The Houston Post. (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 25TH YEAR, Ed. 1 Sunday, January 30, 1910 Page: 6 of 58
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HOUSTON DAILY" POST: SUNDAY MORNING. JANUARY 30. 1910.
Declaration by William Poindexter
in Formally Announcing for Governor
To the Democracy of Texas.
In a public speech delivered by invita-
tion at Garland, In Dallas county, July
2 last, 1 announced my purpose to become
a candidate for nomination In the demo-
cratic primary election to be held In July
n*xt as the democratic candidate for k°v-
»rtiur of Texus. The many .solicitations
to make the race received prior to that
date from the democrats from different
Parts of the State convinced me that there
■was at least a creditable demand for my
candidacy, but In view of the length of
time Intervening between that time and
the time < andldatna should announce and
tho possible changes that might occur
both In public sentiment and In my per-
ianal affairs. I expressly reserved the
right to change my mind. Sine* that time
the demand for my candid.icy has con-
stantly Increased ami nothing has oc-
curred tt> i hsncc my nrlgnal purpose, and
J hav. announced my unalterable pur-
|»o*.> to malic lhe. race and have made
application t > have my name placed upon
the official bnllot to be used in the ap-
proaching primary.
Tn mv sr.ee,at Garland, which was
partly published In some of tho daily
rapers. f declared my position on pro-
ibltlon. both 1m nl and Statewide; on
t t<» reform of the rules of leeal procedure
In our courts, botli civil and criminal: on
tiie necessity of improving and increasing
the efficiency of our public school sys-
tem. the State university and Agricul-
tural and Mechanical college; the State
normals anil our rural common schools;
the necessity of enlarging the Insane asy-
lums of the State; the necessity of en- I
couraging the building of factories and
the material development of the State
• ml the rights of Mplial as well as those
of labor. Afier that. In other public
speeches delivered at various places In
1 !ie Hta'e. 1 not i>nly discussed the <)ite*-
tlons mimed, but also the importance of
e Isw llmitln* the amount of money can-
flldale* may spend in seeKlnir nominations
In our primary elections. My views upon
these and other questions have not been
given the publicity the occasion demands.
TN TTTK RACE TO TIIK END.
T am now In the race to the end. and
Iny claims are In the hands of the demo-
crats of Texas, and they have the right
to know, and It Is my duty to state
frankly and plainly my position upon the
main •inestlons Involved In the campaign.
Thin 1 will do In as few words as possible.
♦ ♦ ♦
Prohibition an Issue.
Firs!; The act of the minority of the
leglsla lure In refusing to submit to the
people for adoption or rejection an
amendment to the constitution of the
State prohibiting the manufacture or sale
of Intoxicating liquors throughout the
State after a majority of democrats had
declared at the polls In favor of sub-
mission and the democracy of Texas In
convention had specifically demanded the
submission of the amendment; the atti-
tude of the liquor Interests towards sub-
mission during the sessions of the legis-
lature and lis known activity since then
to prevent the execution of the will of
democracy and to Insure the ultimate
defeat of prohibition; the position and !
declaration of Its candidates and the
acceptance of the gage 'if battle liv those
who l>e|ievc in prohibition and tne rule
r.f the* i>cople. or whom not being pro-
hibitionists in principles, are opposed to
the lli|iior Interest of Texas, taking
charge of and dominating the policies
snd polities of the State necessarily make
prohibition an Issue |u this campaign.
SUBMISSION.
To the penulne prohibitionist, submis-
sion Is the shadow, prohibition Is the
substance; the one is an Incident, tho
other the thine sought to be accomplish-
ed. Submission is a means, prohibition
the rud. AIL democrats, pro and antl,
ought to agree that the Inst legislature
made a ml-iake In refusing to submit
t'ie amendment and that the next legis-
lature should sn'otnlt It. for two reasons:
T'irst, because It was a legal party de-
mand originating with the people, tho
Source of all political power. Second:
Because It was and is the only way to
remove the question of prohibition froin
the domain of party politics.
Hail the amrndnit ut contemplated
«ught but the suppression of the liquor
Irsffie, It would, without doubt, have
revived unanimous support in both
branches of the legislature.
TIOW PROHIBITION BECAME AN
TSRI'K.
But the amendment contemplated State
prohibition find the liquor Interests were
afraid to have the question submitted to
a vote of the people. Hence this In-
terest and Its allies opposed the sub-
mission of the amendment because, to i
them. It meant State prohibition, while
prohibition democrats favored submis-
sion for the same reason. Thus the Issue
was not onlj made, but was made within
the democrats party, there to remain
until submitted to a vote of the whole
people without regard to party lines.
If the amendment Is adopted by the
people it will become part of the consti-
tution and the legislature will he com-
pelled to execute this constitutional man-
date by statutory enactment regardless
»'f the personal standing of Its members
upon the question of prohibition. If the
smendment Is defeated, the question of
State prohibition will be put at rest, at
least, for a time. In either event the
ouestlon will be removed from party poll-
tics
DEMOCRATIC PARTY rNWIMJNO
VICTIM OK LlylJOR TRAFFIC.
The democratic party Is not a prohibi-
tion party, nor Is It an antl-prohlbitlon
party. The wisdom of Its councils has
been deep enough and Its patriotism I
broad enough throughout all the years of
our struggle with the liquor traffic to
luecp the prohibition issue out of party
FREE
PILE
CURE
Sent to Demonstrate the Merits of
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What It Has Done For Others, It Can
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We have testimonials by the hundreds
showing all stages, kinds and decree* of
piles whl< h have been cured by Pyramid
Pile Cute.
