San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1888-11-15
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Rey. DR.. Burleson on the Situation.

ReY. DR.. Burleson on the Situation.
Gen. Henry McCulloch having writ
ten DR.. Burleson to inquire why he
had left the democratic party, DR.. b
furnished long reply to the Fort
Worth Gazette, a few days before the
election, from which we make the
following extract. He is speaking Of
the 9th plank of the state democratic
platform, forbidding ell further dis
cussion of the prohibition question,
and proceeds as follows:
Now, my dear General, how dare
you and / and the descendants o!
those grand men say that little militia
defeat on August 4, 1887, is "a final
| ity," and that we will tamely surren-
der our homes and Texas to the pill
lage and murder of King Alcohol
And compared to King Alcohol the
bloody Santa Anna was an angel OF
mercy. Santa Anna murdered his
hundreds, Alcohol kills his millions.
When General Burleson lay on his
death bed in Austin, December, 1851,
taking my hand, he family said:
"Cousin Rufus, Ihave fought Indians
and Mexicans for nearly quarter of
a century, not for money nor fame,
but the protection of women and
children and the glory of Texas.
Now, 1 want you to fight sin and ig
norance twenty five years, and we
will make a good family fight OF hal:
a hundred years for the glory ofTex
as" Now, my dear friend, can | ever
forget that solemn charge? Never
till my voice is hushed in death. l
have given forty years to Texas, and
I am only sad 1 cannot give forty
more. But know the power of
whisky to buy up editors, suborn
perjured witnesses, and / know they
have plans to ruin me and every man
that does not bow the knee to this
Santa Anna of hell. They may drag
my gray hairs down to the grave in
shame, and coYer my bones in pile
of infamy as high as the Alps, but l
will die fighting the liquor traffic,
and my grave will be another Alamo
to summons 100000 brave men and
praying women to hurl this Santa
Anna of hell down to the dust. Our
Alamo was August, 1887, our San Ja-
cinto will be in 1892. Irepeat these
mighty convictions and no personal
objections to any man or men COM
PEELED me in tears to renounce all al
legiance to the democratic party now
allied with whisky for the ruin of
Texas. And if my beloved church
that l love more than light or life,
should bow the knee to King Alcohol
I would renounce oil allegiance to her
and fight and die ell alone. Cato,
"that noblest Roman of them all,
took for his life motto, "Carthage
must be destroyed" And though
sneered and jeered at, and hurled at
with spears and javelins, he never
ceased till the enemy Of Rome was
leveled in the dust. I trust there
are 10000 Catos that have sworn the
saloons, the doggery, the liquor traffic
must be destroyed. And, my dear
friend, I forewarn you that democ-
racy in her alliance with whisky has
the same fatal blunder
she did when she allied her fortunes
with slavery. She has tied a second
milestone around her neck. Slavery
was doomed because against the NOR
al sentiment of the age. Whisky is
ten times more repugnant to the NOR
al sentiment and business sense OF
the world. Slavery sunk to rise no
more and dragged democracy down
With her. The liquor traffic will do
the same and worse. And besides
all these facts, my dear friend, L can
not see why you should be surprised
that /, an old Jackson democrat,
should have the courage to leave q
party that has formed corrupt ALI
lnces and is controlled by bosses,
cliques and rings. He repudiated the
DID congressional convention system
Of nominating candidates. He not
only bolted the convention, but ran
as an '1ndependent candidate" for
president against Hon. W. Ii. Craw-
ford, "the regular nominee" of 1924.
And though fairly elected, he was
out by the bosses and ring
master as usual. But he ran again
n 1928, and was elected by a majori.
" SO overwhelming that they dared
lot count him out And 1 and thou
sands Of other Jackson democrats are
Jackson S example. In con
fusion, my dear friond, allow me 10
express the earnest wish that our
lear old party VIII at once repudiate
III alliBncos with whisky barrels, and
hat our San JacInto may soon come
md King Alcohol be driven from
Texas down 10 hell, as Santa Anna
vas IN 1886. Then our belO ed Tex
IS will become the grandest state be-
ween the oceans, and the brightest
tar that glitters in the galaxy OF /