The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-12-04
VINO Will. suCCREp rRtTCu
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| rsltehardg WIN pritcherd stoltify him.
aelf hy recansine and declaring now for
s,lvcr9 tt he does. viii enough populists
/ believe hsm 10 enable him 60 succeedT'
/ Il, each Of these questions there ,s
/ Nus one answer that We can make in
/ fraokncss. h ia, we don't know The
/ man does not live who can tell In nj
vance what wlll I've che result 81 thecon-
,,,et Cor Senator. which viii eliminate in
january. There are 80 many conflicting
/ interests. SO many diverse influences,
and So many uncertainties that ii would
take prophet ~ old TO foretell the out
come. The Legislature is composed Of
/ 5bree parties. and i'm writing OF the con.
I test 81 may he well 90 consider The ott-
/ t,ldt az each OF these parties.
1 les MS FIRST consider the Democratic
party aad the attitude ii viii assume,
/ In the absence 81 information from the
I members elect. ii is impossible 10 speak
/ With authority as to the course the Dem
I ocrats viii take. They have more than
oue-fourth Of thc members Of the House
and eight Of tho 6fty members of the
/ Senate. They have fewer members than
other the populist or Republican parties
I As q minority. they cannot control legis
lation. They were elected in every in
stance nv free silver constituents, and
they are every one of them earnest advo-
Gates Of that policy. We take it that men
with such convictions viii stand ready TO
do whatever they can do honorably to
elect free silver men to positions in the
| Legislature. and they win doubtless vote
| for a United States Senator who is a con-
sistant advocate Of free coinage Of silver
They will also stand ready to cooperate
with those, If any, who are unwilling to
| turn the Eastern towns and cities over
to negro domination, and who do not
| believe that the educational and charita-
| bic institutions OF the State ought to be
made the football Of ofiice-seekers. If
there are none who are DESTROYS of pre-
serving these institutions free from polit
zeal spoilsmen. and if there are wanting
enough honest advocates of free silver
to prevent the election Of a gold man to
the Senate, then the Democrats viii have
no other duty than to keep the faith, enter
their protest against those measures that
will make for the injury of the State, and
| to cast their united vote for Sen
ator who will stand in the Senate
| for six years as true wearer Of the
mantle of Zebulon b. Vance, whose seat
is to be filed. If opportunity presents it
self to assist aflirmatively in good works,
the Democrats will be ready for the re-
sponsibilty If the two other parties
unite to carry through revolutionary
measures, the Democrats will be impotent
to do more than to point out the wrongs
and make an appeal to Caesar.
2 The Republicans have 81 members
of the House, ten less than majority,
and IS Senators, total of 60 members Of
both bodies While having a much larger
membership in both houses than the Dem
ocrats, they are as impotent to do any
thing unaided as are the Democrats.
| They can neither organize one branch of
| the Legislature, nor elect Railroad Com
missioner or United States Senator.
! There are 10 members of the General
| Assembly 1t will require So to elect
| Railroad Commissioner or Senator. The
Republicans claim to have II members
of the Legislature, and to lack only fifteen
to elect on joint ballot. Can they get
the desired - or II as the case may be?
1t is certain they cannot look for help
from the Democrats in any contingency.
| Their hope and expectation is in secur-
| ing their needed vote from the Populists.
| They claim that there was an understand
| ing with the Populists before local fusion
was effected, that the Populist legisla
tors were to support Pritchard for re-
election, and they profess to believe that
this claimed arrangement will be carried
out. The fact that Republican agents
| are scurrying over the State offering
/ OEuceS ana money TO EopulisC legislators
to vote for Pritchard shows that they
are whistling to keep their courage up.
There is another thing that is giving
Pritchard trouble He knows that sew
eral Republican members do not really
desire his election, that several may vote
for Dockery anyway, that Holton and
1 I,
tunity presents itself, and that RusselPs
recent interview is plain bid for Populist
support for Senator, if Pritchard's gold
and railroad record makes him unavaila-
| BILE. In some quarters, this opposition is
| expected to materiaHze. We have no
such expectation While there are plenty
of Republicans who would like to knife
| Pritchard, they are every one of~~them
| o,1