Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-06-26
Populists and Democrats in North
Carolina May Combine.
FREE SILVER TO Be TEE issue
The Race Question Becomes a
Back Number.
SENATOR BUTLER'S POSITION

Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.
RALEIGH, N. c., June %, 1895
The political situation in North Carolina
Is more of a puzzle now than it was even
in the earliest days of 1894. There are
strange prospects ahead. Any sort of COM
bination may at eny time be made. And
silver is causing 1t all. The silver senti-
ment in North Carolina is today as ex-
IRENE as in Colorado 1t has driven out
of mems minds the standard ideas of poll
tics. One NO longer hears the question, us
he populist, democrat or republican," but
only, lis he for silver?'
The lines are sharply drawn. The silver
advocates are intolerant to the last degree.
To differ with them is to be damned, in
their opinion. They apply the term gold
bug" once the pet phrase of the populists,
to all those who differ with them in idea.
A year ago the populists were hated by The
democrats, who termed them agricultural
anarchists today they use the same Ian
guage, think the same thoughts and are
looking to the same end. Fusion Of popu-
lists and democrats on the silver question
Is almost in sight Many OF both parties
are ready for 1t now, and say so; some half
openly and few openly.
Republicans Retfcent.
Republicans are more reticent and speak
party, and may wait until they see what
it will do. But thousands of them are de-
claring for silver. Their leaders are very
quiet, and the ultra. republicans, the
.straightouts like Chairman Holton and
Congressman Holton, lean the other way.
These have always at heart hated fusion
with the populists and have had an Ill
concealed contempt for populists.
A few months ago your correspondent
heard Senators Marion Butler and Jeter c..
Prtchard make their speeches of thanks
to the fusion caucus which nominated
them. Then Pritchard made as earnest a
silver speech as did Butler, and the latter
eulogized him. Where is Pritchard now?
Butler in his newspaper last week called
Pritchard turn-coat by saying that it was
passing strange that a man who six months
ago was so extreme an advocate of silver
should now be so earnest a supporter of a
candidate for the presidency whose hostil-
ity to silver is avowed and notorious. So
mere Is rupture between these two leaders.
PopuIists for Silver.
The populists are to a man for silver.
Senator Butler tells me he and they are
very proud that their ideas have at last
come into vogue. There are two factions
of the democrats. The great mass of them
are silverites, but the few who are for
gold are determined to the last degree.
There are thousands of democrats at this
moment ready to renounce their party in
case 1t declares for gold. OF this fact there
is no doubt. Leading democrats have said
as much on the platform.
Senator Butler really appears to dominate
the situation. Is he to be the North Caro-
lima Tillman? Republicans say they think
So How can party lines be drawn when
all the issues of 1894 are already back
numbers. The newspapers and speakers
declare that % per cent of the country peo-
pie are for free coinage Of silver. How can
the republican leaders stand against this?
There was little effort made in the
democratic state committee meeting, held
May 20, to interject the race question into
politics here; in other words, to use the
same means in South Carolina. But it
met with no support; it had one vote, no
more. The race question is back number
in North Carolina politics. 1t was so in
1894, 1t will be SO in the future. The negro
vote was last year the balance of power in
this state.
National Platform Defed.
At the last democratic state convention
resolutions regarding silver were adopted
which were in unconcealed defiance of the
national democratic platform, as much as
to say, mo matter what the national con-
vention does, We must declare for silver in
order to catch the vote here" There was
only one voice raised against that action
by the state committee. That voice now
says the democrats lacked firmness, took
that action in order to get populist sup
port, and that the latter regard it merely
as trucking.
In any group of silver democrats one can
hear any day in the week as harsh, as
cruel things said about Mr.. Cleveland as
were ever uttered by any populist. He is
cursed, reviled, denounced, and at one
meeting at which populists ard democrats
jointly participated the democrats cheered
the populist abuse of the head of their
party, and then went further and Joined in
And Senator Butler says: This is good
sign. The leaven Is working"
A Silver Convention.
There is much pressure being brought to
bear upon the democratic state chairman
to call his committee together to decide as
to whether a silver convention shall not be
held. He does not want to have such a
convention. He was surprised at the last
committee meeting, May 20, when the reso-
lutions were adopted declaring for free
coinage, and believed the action then taken
would disrupt his party.
The sound money" democrats say that
the committee boycotted them, because it
says that only free coinage democrats are
to be put upon the state ticket. These
sound money democrats are, as rule,
quiet, but it is said they are more numer-
Gus than is popularity believed.
Democrats and Populists.
The only hope of the democrats has been
and is the populist vote. Can they get 1t?
There is a movement among members of
both parties to drop politics and unite on
silver. Those who are urging this say the
tariff is out of the way now, and that there
is really no issue save silver, and that after
this is disposed of the parties can separate
again. Fusion of populists and democrats
is therefore many times more probable than
fusion of populsts and republicans.
Senator Butler says: Not the politi-
clans, but the people, are ready to declare
that men of all parties must get together
now under one banner and on one ticket,
and that financial REFORM against the
John Sherman and Grover Cleveland gold
bugs"
He says that the only reason why the
convention at Memphis last week did not
make this declaration is that there were
a few good men present who wanted these
results, but were not quite ready to see
that such declaration is the only means
by which to obtain them. Butler expects
the silver element in the democratic and
republican parties to come to him, and this
is why he said here that he had cut loose
from both those parties
Mr.. Butler is now quite ready to form
and take the leadership of the free silver
party in North Carolina" This is the next
step to be taken.