The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-12-17
PRETTY STATE OF AFFAIRS.

W. W~~G@S
of the Federal Court for the Eastern
District of North Carolina began in
Raleigh. Before the end of the second
week it became apparent that the
money to pay witnesses, jurors and
other attendants was short. Uncle
Sam, under the present management at
Washington, is not paying his debts
much faster than some of us common
people.
By Tuesday or Wednesday of last
week many witnesses we're ready to re-
turn home. They secured their tickets
for services, but were informed by
| Marshal Carroll that he had no funds
in HAND 10 pay them. Then the trouble
began. Many o. them had been pulled
out of the recesses of NATURE and brought
here to testify against their GaIghbors
for alleged violations of the Internal"
revenue laws. and other charges such
as are punishable in the United States
Court. 4 good many either had no
money when they started or else ex
pected { o pay their board bills when
they received their pay for court at
tendance, and when the Marshal issued
his proclamation they were dunn
founded. Butte little game withloaded
dice was in progress. Negro men and
boys besieged each embarrassed wit
ness aud informed them that cash
| could be secured for the tickets down
the street" A good many of them
were piloted down the street" which
meant to the business off, &c of the News
and Observer. There they found a
polite and neatly dressed gentleman in
the person of Business Manager Whit
aker. Mr. Whitaker was prepared to
discount Uncle Sans paper. To fnd
money for discounting purposes in a
newspaper Office was startling indeed.
MANY of the witnesses were SO much
surprised that they became paralyZed
in n or both sides and readily con
eented for Mr.. Whitaker to take their
government paper, which called for O
sound dollar" good in Europe" or
anywhere else for the small sum of 80
cents for zach dollar the witness was
| entitled to. Some Of the witnesses
were dyed in the wool Democrats, but
! they forked over 100 cents worth of
Uncle Sans II. O. u" for 80 cents
right along. II they realized at the
time that Mr.. Whitaker was chipping off
90 cents every time he handed a sound
dollar" through the pigeon hole, the
fact that they had found gobs of cold
clammy cash in a newspaper Office
acted as an ar8 3sthetic and deadened
the pain for the time being. Meantime
Business Manager Whitaker had a dlf-
ferent smile on his face from the one
he carried just after the election.
But some folks began to kick after
the novelty wore off. They kicked
hard. Ugly rumors were started on
Marshal Carroll. The fact that Mr..
Whitaker is Marshal CAROLS son in
law seemed to be an excuse for charg-
ing that he was a party to the job. This
he promptly d3nied, saying to a re-
porter that he didn't know Mr.. Whit
aker was carrying on such a thriving
business at all until the information
was brought to him by some one, and
that he promptly sent his son in law
word that the discounting business
must be stopped at once. But it had
not been entirely stopped two days
later, for a c0lored man was seen
steering" a man down the street"
The man had a paper in his hard and
the writer heard the colored man saw
to him: "You kin git dat cashed do wn
de street."
IL Is said that a bank furnished the
money for Mr.. Whitaker to discount
, with. Other parties also discounted
some OF them, we learn, some navipo
only half or two thirds the value.
A pretty kettle of fish it is for tbe
United States Government to be man
{ aged in such g. way as 10 send it's pape,
D out begging, and the government, if il
was not run by a set of scoundrele
D could be making money of gold, paper
. and silver day and night, if need be, tx
nav its obligations. 1t shows very
g plainly how rotten things are when tn
l government paper goes begging, anc
vet private citizens, bankers, can be ii