If you could read these unsolicited let-
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drug i-torc and buy a box of Pyramid Pile
Cure ut once, price fifty cent.".
We do not usk you to do tills. Send us
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We know what the trial package will
do. In tn,my eases it has cured piles with-
out further treatment. If it proves Its
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Simply fill out ftee coupon below and
malt today.
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Kill out the blank lines below with
your name ■ nd address, cut out cou-
pon and mall to ilie PYRAMID DRI ..
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Pyramid Pile t'lir-- will then he sent
you at onci by mill, KltKK, in plain
wrapper.
Name
Street
| City and State
I
politics. The constitutional convention of
1875. which framed our present constitu-
tion. was composed largely of democrats,
and through their Influence tho provision
of the present constitution creating our
existing local option law, placed that
question beyond party lines and with the
people of the counties and subdivisions
thereof, and various platforms of the
democratic party thereafter provided that
the position of a man upon local option
should not be a test of his democracy. In
view of the approaching contest of 1887,
the State democratic convention, held In
<*alveeton In 1S86. declared In its platform
that a citizen might be a local or a State
prohibitionist and a democrat. In 1888,
an attempt was made to put the "Heart
of Oak" plank In the platform and to
make the vote upon the question of pro-
hibition a test of a man's democracy, but
it failed, and in all succeeding platforms
of the party of this State, when the
question was mentioned at all the plat-
form declared that the vote of the citi-
zen upon prohibition should not be a test
of bis democracy. In the last State dem-
ocratic platform adopted by a conven-
tion composed overwhelmingly of prohi-
bition democrats, we find this declara-
tion: ">Ye recommend that the prohibi-
tion amendment demanded by the recent
primary election he submitted to all qual-
ified voters at a special election to be
held In 1909. We declare that at such
election a vote for or against the
amendment shall not he considered a test
of democracy, as it is not the purpose of
this convention to commit the democratic
party for or against prohibition."
Thus, for more than a quarter of a cen-
tury the democratic i arty of this Stato
has refused to make prohibition or autl-
rohlbltlon a test of democracy and It.
as during all those years persistently
refused as said by the lamented John H.
Reagan, "to Identify that great and grand
historic party with the fortune and fato
of whisky show, drunkards and crimi-
nals." It remained for a minority of the
members of the last legislature to forge
and weld the connecting link which made
the democratic party an unwilling victim
of the liquor traffic and prohibition as
an Issue within the party.
STATUTORY PROHIBITION.
It Is to be regretted that there are
those among us whom, while condemn-
ing the act of the legislature In defeating
submission and making the democratic
party responsible for the continuation
of the liquor traffic In Texas, and for
making prohibition a party question,
clamor for statutory prohibition of doubt-
ful constitutionality which requires the
legislature to make a law whereby the
qualified voters of any county, or sub-
division thereof, may by a majority vote
from time to time determine whether the
sale of Intoxicating liquors may be pro-
hibited within such limits in the absence
of this provision of the constitution there
cculd be no question, touching the power
of the legislature to pass a State law
prohibiting the sale of liquor throughout
the State, but with this existing provision
of the constitution unchanged and un-
amended, such a law, in my opinion,
would be unconstitutional.
In the absence of a constitutional
amendment authorizing the law if the
legislature should pass an act prohibiting
the sale of liquor throughout the State,
such an act would, in all probability,
suspend und render Ineffectual the pres-
ent local option laws. Should the courts
of the State declare the law unconstitu-
tional, It follows that for a time, at least,
we would be without any known and rec-
ognized law prohibiting the sale of liquor
In Te^as. The constitution provides that
the legislature shall pass a law whereby
the qualified voters of any county, or
subdivision thereof, may from time to
time determine whether the sale of in-
toxicating liquors shall be prohibited
■within such limits. In obedience to this
mandate of the constitution the legisla-
ture enacted the present local option law,
providing, among other things, that tiie
1 ecple may vote upon and determine this
question for themselves, at least every
ten years, and the courts of the State
have uniformly held this to be a reason-
able provision and a sufficient compli-
ance with the constitution, giving to the
people the right to vote upon it "from
time to time." Now It is proposed, with-
out amending the constitution, to pass a
law not only taking from counties and
subdivisions thereof the right to deter-
mine this question from "time to time,"
but denying them the right to determine
It at all and for all time, by a. law ab-
solutely prohibiting the sale of liquor
throughout the State. In other words,
the constitution says the legislature shall
pass a law whereby the voters of the
several counties and subdivisions thereof
can determine by majority vote whether
the sale of liquor shall be prohibited
within such limits, and it is proposed
by some, without changing or amending
this provision of the constitution, to pass
a law absolutely prohibiting the sale of
liquor throughout the State. In other
words, the constitution says the legisla-
ture shall pass one kind of law and It is
proposed to pass another kind, and this
is what is meant by statutory prohibition.
Such a law would. In my opinion, be in
violation of Ihe spirit, if not the' letter,
of the constitution and therefore abso-
lutely void. To say the least of It, sucli
a statute Is of doubtful constitutionality.
