The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1889-03-05
: SENATORIAL "SPATS."


t>7 - 49, -z.
THERE were some spicy "spats'
| IL among the sage Senators in the
discussion of Railway Commission,
and some very remarkable declare.
| tions as to the sentiment of the people
on this subject. In answer. to the ar
gument that there exists a strong de,
mand throughout the State for a Com
mission, Senator Kerr; of Sampson,
said:
"There is no public demand for
this Commission. True, when at
home the other day 1 had occasion to
ride out a few miles and I came across
about 20. members of the Alliance and
the ringleader was there. I said:
"Well, boys; I see you have de-
handed that I shall vote for a Rail.
road Commission" eyes," said the
leader, eve did; but we have been
reading some pieces in the papers
since-and-, maybe we are wrong"
"There is no demand" he continued,
"among the people, and the clamor
that exists has been manufactured"
Senator Williams, from Pitt, whenehe
came to reply to this portion of Sena-
tor Kerr's speech, said:
81 did not hear the speech of the
Senator from Sampson OF yesterday.
I do so much regret it; [ am so sorry
I did not hear your speech. I have
heard about it, and Senator the
Senator from the great and good agri-
cultural county of Sampson,-I was
surprised to hear it stated that you
said the people of your county did not
want a Railroad Commission. Sena-
tor, did you know that twenty-six
Sub-Alliances in your county had each
one passed a resolution unanimously
demanding of this Legislature a Rail
road Commission ? and that the County
Alliance of Sampson county discussed
the resolution enthusiastically amait
passed with but one dissenting voice7".
Senator Kerr, springing to his feet,
said: "These are not the. honest SEN
timents of those people, as I have ex-
planned to this Senate. They were
manufactured at headquarters"
"What !" exclaimed Senator Will
liams; "you astonish me |! / had had
a better opinion of the people of
Sampson, and I regret to hear the
Senator say that the people who sent
him here have no manhood; that they
will submit to be hurdled and driven
like cattle; that they will allow any
one or two fellows somewhere away
off yonder to dictate to them or in
any way to drive them to unanimously
demand law which they do not want.
I do not, I cannot, I will not believe
it. My friend from Sampson may
SANDER his own constituents, but [
will not, for I do not believe that a
Drawer, better, nobler people ever
lived than can be found in the noble old
county of Sampson. And sir, the
sixty thousand farmers who have sent
in their petition here mean what they
say, and you will find it out if you do
not know it now -
During the discussion much was
said of manufactured sentiment"
popular clamor,'f &C., in reply to the
demands of the Alliance. Do Sena+
tors suppose that the solid, sensible.
manly farmers of the State are mere
children to be dictated to by any man
or men ? Do they think such men
mean nothing when they send up their
memorials praying ~forrelief2 For the
information Of these gentlemen we
would tell them that in point Of ability
and character and patriotism the body
which originated these demands was
the full equal of the Senate. 1t was
done by the State Alliance and pub;
Eshed to the world, and these de-
mands were sent out all over the State
to the Sub-Alliances TO express their
free opinion on them. Over one thou.
sand of them were returned endorsed
unanimously and they were taken to
the Legislature and presented in the
regular way through the representa-
tives. This was the "back-door pro-
cess to which Senator Farthing re-
ferred. The idea that Elias Carr, j.
R. Beaman, DR.. A. B. Noble, s. B.
Alexander and $4,000 other as good
and true men would approach a Leg
islature, made up of their servants,
through a back door," It is thought
that sometimes men forget that they
are the servants of the people.