The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-12-19
HARD TO LEARN OLD DOGS NEW
TRICKS.

the father of the Indianapolis convention.
| His pen was the power that inspired the
movement and his aggressiveness car
| ried many Democrats into the ranks OF
the boilers. 1t was wholly inconsistent
position for Henry Wattersen to occupy
| He had denounced the money Devil
and. the trusts and the gold standard ten
| folxinore severely than Bryan ever did,
and his natural place was by the side of
Bryan. But Carlisle, who always ex-
erted great influence over him, hypnotic
| ed Mr.. Watterson and made him sing
to gold standard music And he sung
with power equaled by no other sup
porter of Palmer and Buckner.
The election over, Mr.. Watterson gave
out an interview telling the New Workers
that unless they cnange their selfish and
dictatorial rule, the people of the South
and West would really unite and put an
end to the control of syndicates and
| banks in Wall street. Here was his old
| time antagonsm asserting itself. Most
Watterson's democracy was too deep to
be wiped out by one departure from the
faith. Naturally this assertion of hos
tility to the money power annoyed Mr..
| Watterson's new found friends and Mr..
Charles Nordhoff wrote to the Herald:
I'm the interview, with much that
was all right, Mr.. Watterson very
| needlessly and mischievously puts
| himself on the Populist side by inn
| pliedly setting the West and South
| together for future operations as
| against the East Could he not have
| done very much better for the country
! and for future politics if he had rath-
| er pointed out to the South-as he
| could do with much force, as being
| part of it--how the late contest has
/ shown the base of the East broadened
| very greatly, so that it includes the
| Middle West and Northwest, and by
| showing to the South that common
| sense and political sagacity should
| and must lead it hereafter to seek COM
| mon ground on general politics with
| the East, which means everything
| north of Missouri and east OF Kansas
| and Nebraska, and not within the mar
| rowing Westw
| Mr.. Watterson replies at length, stat
| ing that he regards the interest of the
South as with the East and Central
States, rather than with the States west
of the Mississippi river; that the East has
the wealth and represents the oldest
American civilization, yet it is true that
the region Immediately west and south of
the Alleghanies is very nearly a terra
incognito to the average fastener and
explains his position as follows:
| II wanted to awaken it from its
| golden sleep and to warn it of its
| danger If the rich and great in
France had listened in time to the
I voice of sages, whom they despised,
I there would have been no Reign OF
/ Terror. They scorned all counsels.
/ and then came the deluge If the
/ slave holders of the South had watch
! cd with half an eye the eomtempora-
/ neous progress of the world the seces-
/ sion movement would have appeared
| in the beginning what it proved to be
/ in the end-a war OF humiliation.
| Are wealth and power always to close
/ monitions of common sense?
/ THE East has been enabled to take
| advantage of many prerogatiyes
| which accretions of money only can
1 enjoy. In our transition from ma
/ ton of individuals to nation Of In
stitutions-from a few millions of
people who could do their own money
business to a houndred millions of peo-
] pie who can only work profitably
through aggregatiens of capitalize
East has had first place, and, as a
consequence, has drawn first blood
Ii has had to meet the blind onset of
those who can not, or will not see the
change between the conditions of 1900
| and the conditions Of 1900. Am /
an enemy, or worse Populist if /
say to the East:-"Gentlemen, look
out for the rocks ahead. Your wealth
and its sometimes ostentatious dis
play, make you the target for the dis
affected everywhere. Your doctrine
of protection, with its paternal theo-
ries, bred this pestilence of Populism.
The snake is scorched, not killed.
You must have friends. You must
make alliances. They await you in
the South and West. But to find
them you must come and seek them;
and when you come you must wear
your hearts outside and carry both
hands wide OPEN
"Jefferson's task was to reconcile
liberty with order. He did it. Our
task is to reconcile capital and labor.
Shall we do it? / think we can"
The new associates of Mr.. Watterson
do not want to reconcile capital and la
bor." They want to make labor per-
manently subservient to capital. Nj
Watterson will find that he will have to
give up his ideas II eaye his new found
friends. We hope and believe he is too
old to learn new tricks.
Mr.. Lincoln was not much of a civil
service reformer 1t is related of him