The result would be that the law woul 1
be attacked wherever Its enforcement
should be attempted, and In many coun-
ties the Courts would doubtless declare
It unconstitutional, while In other coun-
ties the courts might hold It constitu-
tional. Thus the struggle would go on in
the courts of the State for months, and
perhaps years, and out of this contest
■would grow not only endless confusion,
but perhaps Inability to enforce any law,
if any we had, and in the meantime thosj
opposed to prohibition would strive by
every means to make the law odious,
and in the event the higher courts should
finally hold the law constitutional, an at-
tempt would be made at each recurring
session of the legislature to repeal the
law, and the prohibition question would
be ever present to the exclusion of all
others. If the law should finally be held
by the higher courts to be unconstitu-
tional we would be brought face to face
with the unfortunate results of our folly.
I regard the great, cause of prohibi-
tion too important and sacred to the
people of this State to encourage the
proposition to risk it all upon the doubt-
ful question of the constitutionality of
such a law. Aside from this grave
question, suppose the next legislature, as
an aet of retaliation, should pass a law
prohibiting the manufacture and sale of
Intoxicating liquors throughout the Stato
of Texas, what would be the political ef-
fect of such an act? VYould not such an
act contravene the platforms and tra-
ditions of the democratic party in Tex*f
for the last twenty years? Can the in-
defensible act of the mlnorltv of the
legislature tn defeating the will of the
people and In defeating submission justify
an act of the legislature which would
result In the disruption of the democratic
party and the material Impairment of
prohibition sentiment In the State? Can
one wrong Justify another? Can treason
justify suicide? There are two reasons
why the faithful prohibition democrat has
struggled to obtain State prohibition by
constitutional amendment for more than
twenty years. One is that the opinion
has heretofore obtained almost univer-
sally that State prohibition by statutory
enactment was unconstitutional, the
other Is because the true and tried
democrats of Texas and friends of pro-
hibition have struggled to keep this per-
plexing question, as an issue, out of the
democratic party by relegating it to a
vote of the whole people regardless
of party alignment. The Antl Saloon
league, in its wisdom, is organized upon
non-political lines, and for the good of
the cause of prohibition, it absolutely
refuses to make It a pafty question.
Shall prohibition democrats be less wise?
1 yield place to no man In loyalty and
devotion to the cause of prohibition. I
have carried its flag through the firea
of bitterness and persecution when 1
knew it meant to me political ostracism.
I have "t all times believed and main-
tained that the principles of prohibition,
both lo«al and Statewide, were not only
sound, but d< inocratic, but 1 have n >ver
said to the anil "You are not a demo-
crat." While I have always been and
nm now the uncompromising foe of th •
liquor traffic, and have recognized atel
now know that it Is beyond tho pal"
of argument or persuasion, at tho sain •
lime I have always recognized the. fact
and yet conceded that there are thous-
and and tens of thousands of as good
and true democrats, and as good and
true men as I. who believe that the
doctrine of prohibition is undemocratic.
I am now a candidate before the demo-
cratic primarlel of this State in which
the pro and the anti democrats not only
have the right to participate, but will
participate, and I will, as a democrat,
abide, in good faith, the result. Two of
my opponents are unqualified, loyal and
well recognized anti prohibitionists and
uncompromising foes of prohibition, both
local and Statewide. Should one of these
receive the nomination, I, as a democrat
and all other democrats, whether pro
or anti, will be In honor bound to vote
for him as the democratic nominee at
the November election. There is mora
In the democratic party than prohibi-
tion. It has a great mission to perform.
The multiplied Interests of this great
State are committed to its care, and
we can not afford to split, disorganize
and disintegrate this great party over
the prohibition question. Let the people
and not the politicians settle this ques-
tion.
MY POSITION.
I am a prohibition democrat, not for
office, but from principle. I regard the
indiscriminate sale of intoxicating liquor
In any form as a public evil, without a
single virtue to commend it to public
favor, and with a thousand vices to con-
demn it, and the open saloon as a men-
ace to the public weal and the faith-
ful progenitor of Idleness, drunkenness,
debauchery, pauperism and crime. I look
on the liquor traffic as the greatest pub-
lic enemy this State has ever confronted.
It has always stood 111 the pathway of
moral reform and honest government. Its
insiduous but powerful influence has
been ever present In political councils
and caucuses; in campaigns and elec-
tions; with the returning board and at
the election contests; about the court
house, near the seats of Justice; In the
grand jury room, around the petit jury
and upon the witness stand. Before the
primary it is sagacious and alert In se-
lecting candidates for both sides and in
dividing the opposition, but never for-
gets to center on its own at the election.
It is always in political conventions and
has well-beaten paths leading to the
capitol of our State; It hovers about the
seat of government and the lawmaking
body with ceaseless vigilance. Its feet
nre cloven, its hands are gloved and its
Identity is always concealed. Its purpose
has always been to mold public opinion,
control elections, circumvent justice,
dominate the legislative branch of the
government and to defeat the will of the
people in order to maintain an open
field from which to reap its fortunes
at the expense of the manhood and wom-
anhood of the State. For many years it
controlled both local and State elections
and held full sway, but through the
ceaseless and unfaltering courage and fi-
delity of prohibition democrats it ha,s
been driven into the last ditch. It is vet
the greatest political power in Texas.
Not because of its numerical strength,
but because It has at its command and
under its control an army as well train-
ed and disciplined as any that ever
moved under the orders of Napoleon,
thoroughly equipped with all the sinews
of modern political warfare. It is a
treble curse to the people; it Is a curse
to the home; it is a curse to the school;
it is a curse to the State. It has dene
more to debase manhood and deject wom-
anhood than all other causes combined:
it has done as much to defeat the ends
i.r Mst'ce and to nrevent the enforce-
ment of the law and to debauch the pol-
itics of the State as all other agencies.
