Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1892-03-03

was their inalienable birthright; and among
| those l find none who charge me with
E, tricsery to-day. have heard pleas in the
| public prints and excuses that this man
! and that man were not old enough to be in
| the war between the Confederacy and the
| United States, and therefore were excusa-
| bic for not being soldiers. But these men
! for whom this speciouS preteXt was put up
| were old enough then TO fight for Texas and
| ! saw none Of them there. Her liberties
were then involved more gravely TSIhan at
| any other time in her history, and the help
! OF her citizens was more needed. 1 recall
! these instances not for the purpose of euio-
! giving myself, but simply TO demonstrate to
! you that even in this trying emergency
| there was no stain of trickery upon my gar
ments.
But | am charged with being a railroad
attorney. have been and for this l have
no apology to offer I am practicing law
| yer. earning & living for myself and family
| by my daily labor in my profession. If a
murderer reeking with the blood of his
victim, desires to employ me and I see fit to
accept the employment, it IS my business
and no one else's. But in accepting the en-
ployment 1 do not sympathlze with murder,
nor do I become identified with the muir
derer. And So if q railroad desires to en-
ploy me, and we agree upon Zee, l pro-
pose, so long as practice law if 1 see fit,
TO accept the fee; and when 1 accept the
I
command,
THE BEST EFFORTS,
the most faithful devotion, the most untir-
ing energy that lies within me. So long as
continue in the practice of my profession,
and any railroad wishes TO employ me in
any Of its litigation, and 1 am not in the
public service, 1t can do so If the employ
ment is satisfactory to me. But if am in
the public service, shall serve the public
with exactly the same devotion and the
same faithfulness and the same energy
which devote to the interests of my eli
euts. My professional employment is one
J thing and my political action is entirely a
| different thing. 1 have never had q thought
| or an inspiration that was not true to the
| people of Texas, Twenty-Five years ago 1
landed upon her shores and came to this
good town friendless boy possessed of no
means, and seeking to gain an honest liveli-
hood by my own labor. These good people,
some of whom I see around me
to-day still living, and many of
whom have already passed over
the river and are resting under the
shade of the trees, took me to their hearts
! and homes and made me, stranger, vel
come IN their midst. have never forgot
ten this kindness; though my lines have
been cast in other places, my heaJt has
often, very often, returned there. l see
around me to-day some friends who pecu-.
liarly commend themselves to my gratitude.
who kindly introduced me to you IS one of
these and 1 rejoice to see him still pre-
served in green and honorable old age, and
still ready to serve his country.
And now, fellow citizens, in concl usion
let me say that the time for action has
come, and our platform is Texas, God bless
her. She was the most beauteouS bride
ever led to the marriage altar of the Union,
and ought, to-day. in the era OF her splendid
womanhood, to be the queen among the
states. Whether she is prosperous or
whether she is desolate,
SHE IS EQUALLY DEAR
to her children, and the tune mas come for
them to take her by the hand and lead her
! to the exalted station she ought to occupy.
This is no time for men to plead business, or
to urge Indifference to the demands of the
hour. Texas needs now the aid of her best
thought, her bravest sons, her most inteli-
gent and progressive children, and it i'll be-
comes any one of them at this juncture to
neglect his public duty, because Texas
needs him, and needs him badly. |, myself,
one of the humblest of her children, have
consented to throw behind me the business
and business advantages which 1 have been
lifetime in building uD, and which / lay
most cheerfully upon the altar of Texas
prosperity. l have consented to assume
most arduous and laborious duty, because
thought that 1 could be of some advantage
to her people. And if I can afford this sac
Flucc, certainly you can auOFC q lesser sac
rifice, a sacrifice of a few days devoted to
your country, sacrifice of a few hours
which you have formerly given to your
business, and which now you should give to
your state. Let Us come together, fellow
citizens, and strike the shaczles from her
limbs so that she may walk free again. Let
US elevate her at once TO that proud pima.
Gle of glory and prosperity to which every
glorious tradition in her history points with
commendable pride as the summit Of her
destiny. Let US come together like breth-
rem, knowing no class, inquiring into no
calling,
ASKING NO QUESTIONS
as to past differences, demanding no test as
to fealty, except that we be children of
Texas and Democrats in faith. Let US JON
forces and march forward to the consum-
nation Of a glorious redemption for Texas.
Every calling is needed; every avocation
should be represented. The professional
man ought to take his position in the ranks,
and the merchant and the business man
aud the laborer, and last, but not least, the
farmer who is groaning aloud at the bur
dens under W hieh he staggsrs TO his daily
toll; for him all classes entertain the most
kindly feeling, because his labor IS the sub
stratum of their prosperity, What Injuries
the farmer Injuries ALL and what may bene
fit the farmer is of equal benefit to all. Let
Us Join hands with him, the town with toe :
country, because their interests are idef-
teal, and together march in mighty and
living hosts for the establishment OF equal