Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-10-28
Dir. C. II. Pierson Replies to Captain j. NJ.
Hudgin.


/. Captain Hudgin accuses me OF bolt
ing the party after having moved to
make bis nomination unanimous. Here
are the facts of the case The Demo.
cratic county convention, with Alliance
men in clear majority, adopted strong
anti-rsilroad-attorney platform. and in
vited Captain Hudgin to stand upon it.
This he unhesitstingly did. and thereby
secured q unanimous nomination. We
Loyalty accepted him as our standard
bearer in the fight for railroad legisla-
ton, and furthermore made him chair
man of a committee to wait on the
Hanover Democracy to present our view
of the situation. At that time every
thing was harmonious, and L went home
with Captain Hudgin, and passed the
night under his hospitable roof, and we
talked over the situation very pleasantly.
l insisted that as the regular nominee OF
the Caroline Democracy, on an anti-rail-
road-attorney platform, he could have
nothing to do with AIR. Wickham, q rail-
road attorney, and that if he would
fight it out with us on that line he
would become the most popular man in
the county. Apparently he acquiesced.
and remarked that if We brought out an
independent against Mr.. Wickham it
could not hurt him, as his name could
be placed on both tickets. Next day
we went together 10 Ashland as a com
mittee to wait on the senatorial conven-
ton and to present Caroline's appeal for
harmony. Captain Hudgin, instead Of
standing by the Caroline convention
which had nominated him, now apollo
gized for his position and left it to me,
the junior member Of the committee.
singly and unaided, to uphold Caroline's
position in solid convention OF Wick
ham delegates. When Caroline's APP
peal had been turned down and MIR.
Wickham had been nominated, then
Captain Hudgin, in ringing speech,
endorsed the nomination and pledged
his active support. The case, there
fore, stands thus: Captain Hudgin Sc
cured his nomination on an anti-rail-
road.attorney platform, and we cannot
understand how he can make the can
vass in company with one. 1t may be
politics, but we plain people are not
we did when we nominated him. We
have not left him, but he has left us.
2. Though my personality has no.
thing whatever to do with the question in
dispute, Captain Hudgin seeks to divert
attention from the main issue by attack
ing my private record, and as my repu-
tation for integrity is as dear to me as
life itself, i must beg for little space in
which to correct his Misrepresentation
He says that in 1879 attended night
meeting OF colored voters, when l made
an out-and-out Republican speech, ad-
vised against paying the State debt on
the ground that money, 80 invested, had
been made by selling slaves, and excited
the race prejudices OF the negroes to
such an extent that fears were enter
tanned by the whites Of q general up
rising. Only one item in the above
count is true. The rest are absolutely
and unqualifiedly false. ! did attend
and speak at niglt meeting of coIored
voters. and / shall never regret it. 1t
was on this wise : On the very day Of
the meeting two colored men came to me
and said that matters were becoming
serious that their people had fears that
all their school-houses would be burned
and that they were arming and drilling
to prevent it. 1 replied that the thing
was absurd; that nobody wanted to
burn the schools that white and colored
were in the same boat to sink or swim
together that prosperity for one meant
prosperity for both; that the Republi-
can tariff was the main thing that was
hurting us all and that they ought to
help us to remove it; that white and
col0red had to live together In the same
country, and that the sooner we learned
to live pleasantly together the. better 1t
would DO for us all.
These colored men professed them
selves gratihed by my explanation. and
said that if would 60 and repeat my
remarks TO their people at meeting
that night il would do good and might
save trouble. replied that would do
SO gladly, and that night delivered my
whole soul in warning and advice to the
colored people, pointing out that atten-
ton to their material interests was the
true course for them to follow, and to
endesvor to live amicably With their
white neighbora ] soothed their fears
about the burning Of the school-houses
and one old colored brother got up and
said: "Thank Cord, Mr.. Pierson, dat
you has glen rs sich cl'ar understand
In dat dis thing Is all right" I was
never better pleased with . piece OF
work In my life, and the effect OF It lives
to-day In ae orderly and pleaaaut mixod