I am, as 1 have always been, against
this traffic, its organized forces and in-
fluences, and in favor of prohibition, both
local and Statewide, by constitutional
amendment. I am for submission because
the democracy of the State has declared
in favor of it and the democratic party In
convention has demanded it, and because
I am in favor of Statewide prohibition.
As governor I would urge upon the legis-
lature the submission of a constitutional
amendment for adoption or rejection by
the people of Texas, prohibiting within
the State the manufacture, sale, etc., of
intoxicating liquors, as contemplated bv
the amendment. At the same time, and
In advance of legislative action upon
the amendment, I would recommend and
urge upon the legislature the immediate
passage of the following restrictive legis-
lation of unquestioned legality:
1. A law closing forever the saloons of
Texas, making it a felony punlshabie by
Imprisonment in the penitentiary for any
liquor dealer to permit the drinking of
Intoxicating liquor upon premises where
sold or bought.
2. A law making It a felony punishable
by imprisonment in the penitentiary to
sell Intoxicating liquors in less quantities
than a pint or quart, with a like pro-
vision inhibiting the drinking of such
liquor upon premises where sold or
bought
3. A law closing all retail liquor houses
from 6 o'clock in the evening to 7 o'clock
In the morning, and making it a felony to
keep such houses open or to sell liquor
during said hours.
4. A law making it a felony to estab-
lish or maintain a liquor house, outside of
the corporate limits of towns or cities,
within three miles of a school or church
house.
5. A law Increasing the present occu-
pation tax up retail liquor dealers, with
bond in sufficient amount and with such
conditions as will insure obedience to
the law.
6. Such other restrictive legislation as
may become necessary to control the sale
of liquor with a view of minimizing the
evils of the traffic where it can not be
legally prohibited.
Should the amendment be submitted I
would use my influence to secure its
adoption. If adopted I would urge the
passage, at the earliest possible time, of
such laws necessary to put into effect the
constitutional mandate of the people. I
shall also recommend such amendments
to our local option laws as may become
necessary not only to rid local option ter-
ritory of the boot-legger, but from the
unlawful introduction or sale of intoxicat-
ing liquors by the liquor dealers. In other
words, I am convinced that the only sure
and safe way to obtain effectual State-
wide prohibition is by constitutional
amendment adopted by the people of the
State, and statutory enactments based
upon such constitutional amendment. In
the meantime, and pending the struggle
to obtain State prohibition, we should
have restrictive legislation along the lines
above indicated, Let us hold fast to what
we have and move forward upon certain
ground, and the victory will be ours.
♦ + +
Candidacy for Office.
2. I favor a law placing a limit upon
the amount of money a candidate may
spend in seeking nomination in our
democratic primaries. In taking this
position, I desire to state, as I have
stated wherever I have discussed thi3
question, that I do not charge or inti-
mate, nor believe, that former candidates
for governor of this State expended a
single dollar improperly or corruptly. It
is well known that in the race before the
primaries in 1906, it cost the candidates
for governor from $9000 to $lii,(XK) each,
and I assume that every dollar of this
money was honestly expended, and I well
understand how a much larger sum could
have been honestly expended, had the
candidate been able to bear the burden.
I know that no man under tl^e present
conditions can hope to make anything lika
a thorough campaign of Che State in per-
son, by letter, and literature, without
spet ding from S5000 to $10,000. These ad-
mitted facts make doubly strong tha
necessity of a law, not only limiting the
amount, but pointing out the method by
which a campaign can be made within
the limit.
Cnless such a law Is enacted within
this State, the time will soon come, if
it is not here now, when a man of mod-
erate means, however, worthy and well
qualified he may be, can never hope to
achieve the political honors of this great
Slate. There are many provision* In
our election law Intended to protect all
alike against the wrongful use of money
in our elections. We have a lav." making
it a penal offense for a corporation to
contribute to the campaign fund of a
candidate; a law making it a crime for
a candidate to hire another to induce
others to vote for him, and other laws
having the same purpose In view. I am
In favor of all these laws with such
amendments as will ultimately give each
< ardidate an equal show with the other
and guarantee Integrity in the disburse-
ment of campaign funds.
Judicial System.
3. I shall urge upon I tie legislature the
Imperative necessity of a thorough re-
vision of our system of judicial procedure.
1 believe Texas has the most expensive,
tardy and unsatisfactory ssvtem of judi-
cial procedure that could be devised.
That we have more courts in existence
than we ought, none can question; that
none ot these can be dispensed with un-
der present conditions, and that they
must continue to increase unless som^
change Is made all must admit. Our
civil laws are ample for the protection of
every right of the citizen and with few-
amendments naught but praise can be
said of our penal code. The trouble lies
In our rules of procedure, both civil and
criminal. Litigation is, at best, a mis-
fortune, If not an evil. A wise and sound
fiubllc policy would seek to discourage
t by a system of procedure that will
tend to keep the paths of Justice straight,
insure a speedy determination of every
cause and circumvent the schemes of
those who would pervert justice and
bring lier courts into disrepute. Nor
should the State always tolerate a sys-
tem of criminal nrocedure which fur-
nishes loopholes for the escape of tha
guilty and punishes the public rather than
the criminal. The rules of procedure and
practice now in force wer5 no doubt well
adapted to the age and generation and
circumstances to which they were intend-
ed to apply by the fathers of the repub-
lic and of this State. But the day of
their usefulness has passed and they have
no place in Texas now except to cumber
the paths of justice. They belong to the
days of the ox cart, the wooden mold-
board plow and reap hooks, and not to
the busy commercial and labor-saving
age in which we live. All pleadings filed
in our courts, both petition and answer,
should be sworn to. Thus, the issues in-
volved would be clearly made by the
pleadings when filed and would be few
and of easy ascertainment both by court
and jury. This would result in fewer
eases, quicker trials, less appeals, and
therefore would necessitate fewer courts.
