Asheville daily citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1890-1900, 1894-03-08
MIR. PEARSON ANSWERED
ma GROUND WHATEVER FOR
HIS CHARGES.
The Law Of 1850 a Fair One Ana
The Registrar Has No Extra,
ordinary I'OwerS-The attack
on The Supreme Court Founded a
In Misreprese

on The Supreme Court FOundeG Il
In misrepresentation
EDITOR THE CrrnEN:-ln tn S land OF
liberty regulated by law" it is the
right of every man to make known to
the people his desire and intention to be
a candidate for Congress, or any other
office. In what form and language this
desire and intention shall be manifested
must be largely matter of taste, but ii
may be said, to the honor of the State.
that in the past very few, if any, of her
aspiring politicians have ISSUED to the
public maniiestos containing criminal
libcls upon the Supreme court in order
to introduce themselves to the voters OF
the country.
For some weeks past it has been known
to many that Mr.. Richmond Pearson Of
this county, who has been quite a long
while out of politics and fully as long
out OF the public mind, had contracted
what may be, not inaptly, described as
an ardent cagerness to 30 to Congress
from The Ninth Congressional district.
lie has evidently been making diligent
preparation to announce his candidacy
but having no political principles of his
own, he seems to have been at great
loss to know how to begin. But true
to his intense and ridiculous per.
sonal vanity he has begun, as he
might have been expected to begin, by a
reference to great thing he did lust
five years ago" This great thing was
that he wrote letter to THE AsHE.
WILLIE CITIZEN condemning the Election
Law" of 1889 as follows
at the Election Law puts a pre-.
MUM on fraud, and vests arbitrary and
dangerous powers in the registrars, and
invites Federal interference.
There was not then t"ust five years
ago. and there is not now ono word OF
truth in this denunciation of the Elcc.
tion Law of 1889, but it contains a
gross libel upon the General Assembly
which passed it.
1t will hardly escape attention
that Mr.. Pearson, in his letter
to the Republican organ, the Register
refers, with respect to what was quit,
universally known as the Infamous
Force Bill" l." which the Tom Reed" Con
gress and the Harrison administration
used their utmost efforts to force and
tastcn upon the country. 1t is entirely
fair to infer from the general tenor o
MIR, Pearson's letter that, if elected tc
Congress, he will resurrcct this "Forct
Bill and do what he can to have i,
passed into law to take the place o
the Election Law ot 1889. The spccta
Gle OF having our polling places sur
rounded bv armed men and our people
inundated and driven from the poll.
would cause him no shame, no regret
but rather pleasure and delight.
Mr.. Pcarson's grief over the repeal o
the Federal election laws is touching ii
the extreme. He exclaims, in the yer,
stress of his anguish, that "a Demo
cratic Congress has tried and succeeded
in passing the Tucker bill, which sweeps
from the Federal statutes every vcstigt
of law which makes bribery in election,
a crime or which imposes penalties upoi
fraud and corruption at the polls"
Now the 5000 OF distranchised voter.
OF the 9th Congressional district vii
wondc; how it is that this gentleman
can make himself miserable and torlorl
over matter of this kind, when the,
consider that he belongs to that class o
politicians who think it the very highest
order of political ingenuity and smart
ness to crawl through slime and filth
to attain political aims andc
If any one will take the pains to pro
cure Il copy of a political circular issuct
by DR.. ]. s. T. Baird a few years ago h,
will find in it Mr.. Pcarson's estimate o
what the modern politician is ant
ought to do to succeed, and he will fine
that according to his estimate "brber,
in elections" and fraud and corruption
at the polls are worthy to be clpsscd Will
t lie desirable things OF political life. Who
can recall the last political campaign il
which MIR. Pearson participated in thi
county, and doubt his perfect loyalty t,
lie doctrines that he preached to Dr
Band:
But let us look at another pcculialit,
OF MIR. Pearson as a politician: 1t il
said that he voted the Democratic tckc
at the last election. 1t is well known
that he was not then Democrat an,
more than he is now. He is a man of in
telligcncc. lie read and understood tn
Democratic platform. lie knew tn
Democratic party was pledged to tn
repeal of the Federal election laws, an,
that the Republican party was pledge,
to prevent their repeal and to extern
them even to the enacting into law th
"lntamous Force Bill" lie is known t.
be in favor of the Mckinley tariff, an
against free coinage OF silver and the +,
peal OF the 10 per cent tax on Stat
banks. Indeed. there is nothing Demo
cratic that he has ever been, or is now i
favor of. What then made him vote 70
Cleveland | have heard it said that Il
did it hccause he expected Clcvclan
would bc elected and would appoin
Pcarson's brother in-law minister q
ambassador to some foreign court, an
that he Pearson would get to be seer,
tary OF legation, or words to that effect
II he voted the Democratic ticket upo
these grounds his vote would be in lin
with his we'll known political prime
pies t') and he is perhaps excusabl,
What a pity MIR. Cleveland did not thin
to appoint him minister to the File
Islands or ambassador to the kingdol
Of lobcngula in Africa
But to return to the election laws {
1889 and Mr.. Pcarson's attack upo
| the honor and integrity of the SuprenI
court. lie says that since the date {
his five years letter the Supreme cou,
have construed the new election law an
their decision in the case Of Harris VI
Scarborough gives the rcgi
trars powers much more arbitrary an
dangerous and horrible than had SUI
posed that law would warrant" VIII
should Il sensible man write such "dal
gerous and horrible" stuff as this Nj
Pearson knows Just as well as anybod
that the decision Of the Supreme cou
gives the registrars no power whateve
The question before the Supreme cou
in the case cited was as to the validit
of the act of 1889. and the court unar