The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1891-01-06
THE SENATORIAL MATTER.

Nh. EDIToR:-I beg leave to diner
with you in the conclusion you arrive
at in your editorial headed "Settled"
in your issue of December 23d with
regard to Senator Vance's reply to
President Csrr's question. 1t seems
to me that Senator Vance has Injured
his cause in that response, and | re
spectfuIly give the following reasons
for entertaining such a notion:
Asout the first work, probably,
that the General Asse nbly will enter
upon, after it has settled down to
business, will be the election of a D.
s. Senator to fill the place of the ex-
pired term of Senator Vance. This
is a matter. of vital importance to the
Alliance, and if those members of the
Legislature who belong to the Ali.
ance permit a man to be chosen who
is obnoxious to or opposes Alliance
principles, they will have a great deal
to answer for. 1t is proposed, in
this, to show that Senator Vance is
not the man to succeed himself, and
the writer desires to be distinctly
understood as being actu2ted by no
personal antipathy, for he has voted
for Senator Vance every change he
had to do so, his only motive being a
~steadfast conviction of the great i'm
portance o; upholding Alliance prin-
ciples, and therefore the well being of
the people, in preference to a morbid
regard or consideration for a mere in
dividual.
Now what claims has Sen stor
Vance upon the Alliance to be sent
back to the Senate Notwithstand
ing that he introduced the Sub Treas
ury plan in the Senate, after modify.
ing it to suit himself through the
courtesy of President Polk and DR..
Macune, he afterwards pronounced it
to be crude and unconstitutional, and
therefore be could't give it his support.
Quite an anomaly this~unwilling to
support a bill introduced by himself !!
He should have had the grace to de-
cline its introduction if he couldn't
conscientiously support it, and espe
cially should he ha re done so after be
ing granted the privilege of altering
it to suit himself. His record in his
relations with the Alliance has been
characterized by the most pronounced
vacillation. When he stumped the
State last fall he, at first, vas fat
footed in his opposition to the Sub
Treasury plan. Afterwards he toned
down to the declaration that he would
support it in s it should be proved
it was not unconstitutional, and now
he comes out with an equivocal reply
to President Carr's direct question
asking whether or not he will advo.
cate the Sub Treasury plan of financial
reform in case the Legislature so in
structs him. It's hard to see how
Senator Vance has helped his cause in
his reply to President Carr. His re
spouse makes matters worse; it is in
definite; it lodges the question and
simply side tracks upon the generally
accepted aaquiescence OF representa-
tives in obeyIng "the old Democratic
doctrine of the right of the people to
instruct their representatives to the
fullest extent to which it has ever ar
rived in North Carolina" He dies
hard and purposely evades the a spe-
ciic answer to a direct question by
dealing in g~enerslities. It is plain
that his submission (0 is compulsory;
he has no heart in the SUB Treasury
plan, and even were he to advocate it
at all he would do so against his de-.
clared convictions. Such being the
case it would become him to withdraw
from the contest land give place to a
representative who would obey" free
of mental reservation or compulsion.
Especially does it become him to have
the grace to withdraw in the face of
the political cyclone that swept over
the country last November in conse.
quence of It's being awakened out of
its whilom lethargy by this great Al
lance movement which deserves the
credit of the whole thing. Yet he
sh,lly-shallys upon a question in which
this great order places its chief re-
lance to achieve material salvation,
and has the ~audacity, withal, to claim
the sufrages o those who have effected
such an inestimable political revolu.
ton in behalf of the people. Again,
l repeat, it's hard to see how he has
helped his cause by his reply to Presi
dent Carr.
And here is another stick he has
given to crack his own head with. In
his speech at Wentworth G. 81. he
enumerated the services he had rem
dered the people in different capaci
ties. First in the lower house of Con.
gress before the war, then as Governor
for two terms, and then as Senator
for two terms, winding up with a
pathetic allusion to the hair of his
head which had grown gray in the
service. This relation of his services