Instead of six separate courts of civil
appeals, we should have one, and thus
avoid not only the present expense, but
the conflict in decisions and the con-
fusion in the law inevitably resulting
from present conditions. The rules of
procedure in criminal courts should be
reformed so as to make it possible to try
a criminal case without the necessity of
reversal. The degrees In murder should
be wiped out, and other changes made In
the rules of procedure ancT practice—both
in our civil and criminal courts, which
I shall discuss in detail during the cam-
paign. The administration of the law
through our courts costs the people more
than any other department of the State
government. Much of this vast burden
Inflicted upon the taxpayer in the vain
attempt to administer justice and enforca
our laws can be saved to the people and
applied where It is sadly needed, and
where the taxpayer would receive some
appreciabie benefit.
Asylums.
4. The helpless have in all civilized
countries been considered the wards of
the state No patriotic citizen will, and
no civilized people should ever hesitate to
contribute to the uttermost to provide
homes for the helpless, blind and insane.
This great State should spare neither
labor nor expense until our asylums for
the helpless and insane are sufficiently
iarge to receive every insane man and
woman now lying in the jails or being
guarded t'.pon the poor farms of the dif-
ferent counties of Texas. Everything
left unfinished by the present adminis-
tration to accomplish this end shall re-
ceive my attention and earnest effort as
governor of Texas.
♦ * +
Confederate Homes.
5. Nor should the helping hand of tha
State be withheld from the veterans of
the civil war, their wives and widows.
These representatives of a great cause
wl'.l not remain with us many years. In
fifteen or twenty years they will have
answered roll call in a fairer land. If
elected governor it shall be my pleasure
to earnestly recommend all needful ap-
propriations for their care and support,
and favor the proposed constitutional
amendment authorizing the legislature to
provide a home for these wives and
widows.
+ •*■■ +
Public Health.
B The public health of the people is a
proper subject of governmental super-
vision and care. Texas should have a
sanitarium for the care and treatment of
the Indigent consumptives of the State.
I should recommend the serious consid-
eration of this subject to the legislature-
tile establishment of a sanitarium, under
the control of the board of health, and
I will approve any reasonable appropria-
tion to that end justified by the resources
of the State government.
♦ ♦ -f
Public Morals.
7. I approve every law upon our statute
books having in view the protection of
the public morals of our people, and
would favor any amendment necessary to
make them more effective.
■*■ + +
Taxation.
8. Taxation should be equal and uni-
form throughout the State, and nothing
subject to taxation under tho law should
escape, and all property—Individual and
corporate—should be taxed In the same
proportion. The most unpatriotic citizen
is the one who receives protection at the
hands of the State government in com-
mon with the masses of the people, and
at the same time seeks to evade his part
of the burden by hiding his property from
the eye of the assessor and thus refuses
to pay his just proportion of taxation. I
favor such amendments to our revenue
laws as will insure a just distribution of
the burdens of the government and the
adoption of such policies as will insure
the least possible expense in the admin-
istration of the affairs of State, and re-
duce to a minimum the burdens to be
borne by our people in the form of taxa-
tion.
Abolition of Useless Offices.
9. We have too many offices, too many
legislators, too many pie-eaters. Offices
should exist and salaries should be paid
alone from necessity ;none should be main-
tained for ornamentations; where the ne-
cessity ceases the office should cease and
the salary be cut out. Not a dollar
should be levied in the form of a tax
on our people except where absolutely
necessary to support the State govern-
ment and to maintain the efficiency of
the public service. This is sound demo-
cratic doctrine—and we should not hes-
itate to practice what we preach. I stand
for an efficient business administration
of the affairs of state.
Public School System.
10. The public school interests of the
State lie as near my heart as any other
Interest. I believe in an efficient pub-
lic school system, from the country
school to the A and M. college and our
State university. It is the most valu-
able asset possessed by our people.
Every dollar paid in the form of taxes
to support and maintain this great sys-
tem of public instruction not only makes
the contributor a stockholder In the
greatest institution in our State, but in-
sures to him a better return on his
money than any other investment. j.nis
system should be sustained with unspar-
ing hand now and left as an imperish-
ab.e legacy to our children and our chil-
dren's children. We should regard our
common schools as the future hope of
the masses, our State university as the
pride of Texas, and our A. and M. col-
lege as the mother of the enlightened
and profitable agriculture of the future.
As citizens of Texas, we have just reason
to be proud of our State university, l
we are building a great Agricultural and
Mechanical college; but neither of these
educational institutions can keep pace
with the rapid Increase of our popula-
tion and material growth unless existing
constitutional restrictions are removed.
It Is a most unfortunate circumstance
that there is an apparent constitutional
inhibition against independent and amplo
appropriations for their extension and
maintenance. That the university and
the A. and M. college may each reach
the climax of their power for good in
their respective spheres, the time has
come when a constitutional amenament
should be submitted eliminating the pro-
vision of the organic law which makes
the A. and M. college a branch of the
university. Texas Is big enough, both in
wealth and population, to support a
university and an A. and M. college that
will not only be the pride of the State,
but so preeminently great as to draw
within the walls of each the youth of
the great Southwest, even as the Uni-
versity of Virginia drew to Charlottsvilte
from the old Southland.
