Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-06-09
DAY OF RECKONING.
Politicians Spend Sunday Casting
Up Saturdays Scores
Hon. GuStave Cook and Bryan I. Barry
Say Their Prayers in George
Clark's Closet at Waco.
The Anti-comuission Leaders Opening Cam
paign speech-HOn. F. F. Nash Of Gar
land Speaks at Richardson.
Cooks Speech at Kyle.

|
KYLE, Tex, June 7.-Following is the speech
OF Hon. Gustsve Cook, opening his campaign:
| FELLow-cITIzENs- have presented myself as
G candidate for nomination to the high place Of
| governor at the solicitation OF large number
of gentlemen OF high responsibility residing in
various portions of our common country and
| well known as patriotic citizens. should so
| far distrust my own fitness to decline an
| honor so exalted but for my confidence II their
| sincerity and friendship to myself and assurance
| of their patriotism.
! have never been able to discharge the duties
ofthe several offices have held with that de-
| gree of satisfaction to myself which would make
me feel justified in rehearsing to you the service
I have done The state. have always felt that
| maybe could have done better II had Deen
/ more diligent or possibly had more humility
| After all, I have sometimes thought l might
| say ~ am an Improbable servant" Having
| never experienced the sensation can only I'm i
| agine how exuberant must be the Joy one feels
| when he can recite his unbroken series of vic
| tories over ''the world, the flesh and the DEVIL
| and pant and smack his lips over what appears
| to him TO be to be easier task than falling of
| log, viz, running the state government OF
| Texas.
For me the exercise of the mighty powers in
trusted TO my keeping by the people carries with
| il such sense OF responsibility to myself, my
! country and my God that trembe Mt the con-
| temptation. Power! God-given poweri to be
exercised over the people, and from which there
| is appeal! One might not have the capacity
! and exercise 1t with justice and for good Eut
| when one never had the doubt OF his having been
! always right long practice gives him confidence
| in himself, and having been successful over
| few things he is prepared to trust himself over
! many. l only propose that in case SO unlocked
for a thing should happen will, by the help OF
| God, make you the very best governor may be
| capable of should you put me in the place
| would prefer greatly to be Judged by my intu-
| itions rather than by my accomplishments.
But enough of this 1 claim simply to be a
| candidate for the nomination for governor, and
shall proceed at once to the presentation or the
| views represent upon the question at issue be
| fore the people. In order to appreciate the
| main question at issue, ana to the end that u
| NAV be tested by the Democratic standard of.
faith let US go Just little jto primary priDcl-
pies. 1t is very simple to repeat that when God
| created man He made him in His own image
and blew the breath of life into his noStrils
and he became q living soul. and God gave
| him dominion over the earth and afterward he
commanded him that he Should ''have no other
| God but me.'' Did it ever strike you that this
might well be accounted the foundation of lib
erty and free government? But more than this.
He endowed man and gave him the viii and
ments. Moreover, when the proper time came
he sent Moses down the mountain bearing the
| nents,' - and to this blessed day they are the
standard of truth. From them are drawn prin-
ciples by which every question OF right and
wrong may be correctly determined.
The application propose to make OF this Is
that the true theory of government is that form
which protects every man equally in the exer-
you please, with which he was endowed by na-
ture. 1t used to be commonly accepted OF all
in forming governments men give up a portion
of their rights in order to preserve the remain
der. 1 declare this downright heresy TO me
Democratic faith. God did not make any mistake
in the plan or execution of the creation. He
made man gregarious and social being, and by
reason Of the fall in Adam government be-
came and was and is yet necessary to restrain
the strong from imposing on the weak, and the
crafty from overreaching the simple, and the
rich, If you have mind to make an immediate
applicatio nof it, from grinding the poor.
Government can only be formed in two ways,
viz: BY force and by consent of the governed.
To come down nearer the point, the revolu-
tionary fathers, by the exercise OF their natural
right overthrow the government OF force which
existed over the American colonies and there
upon, after several mutations, the people con-
stru ctel form of government OF their own free
win and accord established it for their protec-
tiofiin the exercise of all their natural rights.
1t does not take long to discover that by this
rule, free government as we call 1t, is in fact
no9Ig the doing Of wrong It fooWs that
the true function OF government then Is to pro-
tect the citizen in the exercise OF his natural
rights, but not to com pei him to exercise them
nor to exercise them for him. It Is the province
of government. our government, to pre-
vent the individual citizen from doing wrong,
try TO compel him TO DO right. The powers OF
government should be confined to the preven-
ton of wrong. This is clear when we consider
the evil of what are known as 'sumptuary
laws Whatever may be the accurate meaning
of this phrase, it is commonly used to refer to
laws by which government interferes with the
citizens natural rights, about what he shall eat
or drink or wherewithal he shall be clothed,
at what hours he shall eat, sleep, fast, go to
short, laws which propose to make men do
right, according to the notion OF those In power.
The great issue before the people OF the
state of Texas is the proposed amendment
10 the constitution which is intended to confer
the power upon and compel tine legislature TO
enact what is known as the railroad commission.
It is as follows:
art 2. Railroads heretofore constructed or
which may be hereafter constructed in this state
are hereby declared public highways and rail-
road companies common carriers. The Iegisla-
ture shall pass laws to regulate railroad freight
and passenger tariffs, to correct abuses and pre-
vent unjust discrimination and extortion in the
rates of freight and passenger tariffs on the
different railroads in the state, and enforce the
same BY adequate penalties and to the fu rther
accomplishment of these objects and purposes
may provide and establish all requisite means
and agencies, invested with such powers as may
be deemed adequate and advisable
- The enumeration OF what all the legislature
shall do is nothing more than the powers which
all pro- commission men claim the state has now
the right or authority to exercise. Is this true2
Let us admit it and then ask If 1t is necessary to
insert them again in the constitution. The
present attorney general declares that these
powers do all exist. and he has described in
glowing colors how vigorously anu effectually
he has applied them to the erring railroad cor
porations since he has been in office, and with
only two office assistants and one clerk to help
him.
Now, permit me to ask il this is true. and we
know it is, does it not utterly refute the asser-
lions which he makes OF the necessity for this
and with which he proposes when elected Cow
ernor ito hold the wretch in ORDER Can it be
true that this amendment is needed when he SO
verboseIy demonstrated that the railroad corpo-
rations are but the creatures OF the state, which
it has the Hghtfui power to control and regulate
from the greatest to the least of its rights,
powers and franchises; and il it be true that
they can ouly exercise the powers conferred on
them, let US ask il it is not true that these very
legislatures and people voluntarily conferred
them upon corporations in the acts creating
them. II they did not. why does not the
attorney general enioin and restrain them from
exercising Hereunder. and II it does, then who
is to blame but the people, Who Of their own
free will gave them consideration for the
building Of these great factors in the progress OF
the Nineteenth century,
And now let us what the very truth OF the
matter is. 1t Is impracticable 20 examine all
the CHAPTERS which have been granted, or TO re-
capitulzte the various exercises Of power which
have been made and attempted by the corpo-
Srations under their respective grants, but we
can assert. without fear Of contradiction even.
that wherever they have been attempted the
courts OF the country have shown ample power
to hear and determine every question which has
ever been made upon this subject Then arises
the question again, where the necessity for this
formidable hydEa-headed monster, which is to
h ardoxrad Vi a the MOVERS Of oovernu1nnt