Asheville daily citizen., 1892-07-29
THE PRESS MEETING.

NiIAEi-oITE, N' -, IuiS 90 lHS dh
iual meetings Of the State Press associa
lion are an essential feature of the North |
Carolina cditor's life, and although |
Charlotte's welcome reached 0G i'll the |
shade Yesterday the visitors are too
busy and far too happy to grumble. The
most extraordinary palm leaf fans ever
were handed around vest crdav
by the Central hotel people and these
have been rafting away without even
stopping to sleep ever since then. From
present prospects they will never stop.
For twenty years the acknowledgements
of the Tar Heel rcpul lie have been bunch
ing themselves in some Tar Heel town to
plan for the next years meeting and just
as long have they been listening to the
laugh of big soldicrly-looklug McDiar-
mid of the Robesonian, His laugh runs
even without provocation, and every
year he steals quietly away from Lum-
berton exactly at noon the day before
the conventions, and laughs his way to
the meeting place. It's treat to hear
him, he can draw a crowd anywhere
by his laugh.
Another celebrity of the affair is u. !
Whitehead sof the Grccnvillc Reflector.
Everybody pokcs fun at his rcd side
whiskcrs, which he pcrSistcntly refuses
to part with, but he is man who arises
to the occasion. Last month he went to
a Chicago railroad magnatc with J.
Daniels, est on his way to the Mime
apols convention and asked for passes
for two. The official dcmurrcd, saying
he had never seen MIR. Whitehead. but
the latter Immediately overruled all de-
jections by producing from his carpet
bag picture of himself whiskcrs and all
The argument was winner. This
Joke is older than the Press Association,
but Daniels told it in open meeting yes
terday and it goes, of coursc.)
Daniels himself is a hard man to get
along without. He is Young and beard
less, but for all that he shoulders the
convention and hustlcs it over MANY a
hard place. His smile is something like
McDiarmids laugh
The ouly man in the body who looks
like dude is Latham. of Washington,
cngincci of the Gazette. His white suit.
funny little white hat and marvellous
h,N1I Il Il |,
claims to be the merricst man in his
town. For seventeen years he has
wanted the convention to go to Ocra'
coke.
Without a doubt, Hilliard, of the Scot
land NcckDcmocrat, rs the most orntorica
of the whole crowd. ltwas his response
to Charlottcs speech of welcome that
made people begin thinking of him as thC
Associations next president.
The only real work that is done in con
ncction with the annual meetings falls tt
!. B. Sheriff., the secretary, who runs The
Concord Times when he mas leisure II
is estimated that he writes 81 persona
letters to every editor every year, and h,
is able to get better rates out of the rail
roads than any man that ever lived.
Roscower, of the Goldsboro Head
light, is little, but he is the only editor
in the state who has discovered the wa,
to establish bank account. He is d;
perennial fraud dctcctor as well.
The editors agree that Joe Caldwell il
making the Observer the best morning
paper in the state and there snot single
man in the crowd who doesn't envy hin
the possession of the talents of Miss Ad
die Williams, who is said to be able tt
gather more local news in a day thar
any man in the state can i'll week.
Tonights banquet was a great atlai
and the Central hotel management
worked wonders with the dainty bill o
fare. Tomorrow morning at sever
O'Clock the majority of the editors includ
ing the entire Ashcvillc contingent, will
go to New York and Washington.
Mel.