COMMON SCHOOLS.
11. Our country school should be
brought under more compact manage-
ment, placed under expert supervision,
either as counties or groups of counties.
Through the medium of summer and
State normals the standard of scholar-
ship among our teachers should be so
raised that all teachers should hold or
be entitled to receive Statewide certif-
icates. I favor all laws and constitution-
al amendments necessary to improve our
rural schools and to give the children of
the country people the same advantages
to obtain an education accorded those re-
siding within independent districts or
cities. I pledge the people of Texas that
if elected governor I will use every means
within my power to elevate our common
school system to the highest possible
standard of efficiency.
Text Book Board.
If elected governor, under an unbroken
custom, the presumption is that I will be
re-elected, and during this time it will
become necessary to pass a new text
book law, and ag a part of the great
work of elevating our common school
system, I shall recommend the passage
of a law creating a text book board, com-
posed of men of the highest character
and of unquestioned qualification as
school men, possessed of a knowledge of
the merits and demerits of school books,
and fixing upon them the duty of select-
ing* and purchasing the school books to
be used in our common schools, and a
law separating as far as possible the
functions and duties of this board and
its action from the touch of political and
other improper influences. Books when
once adopted should remain in use until
time and circumstance necessitate a
change.
Agriculture.
12. Texas is essentially an agricultural
State, and the basis of our wealth pro-
duction must necessarily come from this
source. We have more acres, more
farms, greater farm productions than
any other State. Texas is destined to be-
come a potential factor in the industrial,
commercial and financial world. As a
preliminary we must develop to the full-
est and conserve to the best advantage
the wealth that comes from the soil.
Coincident with such agricultural devel-
opment and In co-operation with it, the
inevitable result will be a corresponding
oevelopment in our commercial, industrial
and financial relationships. The lmnera-
tlve duty of the State is to exercise its
every reasonable function now possible
under existing laws, or under such statu-
tory enactments or constitutional amend-
ments as may be necessary to this end.
rhe establishment of such agricultural
schools or experimental stations as dif-
terence in soil and climate demand would
meet my approval'
The State department, which when cre-
ated included agriculture, banking and
insurance, grew to such magnitude as to
make it necessary to create an independ-
♦ v, department of agriculture. Since
then the largely increased number or
nome insurance companies, and the
rapidity with which State banks are in-
roakes it incumbent upon the
nif* ui further divide this work
and its responsibilities.
nartlm<fn|SJ'-0UAJ Ve ,three independent cie-
paitments. Agriculture, banking and in-
the head of each a coin-
H- iy competent and thorough-
L equipped for the best possible per-
formance of th© duties of his office
+ + +
State Banks.
13. I heartily commend the State bank-
ing law passed by the Thirty-first legis-
lature—both for the guarantee of deposit
pi o^ ision and its rigid regulation and
control features. The National banks of
Texas have been and are material fac-
tors in the financial affairs of the State,
and no good citizen will interfere with
their continued prosperity. There is am-
fer°n°™ ln this great State for both the
National and State banking systems, and
every encouragement should be given by
our people and its lawmakers to the fur-
'upbuilding of our banking institu-
tions. Such legal restrictions should be
throw-n around the system as will keep it
out of politics. If not prevented by time-
ly statutes this system may become a
dangerous political power in the State.
Penitentiary System.
Recent disclosures of loose business
methods and irregularities existing iti the
management of our penitentiary system
and the shameful treatment of prisoners
therein confined demand earnest atten-
tion and radical reformation. There
should be a responsible head to the man-
agement of this system. A constitutional
amendment should be adopted and laws
passed by which the system can be placed
under the supervision and management of
a commission or board of control, com-
posed of three men, possessed of capacity
and qualification for the position—one to
hold his office for two years, the other
for four years and the third for six years,
so as to deprive the executive of the
power to appoint more than one of these
men during his term of office, and thus
to remove the board as far as possible
from politics. This board could, and
should, be held directly and primarily re-
sponsible for the acts of those under their
supervision and for the detail manage-
ment of the whole system, and the
system should be placed upon a strict-
ly business basis from head to
foot. The business end of a large con-
cern can only be managed In this way,
and when it is once systematized and
plated in proper hands it can be man-
aged as easily as a smaller concern.
Rigid rules should be adopted and main-
tained for the humane treatment and dis-
cipline, training and reformation of the
convicts. The utmost possible discipline
should be maintained—evil practices, both
of officers and convicts, should be erad-
icated and brutal treatment never tol-
erated. As soon as practicable the lease
system should be abandoned and all con-
victs brought under the supervision and
management of the State, and convict
labor removed as far as possible from
competition with the honest white labor
of Texas. Some provision should be made
by statutory enactment or constitutional
amendment, granting the power to the
district judges of his State, or some other
authority, to suspend sentence and parole
on honor those convicts of crime where
the evidence shows that the ends of jus-
tice can better be subserved and the
reformation of the prisoners accomplished
more effectually in this manner than by
confining them in the penitentiary. My
experience on the bench convinces me of
th* great importance of some law of this
kind.
+ ± ±
State Institutions Out of Politics.
