The weekly sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1886-1887, 1886-10-07
DEMOCRATIC DOCTRINE.
ADDRESS OF THE DEMOCRATIC
STATE Ex. COMMITTEE.


Chairman Battle Gives Strong Reas ons
why the Dem ocratic Party Should be
Kept in Power.
DEMOCRATIC STATE Elk. COMMITTEE.
RALEIGH, Sept. 25.-Another cam
paign is upon US, and again it becomes
the duty of this committee to address
a few words Of counsel to those who
are to carry the banners and fight
the battles of Democracy In the State.
We have now so long been accus-
toned to the blessings Of good govern
ment, under Democratic rule, in North
Carolina, that we may be in danger Of
getting the horrors from which we en-
erged when our party, By grand up
rising of our best people, obtained con-
troll of our Legislative branch of the
State Government fifteen years ago.
To those who are old enough to re-
member the reckless extravaganza the
unblushing corruption, the defiant law
nessness of the negro and carpetbag
sway, which all but ended in war and
bloodshed, seems like a hideous dream,
and in the enjoyment of the peaceful
present and in the anticipa
ton of still brighter future, they
might prefer to put away the memory
of it all forever. But as history is ever
repeating itself, it is well to be remind
ed ofthe past and that the people who
did these things once will, if opportun
ity is offered, do the ike again. I'm
doubtedly the Democratic party of
virtue and intelligence in this State,
and so long as the ignorant blacks con-
tinue to stand together i'll solid pha-
lanx on one side, tie intelligent white
men of North Carolina are compelled
by every consideration of prudence,
and in sheer self defence to stand togeth
Ell. on the other. They must see to it that
they who pay the taxes she'll have the
controlling voice in directing how
these taxes are expended. No fair
minded man anywhere can find fault
with them for this W. dc not con-
tend that we have made no mistake in
the decade and half during which
we have had control of legislation in
the State, but we do insist that our
mistakes have been few and compare
lively unimportant, and that results
On the whole have been such as to COM
mand the approval Of all fair minded
men. Our State, in spite of the power
ty from which she has not yet recover
ed, has become respected. abroad, while
at home peace, contentment and COM
parative prosperity and. happiness near
ly everywhere prevail. We found the
public treasury empty and our credit
bankrupt We found that the irres-
pon1ible STRANGERS and our late slaves,
who with few corrupt or ambitious
native whites, had assumed control of
our finances, had in three years run up,
in the name of the State, an immense
fraudulent debt to pay the interest ON
which they levied enormous taxes from
an impoverished people, whilethey were
utterly regardless Of the accommodating
interest of our honest debt We at
once declared the fraudulent debt, S16-
100000 of bonds Issued without con-
sideration to those whose property was
to be made to pay them, as binding
neither III law nor IN conscience, and
wiped out the whole of il. Then in
view of the honest debt had grown too
large for the people TO pay it all, we
proceeded to make terms with the
States creditor and effect as ettlement
which was mutually satiit'Ctory. By
the act of 1879 our secured debt of
S12,627 ,O45 bearing d percent interest,
will have been reduced to 53,5S9,511,
bearing 4per cent: and the debt 81
1915, 900; for which the States stock in
the North Carolina railroad company
was liable to be sold by decree in the
Federal court, has nearly all been ex-
tended for forty years, and the States
control Of our most valuable railroad
property secured to her indefinitely.
The dividends..annual paid on her
shares of stock are more than sufficient
to meet the interest ON this extended
debt. And so fair has the credit of
North Carolina grown under the care
of her loyal democratic sons that her
4 per cent bonds are worth par in the
markets of the world, and her s per
cents are bringing a premium Of more
than % cents on the dollar. What
other Southern State can boast as
much
We found that during the three
years of Republican rule they had
handled and wasted upwards of mil
lion of dollars belonging to the educa-
tional fund, and had paid less than
forty thousand for teaching the chill
dren Of the State. We have now full
ly established a system of public
schools nearly equal to the best, in full
operation, school houses in every ham,
let open for several months in each
year, and the school sessions yearly in
ereasing in length, with graded schools
IN which our teachers are better pre-
pared for their duties, at our principal