Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1907-02-28
In Defence Of Gov. las. Thomas

In The Sun OF Sunday, February
10, there appeared an article entitled
The Governors OF Maryland, "
subtitle James Thomas. This is
one OF a series of articles doubtless
designed by The Sun for the laud-
able purpose Of making. what they
might have been il edited upon broad
crimes, valuable contribution 10
Maryland history. But contracted
10 scope and meager in data as they
are. they do not possess the merit
anticipated for them. either as biog-
raphy or as history. Ia fact thev
are practically limited to a brief
sketch of the subject, and an account
of the rise and fall of political parties
in Maryland, though these are us.
ually linked up with an attack upon
contemporaneous conditions, as seen
from within the circle of the author s
narrow orb. In the particular arti-
Gle in question, it was Governor
Thomas himself who was made the
subject of the authors malevoleut
and vindictive spirit, but even that
had to have its tangent and it's side
lights.
Governor Thomas is charged with
having had aristocratic tendencies.
and this suggestion forth with fur
nished the excuse for a most wanton
and fragrant attack upon all the Rev
olutionary and patriotic societies in
the country, concluding il with an
accusation and fling, as grossly
exaggerated and equally as scurril
Gus, against the customs and man
ners OF the people of Mary and.
When be returns from this desui.
tory depression and warranted
assault, u the subject of ms sketch
he exercises even still less RESTRAINT
upon his mag InatIon and MS temper,
as though wishing to hold Governor
Thomas responsible Ior those faucleu
conditions.
DE could not even be fair and can
did IN recording the UfficIai pos lLlons
neId oy Governor IhVmas, stating
IN effect. that has poiItical eXperIeue,
mad oeen limited 10 service Of s4x
Years q ssas: Low-r Heases,G IT, Gss
erai Assembly, ana Omittrng alto
gether the slightest ailusIou To his
long term In tue Senate of Mary land
prior 10 his election as Governor vi
The State. the most active period
perhaps, In his political career.
He says Governor L homas has been
referred 10 as the Bank Mob Gov.
ernor. This is a williul misstate
ment of fact. No where eau be found
such an ailusiOn 10 him. except as
the result of the author s own puer
lie eimagiuaiIon. Pr, sident Jackson.
whose attitude toward the United
States Bank largely brought abou,
the failure Of the Bank of Maryland
and OF SO many other institutions
throughout the country, might with
equal proprlety be characterized as
The Bank Failure President" and
yet. with all the enemies he had noone
has beeh found SO eminently un fair as
toin ventsuch title for him. Wha,
Governor Thomas, or his admInistra.
tiOn had 10 do with the failureof the
Bank of Mary land, is imposs ible for
sane or thin king man TO see any
more than that the President of the
United States is today responsible
for the failure of national banks SO
frequently occurring. Ii is, how
ever, fact that when the disturban-
ces which we're incident upon this
bank failure came Governor Thomas
promptly placed himself at the CON-
mand of the proper authorities, with
readiness 70 act within constitution
al limits, and left no duty 10 that
connection as executive of the State
unfulfiiled.
He says Governor Thomas "adv
Gated unlimited internal improve
ment at the expense of the State and
nation. This is also a perv+rsion
of the facts in the case. Governor
Thomas, as member OF the Senate,
became the active and leading ex
ponent of a system Of internal i'm
prOvements looking to the promo
tion of the State aud The develop
ment OF its resources. To this end
he warmly and earnestly urged upon
the floor of the Senate the bui d.
log Of the Chesapeake aud Onio
canal, tue Su>quehanna (now NOrih