15. Efficiency in the public service and
the proper regard for our system of pub-
lic institutions—our State banking sys-
tem. insurance department, our peniten-
tiary system, our eleemosynary Institu-
tions and their proper management and
development imperatively demand that
these Institutions be removed as far as
possible from the influence of politics.
They should be placed on a business
basis and conducted as business con-
cerns. with a view to the highest possi-
ble perfection in service and accomplish-
ment; and those charged with the man-
agement. as well as the agents and em-
ployes of the State connected with them,
should never become political returning-
boards, political agencies of any public
official or political machine. They draw
their salaries from the people, and to the
people they owe their allegiance and
duty: and their energies and activities
should be expended in the interest of the
people whose servants they are, and not
in aid of the political fortunes of any man
or set of men.
+
Capital and Labor.
16. There is no reason for the existence
of antagonisms between capital and la-
bor in this State—each is necessary and
useful in its place. I^abor can not pros-
per without employment, and our great
"State can not develop without capital.
Texas needs more money, more factories,
more railroads, more developing and civ-
ilizing agencies. The factory and the
farm should go hand in hand everywhere,
and there are vast domains of territory
in Texas yet untouched by a single line
of railroad. Whilst all corporations of
every kind and character should be given
to understand that they must obey the
laws of the State and respect the lighs
of the people and of labor, the welfare of
the people and material development and
prosperity of the State imperatively de-
mand that all capital—both individual
and corporate—be given a square deal
and guaranteed just, honest and fair
' CANADIAN HOSPITALS SAY
Pe-ru-na Gives
Splendid Results for
Colds and Catarrhal
Troubles,
mmm
ST. CHARLES Hospital, Quebec City,
One of our sisters who commenced
to take Peruna. has improved and will
continue to take it. Some others are try-
ing it also. Sr. Ste. Marie, Superior.
CONVENT of St. Laurent, near Mon-
treal, Mother House Sisters of the
Holy Cross.
After using Peruna for two or three
months several members of the communi-
ty have experienced such good effects
that they can recommend its use to oth-
ers. Sisters of Holy Cross.
TTAVING used Peruna for the past few
-A months, for our sick and poor, we are
happy to say that it has given us great
satisfaction. The Sisters of the Good
Shepherd, Montreal.
After a continued use of the remedy,
this institution has found no reason to
change its good opinion of the remedy
and expresses its satisfaction in the fol-
lowing terms;
VVf E found Peruna a relief in several
™ cases.
We can say It is a good tonic and we
are very thankful. Sisters of the Good
Shepherd.
One of the many hospitals which have
found Peruna of value In treating old
and obstinate cases of catarrh is the
Hospital St. John, who write as follows:
E are happy to tell you that your
Peruna has given us satisfaction.
1 hree patients have tried it, one 68 years
old. Renoui Dupuis, afflicted with ca-
tarrh, is much relieved, more than he
has been for a number of years.
A YOUNG girl, fifteen years old, had
"an obstinate cough, which half a hot-
tie of Peruna caused to disappear.
As to myself, two bottles have convinc-
ed me that Perutia is magnificent as a
tonic.
Before the treatment I could not walk
for a quarter of an hour without experi-
encing much fatigue. Now .1 can walk
a mile easily.
Through these three cases we desire to
make known to the public the efficiency
of your remedy.
Hospital St. John, of St. Johns,
Province of Quebec.
A later letter received from the same
Institution reads as follows:
rp HREE weeks ago I wrote to tell you
how satisfactory we found Peruna.
We recommend it highly for colds, coughs,
catarrh and neuralgia.
I have used it myself as a tonic with
the best results, taken as directed, half
a teaspoonful every half hour.
"P ERXJNA not only promptly relieves
coughs and colds in their first stages,
but is equally prompt and efficient for
catarrhal diseases in the chronic stage.
It is only reasonable to suppose that less
medicine will be necessary to cure a
slight attack than after It has been al-
lowed to become chronic.
Catarrh of the respiratory organs is a
common ailment in Canada. Therefore,
when Peruna was discovered by Canadian
people to be a reliable remedy for these
catarrhal diseases. It at once became a
popular medicine.
Ask Your Druggist for a Free Peruna Almanac for 1910.
treatment at the hands of the lawr, its
ministers and agents. Any other policy
must result in Injury to the whole State,
and especially to labor. We should sav
as one people to the outside world to the
honest homeseeker. to honest capital:
Come to Texas; build your homes* in-
vest your capital; build factories, rail-
J"oads and other enterprises needed in
this State and aid us in developing our
naturuai resources. We need you to aid
In this great work, and we guarantee
to you the same treatment we give to
other enterprises in this State. Wc have
the greatest State, the richest land and
the best field for investment upon earth,
and a citizenship Imbued and actuated by
the highest and noblest purpose; intent
on making Texas not only the best, but
the most jirosperous state in the repub-
lic." We should say to organised labor
and to the great mass of the people that
their rights in every respect shall be re-
spected, guarded and protected against
deprivation or encroachment from any
source, and that no law upon our statute
books should or will be repealed unless
shown to be vicious and against the in-
terests of the State and its people. If
any of our laws appear, after fair and
honest consideration or from experience,
to be vicious or injurious, no man should
hesitate or shrink from the responsibility
of their amendment or repeal. Infinitely
more injury and injustice has been dofie
to our State through Intemperate and un-
wise utterances from the stump and
through the public print and literature
scattered broadcast than has been
wrought by any law finding place upon
our statute books. If our lawmakers have
made mistakes and vicious laws are upon
our statute books, let those who com-
plain point out the law, and its vice, and
let us. in candor and fairness, with a
view to the public good, determine the
question.
