The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-09-06
Another Joint Debate Between
Watson and Guthrie.
THEY SPOKE AT SHELBY
The Populist Candidate Scored
Pritchard Again.
NO FUSION IN CLEVELAND
Advice and viii Not Support
Any Man who Votes for
a Coldbug
a Goidbug.

SOtNDN6s
Shelby, n. c.. Sept. Especial. J.
The political situation in Cleveland, as
it applies to the Republicans and Popu-
lists, is rather funny. The two COM
mittees thought they had made an ar
rangement to fuse but they found they
had spelled fuse with a double S and
the f was left off.
1t was agreed that n. Y. Hamrick
should be the fusion candidate for
the legislature, with the understanding
with the Republicans that he vote
for Pritchard. Now he says that he is
pledged to vote for Pritchard only on
condition that he pledges himself for
free silver. The Republicans claim that
no such condition was understood.
Mai. Guthrie to-day repeated with
even greater emphasis what he said at
Rutherfordton yesterday that no Popu-
list could affard to sacrifice his princi-
pie by voting for man for the legisla-
ture who would vote for Pritchard
or any other gold bug for United
States Senator, and now the waters are
muddier than ever.
THE JOINT DISCUSSION.
The joint debate here to-day brought
twelve hundred men to Shelby, about
two-thirds Democrats and the others
Populists and Republicans, but about
all of them silver men.
The discussion shifted somewhat
from that Of yesterdays meeting. Maj.
Guthrie led off. He discussed the silver
question and again claimed for, his
party the credit of forcing The issue
to the front, but he took up his last
half hour in attackes upon the Demo-
cratic party and flimsy charges against
the legislature record of Mr.. Watson.
He had secured the Legislative journals
and found what he thought might be
used against Watson in the shape of
dog law votes and vote on the six
per cent interest law. He harped
again on the Alliance charter repeal,
notwithstanding Watson's perfectly
satisfactory explanation which showed
that he had absolutely nothing TO &c
with the passage of the amendments,
He-advised against Populist and Re-
publican fusion on Congressman or
Legislators, but said that if they could
ARRANGE fusion on county officers it was
all right.
He declared that he favored investi-
CATION of the railroad lease and that
he was neither directly nor indirectly
connected with it. He charged Watson
with having favored a pOstponement
of putting this railroad on the tax
list until the lease to the Richmond and
Danville railroad expired.
He touched on the election law
and declared that no Populist
or Republican should vote for legisla-
tors who favored changing il, He said
that if the Populists and Republicans
allowed the Democrats to get control
that they would South Carilnaise the
law. He declared that if any McKin-
ley man happened to be felicitating
himself on the idea that silver men
We're going to be fools and throw away
their votes, that he would be badly
fooled.
Mr.. Watson in his reply showed that
his only connection with the dog tax
law was TO offer an amendment to re-
duce the tax from SO and 81 to 20 cents
and 10 cents, to include all dogs and
then finally to vote against the whole
bill
He showed that instead of being op-
posed to the private stock in North
Carolina railroad paying tax he had
carried a case to the Supreme court
eighteen years ago and had the stock
placed on the tax list, that he voted
for postponement of six per cent law
until the repeal of the tax on State
banks, because he wanted all interest
collections on the same footing with
National banks.
He criticised Mjor Guthrie for des-
cending to these little matters of pea
nut politics in the face of the grave
issues involved in the campaign. He
called the Major out again on the
question of electoral cooperation and
asked him if he was yet ready to come
out and favor the plan proposed for
uniting the silver votes. The Major has
been talking to Populists since he has
been ON the campaign and has seen that
the Populists in this part of the State
are getting little impatient at the
delay of their leaders so he came bold
ly out and declared that he was in
favor of getting the forces together
and voting together for electors so
that there would be no doubt of Bryan
the State.
The discussion to-day was animated
and interesting and the Democracy in
Cleveland has been encouraged and
strengthened. The best informed men
-ell me that an electoral fusion ticket
viii carry Cleveland by 1000 majority.
Mr. Watson by invitation addressed
/ newly formed Bryan and Watson
,lub here tonight and created much
F. B. ARENDELL.