The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1911-03-24
TEXT Of LETTER
SENT TO c0LQU|TT
HARRIS WANTS TO
KNOW WHY HE WAS RE-
MOVED FROM SCHOOL.
Characterizes Colquitt's Action as
Being Extreme and Unusual.
Asks for a Full Explana-
ton of Such Action.

| below is a Iull text Oh the lelleI
ad dressed by Prof. T. G. Harris OF
| San Marcos to Governor Colquitt,
mention of which was made in the
| dispatches to this paper yesterday:
| San Marcos, Texas, March %,
1911.--Governor o. B. Colquitt,
Austin, Texas-Dear Sir: On the
tenth day of this month the Austin
correspondents of the great daily
newspapers of Texas reported to
their several papers that the state
board Of education, of which you are
| chairman, had on that day decided
| by a vote of two to one to remove
me from the principalship of the
| Southwest Texas State Normal school
at the close Of this school year.
| These correspondents further stated
| that you and your secretary of state,
Mcdonald, voted for my removal and
| that Comptroller Lane voted against
| it. While | have received no official
| notification confirming these re-
| ports, I presume they are correct as
have seen no contradictory official
| statement
| Just a little bit of sober thinking
leads me to the conclusion that you
have either done too much or too
little in this case. If you had no val
i'd ground on which to base such ac-
ton, then you have done too much.
IT, on the other hand, you had such
reasons as would Justify your action, |
then you have done too little. In |
this latter case you owe it to the peo-
pie of Texas to make your reasons |
public. From my point of view, no |
citizen of Texas can ques-
ton the correctness of the conclus-
ions | have just stated.
But you may possibly not think
NY point of view correct. In fact
here seems to be evidence that you
md | do not look at the administra-
ion of public affairs from the same
Let us sec. When you
Ind | were young men, that great |.
democratic leader, Grover Cleveland |
announced this doctrine: "A public
office is a public trust" For quar-
ter OF century / have not only be- |
ueved that doctrine to be thoroughly
sound in every way, but | have re-
garded it as a fundamental princi-
pie in representative government.
Do you endorse this doctrine in the
DRY and in practice If SO, all right.
We agree once. and are ready now |
to take another step. Let us see If
We can step together. From Cleve-
and's doctrine these corollaries are
,asily deduced: I. All public institu-
ions belong to the people who es-
ablish and support them, and not
o officers or employees, elective or
ppointive. 9. All governmental
lights are inherent In the people and |
re inalienable, g. The people have
right to know what motives influ-
,nce and determine the public acts
If their officers.
This last named corollary is appli-
,able under all ordinary circumstan-
,es; but ii has peculiar force and |
when public officer re-
sorts to extreme measures of an un-
usual character AS you of course |
know, since the first state normal |
was established in Texas in the adj !
ministration of Governor Roberts, |
no incoming governor has disturbed,
or sought to disturb, the organiza-
ton of any normal school in this
state. Hence your action in remov-
ing me from this position must be
characterized as both extreme and
unusual To justify your action In
this case, you ought to have reasons
that will satisfy the honest, intelli-
gent, patriotic citizens of Texas. II
you have such reasons, it is your du-
ty to make them known to the peo-
pie whose taxes pay for the support
and maintenance of this school, and
! to the people whose sons and daugh
| ters have attended or may attend
this school ] repeat, in other words
that the people to whom this school
and all other public schools belong,
have right to know what consider
atoms influenced you to take this
action. And this is time whea you
can not afford to hesitate IN ac'
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