+■ + ■*■
Bights of Labor.
I am in favor of organized labor and of
all laws now in force, designed to pro-
tect the life, limb, health and rights of
those engaged in the service of corpora-
tions, with such amendments as may be-
come necessary to protect their rights,
and all reasonable appropriations required
to maintain the department of labor in
its efficiency.
♦ ♦ +
Insurance Law.
17. Special complaint has been made of
the insurance laws of the State, but a
careful inspection and examination of
these laws, in connection witn the laws
and experiences of other States, will dem-
onstrate the wisdom of the policy of the
State in their enactment. We should en-
courage home institutions—and especially
home life insurance and fire insurance
companies; by this means we not only
give to tlie people safe Insurance, but
hold within our borders the capital in-
vested in these great concerns. Wherever
these laws need amendment let them be
amended and strengthened and improved.
If foreign companies desire to do business
in Texas, let them obey the same laws
enacted for the government and control of
these home companies. More than this
they can not ask. and less than this we
can not in fairness withhold.
+ + +
Enforcement of the Law.
18. Committed to a firm resolve to en-
force every law upon our statute books
against all manner of crime and evil-
uolng, and to the employment of every
means and agency within the law and
constitution of the State to accomplish
this purpose I declare to the people of
this State that I can not, and will not
as their governor, wink at crime or lend
encouragement to a violation of our crimi-
nal laws.
+ ♦ ♦
Anti-Trust Laws.
19. It is poor comfort to the great mass
of our people to look upon the political
war dance and hear the rattle of the po-
litical tomtoms over the scalps taken
from trusts by their public servants in
the form of fines and forfeitures obtained
as the result ot compromise or conviction,
when they are made the silent and sol-
emn witnesses of the truth that these
same concerns, unlawful combinations
and trusts, by a change of clothes and
name, proceeded to scalp the people to
recoup their foi-tunes by an increase in
prices of the articles these concerns con-
trol. I am in favor of a vigorous, honest
and faithful enforcement of the ar.ti-
ttrust laws of this State against those
who violate them, but I am too dull to
comprehend their effectiveness or efficien-
cy if in the end our effort results oulv In
court costs to tho people, fat fees to law-
yers and political notoriety to a few office
holders, and the same trusts and un-
lawful combines operating in Texas under
assumed names and increasing the prices
and doubling the burdens upon the backs
of the honest and confiding consumer.
We have criminal laws upon our statute
books against these trsts and combines,
th«lr officers and agents; why not enforce
these laws like we enforce the law of
theft, swindling and embezzlement? IC
these criminal laws are not strong enough
I propose to make them stronger, and t •
urge their vigorous enforcement. If v.'e
would give the honest jurors of this
State a chance to enforce our criminal
laws against the high-bloods, promoters,
officers and agents of these trusts, and
J put a few of their tribe in the peniten-
tiary, we would do more to r'd Texas of
trusts and unlawful combinations in re-
straint of trade than we can accomplish
by fines and forfeitures frojn now to
the Day of Judgment. I,et .both the civil
and criminal laws be enforced with equal
vigor and firmness.
The foregoing are the principles of gov-
ernment for which I stand. I am a plain
native born citizen of Texas—a lawyer
by training, and for many years a farmer
and stockralser by choice. The people of
Texas owe me nothing; T am a debtor to
them in a. large measure for what I am
and what I have achieved. I crave the
honor of being made governor of Texas
and giving the people the best services of
which I am capable. The position of
governor is one not only of great re-
sponsibility, but of honor worthy the am-
bition of any living man. My desire to
achieve this honor springs from an amli-
tln to impress upon the politics and poli-
cies of my native State my ideas of good
government, and to leave the results of
my effort to those who come after me.
Confident of my nomination and election,
my candidacy 'is now committed to the
great bodv of the democracy of this
State. W. Poindexter.
Cleburne, Texas.
Thomas to Speak at Lockhart.
(Houston Post Special.)
LOCKHART, Texas, January 29.—Hon.
H. Bascom Thomas of Hopkins county,
candidate for the democratic nomination
for lieutenant governor, will speak next
Wednesday at the court house. The sub-
ject of his discourse has not been an-
nounced.
Is Socialists' Headquarters.
(Houston Post Special.)
HALLETTSVILLE, Texas, January 29.
Thomas A. Hickey, the socialist speaker,
will next week and the following week
make speeches in Lavaca county. The
socialist State headquarters are now lo-
cated here, and E. R. Meitzen, secretary.
Is In charge.
VAN DYKE-DESKIN.-—El Paso, Texas,
January 25.—B. J. Van Dyke, manager of
the St. Regis hotel, was married today to
Miss Dora Deskin of Houston.
Get the
Happy Mood.
Post
Toasties
Wiih cream or fruit
for a breakfast starter, are
sure to produce it.
And there's a lot in start-
ing the day right.
You're bound to hand hap-
piness to someone as you go
along—the more sunshine
you give, the more you get.
Post Toasties will increase
the happiness of the whole
family.
"The Memory Lingers"
Pkgs. 10c and 15c
POSTUM CEREAL CO., Ltd..
Battle Creek, Mich.
mi Mmm
.
I
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The Houston Post. (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 25TH YEAR, Ed. 1 Sunday, January 30, 1910, newspaper, January 30, 1910; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443232/m1/6/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Library Consortium.