Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-06-25
AN OPEN LETTER.
nsaf3aauiries Addressed to Judge
sHasave Cook by a Democrat.
3 Ayowed Opposition to the Present schoo
and Homestead Laws of Texas
with Reasons Therefor.
RusK. TRx. June %. 1890.

RUsK, Tx, June %, 1890.
| Hon. Gustave Cook, Houston, Tex:
My DEAR SIR have heard it said that
you are candidate for governor. The
fact Is, have seen it in the public prints
that you have so declared yourself. As
Stunning that you are in earnest in making
the public confession that you are the
possessor of desire TO suddenly ascend
! from the private walks of life to the post
of chief magistrate of Texas, position
which our greatest and best men might
| feel honored in filling, I beg TO address
| you this communication concerning mat
| tiers l deem of grave Importance TO the
| people of Texas, and matters which, in
my humble judgment, affect the we'll be-
| ing of the state. In doing SO l hope
| shall not be charged with oficlousness,
| for. being citizen of Texas and
member of the Democratic party,
! l have the veal of my party and
| my country as much at heart as any man
! whose heart is no larger than mine.
| Some few years ago you were violently
| opposed to our system of public free
| schools and our homestead laws. Indeed
| you seemed to be opposed to any kind OF
a system of public free schools and TO
| any kind of homestead law. | do not
| say this because have heard your neigh
bors and friends say it, but say 1t upon
my responsibility as citizen, having
heard it from your own lips. You VIII
remember that during the fall of the
| year 1887 you held portion of the term
| of the Madison county district court for
| Judge Kittrell who held court for you at
| Galveston. 1t was during this term of
1 court in the town of Madisonyille and at
| the McAtee hotel that heard you roundly
| and severely denounce the provisions
| of our state constitution which
require the establishment and mainte-
| nance of system of public free
schools and the enactment of home
| stead laws in this state. You denounced
| such laws as being pernicious species of
| paternalism and obnoxious to the fun
| damental principles of free government.
| You declared you had not voted for
| the adoption of the constitution of 1875
| for tine reason that 1t contained thepro-
| visions referred to, and you said you
| never would vote for the adoption of
| constitution that made the government
4 the guardian of the individual, as you
Y construed the homestead and free
! school laws TO mean. More than all
| this you said you would be glad of the
| opportunity to strike those provisions
| from the constitution, and that to do so
would be one of the proudest acts of your
| life, or words to that effect. On all of
| these points you and L disagreed
we were wide apart. 1t is not my pur-
| pose in addressing you this letter through
I the medium of the press to merely charge
f7these things against you, but l desire
| for my own part. and L believe the peo-
| pie of Texas desire for their part, to
| know if you still entertain such views as
| you expressed to me at the time and
place indicated in this article. And [
| now ask you if you do? Please answer?
Pending the session of the TwentSsst
| first legislature, strong effort wassmade
! to order a constitutional convention.
+ win you please inform the public If in
| the event you are chosen the chief ex-a
| ecutive of the state of Texas you viii use
| your influence with the next legislature
| to order a constitutional convention2 ,ARds
| then will you, if successful, use your III 4.
| fIuence with the convention to prepaR4'
| and submit constitution with no ffBe
| sshool law and no homestead law pro-
lsT{sions in it? And will you then follow
ksap your work by using your influence
| with the people to adopt the constitution
| SO submitted? In view of the fact that
| the present school and homestead laws
| form part of the settled policy of the
fDemocratic party of Texas, l consider
| these inquiries pertinent aud shall expect
reply at your earliest convenience.
| The fact that your manager, the Hon.
| Bryan T. Barry, is the manager also of a
mortgage company, which mortgage
| company is supposed to be in favor Of the
| abolition of the homestead law constitu-
| ton now in force in Texas, adds
interest to this matter. 1t is
not at all probable, take it, that the
Democratic people of Texas Gf l may
except the pure, undetiled and sanity
ones who constitute your groomers) will
readily select man for governor of
| their state who seems TO have so little
respect for their organic law and who has
| SO recently and so earnestly expressed
| himself as being so radically opposed to
| certain satisfactorily established policies
| of the party. But judge, you are saids
| to be a huge joker, aud you may posi-
| bly, have been joking when we conversed
| on these subjects, but you seemed to be
very much in earnest and l am almost
| certain you were.
l should not conclude this letter, per-
| haps, without saying to you why your
conversation was so indelibly Impressed
on my mind. You drew contrast be-
tween the homestead and free school
laws and the usury and Sunday laws in
favor of the last named laws on the score
that the Bible Condemns usurers and Sab
bath breakers. l have a most distinct
tsrecollection of the conversation, and
| trust it has not escaped your memory.
Yours truly, w. NJ. IMBoDEN.
H. Eupepsy.