The Southern Mercury. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 15, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 23, 1896 Page: 1 of 16
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DALLAS, TEXAS, THURSDAY, JAN. 23. 1896.
*1 PEK ANNUM
' VOL. XV., NO. 4.
HON. BARNETT GIBBS
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POURS HOT SHOT INTO THE DEM-
0CRAT1C QANCi AUAIN
He Swipes the Austin Crowd with One
Hand, Boxes the National Pie Caters
with the Other, and comes Down
Hard on Old Party Corruption.
The following from Hon. Barnett
Gibbs appeared in the Dallas News of
Jan. 40. It is just now mighty inter-
esting reading:
"I filed my protest against what I
know are manifest abuses of govern
ment, state and national, and I never
consulted with populists nor republi-
cans, nor the Austin syndicate which
claims to be the repository of all dem-
ocracy. I don't mind those fellows
reading me out of the party, for they
have read so many out that, in the
last election, even with a harmony
vote, the party was in the minority
in Texas, and only saved by the re-
publicans putting out a blind ticket
to save them. These same democrats
are going to party primaries with
knives up their sleeves. I never went
to a primary and repudiated it& ac
tion afterward, and never expect to.
Those who live in glass houses should
not throw political stones, and if
there is a silver democratic leader in
Austin or Dallas who intends to vote
the national ticket with a gold nomi-
nee or a gold platform, he hasn't the
nerve to say so to the News reporter.
Judge Watts and the gold men say
that they won't vote a silver ticket.
The Austin leaders boast of having
knives up their sleeves as long as a
Mexican stilletto. This knife busi-
ness is worse than reading out. ]
will under no circumstances be a can
didate for governor, and if we support
Kearby it will be with an]open ticket,
and becanse both he and his party
have declared in favor of reforming
the official fee system and other
abuses. I have no fear of the party
lash, whether the political overseer
wears a gold or silver badge.
"The national convention of the
democratic party will continue to de-
clare for gold, and the state conven-
tion for silver, and if they can get
enough votes they will continue to
divide the spoils and issue bonds and
raise taxes and trade on the tariff
bills and excommunicate objectors.
The prosperity of Texas may demand
that we make a change, and if a ma-
jority of the people of Texas think
this way, it will be done by the help
of democrats who never scratched a
ticket before, and by republicans who
know what good politics is. If the
populists get the benefit of this inde-
pendent political spirit it will be be-
cause they are the only organized
body protesting against official ex-
travagance. If this movement goes
after all the offices, state and county,
it will be because they arc used as
the sinews of war by the party in
power, and they will capture them
under a pledge to make them live on
less rations.
"Why are the Austin gang pitch-
ing into me personally or trying al-
ready to raise dead or very small is-
sues? There are abuses of govern-
ment they do not want to defend, and
think it is horrible for any man to
question their infallibility and inac-
tion. So far as their newspaper cor-
respondents are concernsd, they will
not work the people any longer, and
so far as their scalping knives are
concerned, they can pitch them into
the Colorado after the next election,
for they will prove no good in a polit-
ical cyclone. The opposition element
will organize in every precinct and
county in Texas, and will agree on
the necessity of defeating the ma-
chine ticket, of capturing the county
offces from men who see nothing
wrong in the official fee system, and
the raising of taxes, and use these of-
fices, the gift of the people, to per
petuate the power of the Austin syn-
dicate. When the people get ready
to rebuke a political party, they find
a way to do it. They wont do the
bidding of one-third of a convention
but of a majority of the voters who
pay the freight. So far as myself
and other democrats drifting into
bad political company is concerned,
we are like the hungry private sol-
dier who sat down to eat at the Rich-
mond banquet prepared for Gen.
Beauregard and his staff. The gen-
eral, when he saw the unbidden
guest at the feast, said: "My man,
do you know who you are eating
with?' The private replied: 'No, I
don't know and don't care; I am not
so d—d particular as I was before this
war began." When a man is a Meth-
odist he can stay a Methodist until
he dies, for the articles of faith re-
main the same, but in these days if
he remains a democrat he not only
has to change his views every two
years, but he has to have two sets of
principles at the same tim e, one for
exclusive use at home in Texas and
another for use when he goes east.
Democracy has gotten so complicated
that nobody but a very wise man and
a very nimble man can comprehend
it, and that is why it lost old Ken-
tucky for the first time in the history
of the state. It has become so meta-
physical, and i at the same time so
magnificent in its salaries, fees and
appproriations that the fellows at the
forks of the creek can't tell its tracks
SENATOR BUTLER PROPOSES TO
PUT AN END TO IT.
