The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-09-24
DOES THE OBSERVER BOLT?

Az far as we are enabled to judge
from the utterances yesterday in the
editorial columns of the Charlotte I'd
server. we take it that our esteemed
contemporary has seen fit to bolt tht
Democratic electoral ticket agreed
upon Monday night by the Democratic
State Executive committee.
We will not lay foul hands upon the
convictions of anybody, but we cannot
shun the plain duty of trifiing oi'
with the logic by which the Observer
seems to come to it's conclusions.
The Heading motif of the Observer
seems to be found in the following par
'sThe National Democratic con-
vention at Chicago in July nomi-
mated Mr.. Bryan, of Nebraska, and
Mr.. Sewall. of Maine, Democrats,
for President and Vice-President.
and North Carolina Democrats very
generally gave in their adherence
n tt,a ticket. They hold the Ma
tion to be the supreme court of
the party and qsr,tte a number or
them, we take it, wlat deny Inc
right of a State Democratic c011@
mittee to trade one of the nomi-
nees of this convention out of five
of the eleven votes to which he Is
entitled from North Carolina.
There il indeed a limit beyond
which even the National convention
cannot bind members of the
party"
Let not your heart be troubled,
contemporary, touching any
attempt of Chairman Manly or Of the
to usurp power that did not
belong to them. We have been pro-
ceeding on the basis that Chairman
Manly lis man of honor and of pru-
dence, and are in position to know
that he has acted in no instance disa-
greealoly with the desires of Chairman
Jones, of the Nationa | Democratic
commit tee. He has, moreover, but
done what was found essential for
the success Of the ticket in
many Western and Southern
States. To turn this proposition over,
there have been those even among
good Democrats who asserted that if
Chairman Butler did not accede to the
electoral proposition of the Demo
Gratis, the blame of defeating Bryan
and silver in the State would be upon
his head. The Democrats, with equal
reason, had they failed to take what a
good country Tar Heel brother called
"the highest cut to silver" the Popu-
lists being willing, would have had TO
face the uncomfortable charge of de-
feating Bryan in the State.
To such a charge neither the Demo
Gratis nor the Populists are willing to
plead guilty. Therefore, the two came
together on one man, who represented
a common principle.
But the Observer gets over this lii
tie matter by limiting that even with
the consent of the National conven-
zion, the Democratic party would not
have been bound. This we will not dis
cuss, preferring TO be comfortably ST
lent in the knowledge that practically
all the Democrats in the State think
and are good party men.
Thus the major premise of the
Observers argument is apart from the
facts when it says:
aThe notification of the action
of a national convention by State
committee is new thing under
the sun, and it falls strangely on
Democratic ears"
There has been no notification, dear
contemporary. Chairman Manly, as
we have said, has proceeded with an
thority, without haste, and with only
the desire to beat goldbug Mckinley
and to win the State for Bryan and sill
yer, The end Of his action
IS toward the policy to winch
the party is pledged. The end
II any opponent of this action is to-
ward the triumph Of Mckinley and
5he Republican policy.
The conclusion of the whole matter
the Observer sums up as follows:
ITO our minds the duty of North
Carolina Democrats at this junct
ure is perfectly plain. Tt is to vote
for those candidates for electors
who will vote for Bryan and Sc
wall and for no other. This in
cludes Mr.. Keith, the silver cleo
tor. Men whose boast is that they
have never scratched the Demo-
cratic nominee, cannot afford this
year to vote for lot of Populist
electors who will vote for Popu-
list for ice-President against the
Democratic nominee. Ut is their
duty to scratch the name of every
Populist from the electoral ticket
and to vote only for those men
who will vote for the Democratic
candidates. In SO doing it cannot
be said that they are scratching
Democratic ticket
This, of course, appears to us to be
-. 4 $1,000 81 n Iya 1AIa holt Tf IL iS