The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-10-31
WHAT INFLUENCE" WROUGHT
THE CHANGE IN THE POPU-
list CHAIRMAN?

| to accept the hepupliCah Pa
| fuse on offices, the Caucasian announ-
ced that there was universal approval
Of the action of the Populist commit
| tee. Here are the exact words used
by the Caucasian;
Hence. when the representa-
/ tives of the Peoples party unhesl-
| tatingly rejected proposition sng-
gesting a scheme of unquaIlIled
/ POLITICAL SPOLIAIlON AND
| PLUMBER, aud declared that there
| conld be and should be PRINCI-
| PR IN POLITICS, their declara-
ton sounded like the first peals of
| the famous Liberty Bell when it
announced that those who signed
| the Declaration Of Independence
had dared to do it. 80. There
| will be no recession from the
stand taken by the Peoples party.
Tt will seek nourishment only
from the principles on which it IS
planted, and when those princi-
pies fail to sustain it, it WILL De
CAY AND DIE"
1t is no wonder that this declaration
was applauded by honest Populists,
and that they felt like they could safely
make the man who wrote so strongly
against political spoliation and plum
der" and for principle in politics"
their State chairman. Even after Aver
became chairman, he continued to
write in the same vein. In September,
he issued circular, which was sent
out on September 5th, to leading Popu-
- ynA
from that circular:
Letters have come to this office
stating that our Republican friends
are still driving for fusion, and
that they are making unusual eff
forts to completely control the
Legislature. If they should do this,
a gold1bug United States Senator
viii be elected from North Carolina.
If the Populists should help the
Republicans TO get this control,
then THE POPULISTS WILL BE
RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT GOLD
BUG SENATOR. just think of it!
Populists electing a gold-bug!"
Again Chairman Ayers circular said:
Can we be parties to such a
record as that? Would it not be a
gross qualification, and would we
IIOu III W IOoSa NllC NOAlh1tNlASS Va
many people who have begun to
look to us to see the principles
which we have so consistently adj
vocated, and determinedly pushed
to the front, all enacted into opera
tive laws? OUR PARTY is A FAIL
URE, EVEN A HUMBUG AND
A FRAUD, IF WE YIELD ENOUGH
TO ENABLE A G0LD-BUG UNI
TED STATES SENATOR TO GO
FROM THIS STATE"
On the 21st of August, Chairman
Aver sent out another circular, con-
| tanning these words:
eve beg to suggest that destruc-
tive DANGER LIES IN A SERIOUS
CONSIDERATION OF THE TERMS
MENTIONED BY THE REPUBLI-
CANS for legislative cooperation
in the counties and think our peo-
pie ought to be and are unwilling
to take any steps along this Line
that cannot be defended from the
mountains to the coast"
This was not all. Aver added in his
circular:
eff the Populists should cooper
ate ON Legislative matters in any
counties with the Republicans ON
the terms mentioned by the Re-
publican resolutions, the Populists
would BE GUILTY OF A GROSS
AND INDISPENSABLE INCONSIS-
TENCY."
And yet we see to-day the very man
who wrote these glowing words and
sent them out officially to his party
| associates, not only writing letters
begging Populists to vote for gold-bug
Congressman, but actually urging
them to vote against Populist candi-
dates for the Legislature, who are
pledged to vote against gold-bug for
United States Senator, and to support
candidates who are known to be
pledged TO vote for Pritchard. Not
only so, but Aver has been sending out
circulars all over the State to Popu-
list chairmen pleading with them to
vote for Richmond Pearson and Romu-
| lus u. Linney, known and notorious
| opponents of free coinage. He is
quoted as saying that he has letter
in his pocket from both of these men
promising to vote for free coinage.
Nobody believes he has letter that
is clearly for free coinage at 16 to /,
| because on the stump each day Linney
| declares he is in favor of combining
free coinage TO the American product,
| and Pearson is writing letters and
making speeches asking support as an
| anti-silyer candidate. In the Fifth
| district, because Congressman Strowd
declared no true Populist could sup
port gold-bug Settle, the little Populist
chairman is trying to make the Popu-
lists vote for decoy duck by the
name of Daily, urging as the reason
| that the State committee had" AGREED
TO INDIRECTLY HELP THE RE-
| PUBLICANS ELECT FOUR CON-
GRESSMEN' gold-bugs, and one
of them a negro.
How does Aver justify his new