earth to defend himself.
Is that right? Iappeel to every honest
man, regardless of his politics, to search
his heart and answer to his conscience, is
that rlght2 The charge goes directly to
Judge Furman's honesty as an officer;
a most damaging SANDER, secretly cir
culated without date, postmark or sig
nature and read in secret meetings where
not even friend is present to raise his
voice for him or apprise him what Is oelng
done. The man who sent that circular
out to fulfil its mission has within him
all the elements OF the slanderer and the
assassin.
II things of like nature have been done
during the canvass they are but the
result OF secret political organiza-
tons. Let us talk politics with
open doors Discuss the issues with
our neighbors; II we are wrong they
may change us; il they are wrong we
may change them. The writer OF this
article has an abiding faith in the good
sense OF the people, and believes that
upon sober thought they will realize the
wrong that is being done them. He
believes that they will come out and hear
fair discussion of the political questions
OF the days that they will canvass the
issues with their reighbors and that the
present management Of the Peoples party
wa be compelled to "step down and OUT
II this article should be read, and we
nope It Will, by any person who is a mem
mar IA .l,1a