He8horlcs the Old Senatorial Doodle Bugs
by Refusing to Walt for two Years Be-
fore Making a Speech—Congress as
Patriotic as the President.
Continued on page 8.
The presiding officer, Mr. Hill, in
the chair: The hour of 2 o'clock hav-
ing arrived, it is the duty of the chair
to lay before the senate the unfinish-
ed business, the title o^which will be
stated.
The'secretary: A bill (S. 236) to
provide for proper disposition of the
remains of deceased members of the
senate and house of representatives
who die at the capitol during the
session of congress.
Mr. Butler: I ask unanimous con-
sent that the unfinished business be
laid aside for the present.
The presiding officer: The senator
from North Carolina asks unanimous
consent that the unfinished business
be laid aside temporarily. Is there
objection? The chair hears none.
Mr. Butler: I do not want to talk
about funerals to-day. I am trying
to prevent a funeral. I am trying to
keep the liberty and prosperity of
the people from being murdered. If
this policy of contracting the cur-
rency and piling up debt in times of
peace is not stopped we will all soon
be forced to attend the funeral of our
republican form of government. If
congress will pass this bill (to pro-
hibit the further issue of bonds with-
out the consent of congress) then the
president will be forced to refer this
whole matter to congress.
Mr. President, there are two things
which it is highly important for this
congress to consider now, and which,
in my judgment are more important
than the questions raised by the sen-
ator from Ohio or any other ques-
tions at this time: First, shall there
be more<interest beering bonds issued?
Second, if they are to be issued, how,
in what manner, and at what price?
Congress is the sole power that should
decide these questions. The consti-
tution delegated this power solely to
congress, and we have no right or
power, in my opinion, to delegate it
to another branch of the government.
In my opinion, congress has not done
so, but the president claims that he
has the power under an old law, the
resumption act of 1875. Therefore,
if this bill is not passed,the president
will use his own judgment %nd go
into this big transaction without the
advice or consent of congress, I. am
not willing to truet the judgment of
tlie president^ His bad judgment in
the last bond deal cost the people of
this country $16,000,000, and besides
brought shame and disgrace upon
this country.
The bill which I have introduced
covers the resolution submitted by
the senator from West Virginia, [Mr.
ElkinsJ requiring that the bonds, if
sold at all, shall be sold at public sale
after having been duly advertised.
That is proper, but it does not go far
enough. This whole matter should
be «in the hands of congress. This is
the effect of the bill which I offer. I
ask that it be read.
The presiding officer: The bill will
be read.
The secretary read as follows:
A bill (S. 1341) to prohibit the fur-
ther issuance of interest-bearing
bonds without the consent of congress.
Be it enacted, etc., That the issu-
ance of interest-bearing bonds of the
United States, for any purpose what-
ever, without further authority of
congress, is hereby prohibited.
Mr. . Butler. This bill is perfectly
plain and simple. Everybody under-
stands what it means. It needs no
discussion. It should be passed at
once, and every senator should vote
for it.
It is perfectly clear from the word-
ing of the bill that it makes no dif-
ference what a man's opinion may be
about where the responsibility lies
for the issuance of bonds. If they are
necessary, he cannot oppose this bill.
It makes no difference whether a man
is in favor of bonds or opposed to
bonds, he cannot oppose this bill. The
bill is purposely drawn so as not to
raise a discussson of those questions
to-day. It is important for this bill
to pass at once. How can any Sena-
tor object to it? It simply provides
that the president and the secretary
of the treasury shall get the advice
and consent of congress before issu-
ing any more bonds. If there is any
necessity to issue bonds cannot con-
gress trust itself to act? Do senators
think that congress is not as patriotic
as the president? Is not the credit of
the country as safe in the hands of
congress as in the hands of the presi-
dent? If it is not the right and duty
of congress to decide when the bond
issue is necessary, then congress had
better delegate all its power to the
president, and go home and l$tCleve-
land make all the other laws. If con-
gress sits still and allows the presi-
dent to issue these bonds, then con-
gress is just as responsible for the
wrong as the president himself. This
is a dangerous power which congress
has permitted the executive to exer-
cise.
The distinguished senior senator
from Ohio (Mr. Sherman) said last
year on the floor of the senate—I
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Park, Milton. The Southern Mercury. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 15, No. 4, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 23, 1896, newspaper, January 23, 1896; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth185643/m1/1/: accessed May 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .