Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-06-27

Special TO the Gazette.
DALLAS, Ten. June 26.-Mr. Bryan
Il. Barry, chairman of the Cook cam
paign committee, has prepared the fol-
lowing reply TO the letter of Chairman
Finley, which appeared in TIE GAZETTE
of this morning:
al have not written any letters to
Mr.. Chairman Finley and shall not do
so, as do not regard him as the Demo-
cratic party of the state. Neither is he
the autOcrat or receiver of the party.
respect him, however, in his position as
chairman of the executive committee of
the state, and shall submit uucomplaiu-
ingly 10 anything he does within the
scope of the powers conferred upon him,
but when he transceuds them he is no more
more thano Their citizen. The state or
CATION of the party consists OF an exeeu-
tive committee composed of q member
from each of The thrty-Oue senatorial
districts III the state and a chair
man, all selected and appointed every
two years by the state conventions.
No written law has ever been made for
the government of this committee, and it
is certain that no power has ever been
conferred upon them except that of call
and naming the time and place OF meet
ing. Besides this each member is chair
man of the executive committee for his
senatorial district. Again, these powers
are conferred upon the committee and
not upon the chairman, and until the
committee acts the chairman has no au-
thority to publish its decision upon any
question. When the state convention is
called the county and precinct conven-
tons are called, and when the people
assemble they are supreme and the Off
cial duties af all the committeeman fully
performed and their authority termin-
ated.
chairman Finley understood this and
assembled his committee at Lampasas,
and the committee selected San Antonio
as the place and August y the time for
the meeting of the convention, and MIR.
Finley issued the call. If Chairman
Finley is such a power in the party
why the necessity of the meet
ing ut Lampasas? What else did
the committee do? We have no report
OF anything except that it is claimed Mr..
Finley read to the committee, and they
endorsed letter written by him to MIR.
Miller, stating his views upon who
should be allowed to participate in con-
ventions of the party. 1t appears, how
ever, from the accounts we get that
there is a controversy among members of
the committee as to just what the COM
mittee did and intended to do upon this
point, but l think Mr.. Finley himself
feels sure the members of the committee
will not claim that they intended to say
to the Democracy that they must be gov
erned by the provisions OF this letter in
their conventions. If either does, how
ever, they will find their principals, the
Democracy of the state, will show them
by their proceedings in conventions how
little regard they have for the assump-
ton of authority. But if not intended
as party command the letter and all
other expressions of Chairman Finley
become only his personal expressions,
and Mr.. Finley himself becomes the first
person to raise the question of a test
in this campaign. Now what will Mr..
Finley do? VIII he. claim that he has
acted by direction of his committee in
what he has said? If so let him show the
proceedings of the committee. viii he
claim that his committee has the author
ity to decide who shall participate in the
conventions of the party? If they have
the authority, if the party has conferred
this power upon them does it become
their duty to exercise it? and if SO, Mr..
Finley should call the committee to-
gether at once SO that they can act. It
will not do to say that he read a letter
written by himself to Mr.. Miller and
claims that the committee endorsed
it. The question is too important,
the interests of the party are too seri-
ously impending, the Interpretation of
what has been done and attempted to be
done to admit of any delay. 1 say, as L
have always commended, that Mr.. Finley
and his committee have no authority to
dictate to the people upon this question,
but if they claim it they should exercise
it in q way so that they will be under
stood. And if they do not claim this
authority and have not attempted to ex-
ercise il they should say so, for Mr.. Fin
lev s expressions are eing used by one
side in this contest to forward their ends.
Now, what will Mr.. Finley do? What
say the committee? Any member of the
committee and, L contend, any good
Democrat has the same right to
speak his mind upon this ques-
ton as Mr.. Finley. As to
the letter of Mr.. Finley IN to-day's
papers, want to ask by what right he
" suCu
ment. Its intent is plain. The COM
munications he replies to are all against
Gen. Hogg's side, aud in this commune
cation he puts himself forward as sup
porter and partisan of Gen. Hogg. No
other Interpretation can be placed upon
it by thinking people. His insinuation
that persons who are recognized as quite
as good Democrats as himself, and have
rendered the party quite as much service
as he has, are about to disrupt the party
will not justify it. He does not say so,
but he evidently has joined others in at
tempting to misrepresent me and what
have said as to who should participate in
Democratic primaries. i challenge him
and everyone to show where l have by
one word advocated the exclusion of any
one on account of his occupation or his
mem bership in any order not political,
and he ought to be ashamed of
himself for this attempt to in-
fiu6nce the passions of laboring people.
l have said that we did not want the sup
port of any but Democrats. viii Gen.
Hogg s supporters say as much? and l
have said that persons who refused to
support the Democratic ticket in 1888,
and will not pledge themselves to do so
this year should not participate. Am 1
not right? l have further said that MEM
bers of secret oath bound political or
CARNATIONS should not be allowed to par
ticipate. Should they? Upon this point
n