The Texas Republican

THE FLAG AND MR. WIGFALL

Mr. Wigfall despairing, we presume, in the ability of the Flag or Mr. Grant to defeat the just and laudable expectations of the country by a settlement of the difficulties of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company, has ventured himself into the arena, to perfect a work which they had imperfectly begun, and were in no likelihood of consummating. He appears as the attorney of the new company to defend Mr. Grant who is absent. His communication occupies nearly three columns and a half of the Flag. It is characteristic of the impulsiveness and volubility of its author, and without desiring to comment upon its tone and temper, we feel that no apology is necessary for its failure to appear in our columns.

We refused to publish Mr. Wigfall's communication, even before it was written, because we knew that he had been from the beginning opposed to everything like compromise or conciliation, and because we believed that his purpose in the present agitation was to defeat Dr. Fowlkes from raising the money, and thereby secure to himself and associates the forfeiture which they may hope to maintain under the award. In other words, we regarded it as an attempt to subserve private ends at the expense of the public good.

The object is too apparent for concealment. It is so plain that "he that runs may read." The Flag, as is well known, opposed any compromise until it was forced into a different channel by the pressure of public opinion. It claims now to have been always in favor of compromise. It assumes the ground that the bona fide debts amount to $100,000, tells the stockholders what character of stock will be recognized by the Committee, underrates the value of the lands and in the same connection, tells the stockholders if they fail to send their stock in to be adjudicated within six months after the rendition of the award it will be declared forfeited. And yet we are desired to republish an editorial in which it is assumed that the editor of the Flag is denounced simply for saying that the stockholders must send in their stock for examination within the time mentioned by the award; which he well knows that the objection to that portion of his article was not to the matter itself, but to the connection in which it appeared.

Before Dr. Fowlkes left here he desired to publish everything connected with the award. We saw that it would produce an angry and protracted controversy and in all probability lead to disastrous results. We therefore advised him to leave Texas immediately, lay all facts before the stockholders. That if they would raise the money to pay the debts, take measures to purify the company, select officers in whom the whole country had confidence and prepare to prosecute the work with vigor, that all the just objects of a compromise would be considered by sensible men as consummated. That upon his return he would doubtless find a more conciliatory state of feeling, and that all parties would probably harmonize. We believed so then, and we believe so yet. And in all that we have said or done we have had but one object in view the safety of the enterprise. Our object was to put an end to the protracted discussion, with which we felt assured the whole country was worn out.

Mr. Grant objects to Dr. Fowlkes because he considered that he wished to avail himself of the compromise, and to keep his repudiation a secret from the stockholders. Mr. Wigfall finding that he had not desired to keep it a secret but that he would lay the whole facts before them, as it was his duty to do, claims that Dr. Fowlkes has violated the decision of the Committee, and that it was an act of bad faith. They are like the drunken man who said, "If my wife is up when I get home, I'll thrash her: for what right has she to stay up at a burning firewood and candles? And if she's gone to bed I'll thrash her. What right has she to go to bed before I come home?"

Now these gentlemen knew that the public here were advised of the result of the whole matter, and that the intention of forbidding publications through the papers, was to keep down a controversy which would create bad feeling here at home, and defeat the efforts abroad to raise money to free the company.

The assumption which Mr. Wigfall seems to be laboring to establish, that we were conspiring with others for purposes of deception is purely gratuitous and we do not think any just or fair man, who knows the facts, will believe it. In the first place, Mr. Marshall never told us that the Committee would change the award, nor did we have any such conversation with Mr. Marshall as Mr. Wigfall has drawn so largely on his fancy to establish. In the second place, we took the preamble and resolutions repudiating the award to Mr. Hill, at the request of Dr. Fowlkes. He sent for them subsequently to have them copied, intending if the award was not modified, (of which he had then some hope,) to return them. Taking the advice of his friends, and for the reasons hereinbefore set forth, he made no publications. If there is anything wrong in all this, we are at a loss to discover it, and we think that Mr. Wigfall will fail to make it appear.