The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-07-04
North Carolina Populists Will
ing to Tie to Either Party.
GUTHRIE FOR GOVERNOR
Free Coinage of Silver is the Su-
preme Issue in the State.
JUDGE RUSSELL FOR SENATOR
Stated Positively on Good Authority
that He Has Given Senator Pritch-
ard Letter Declining the
Nomination,

Nomination,
The Raleigh correspondent of the
Washington Star sends the following
interesting gossip to that paper, under
date of July /, concerning the political
situation in North Carolina at this
time:
The Democrats made no mistake
when by an overwhelmin. vote their
State convention decided not to defer
the nomination of a State ticket until
after all the national conventions had
been held The action taken has
strengthened the party immensely.
The nomination of Cyrus b. Watson, Il
straight-out silver man, for Governor,
has had distinctly beneficial effect.
The action of the gold men in the con-
Vention. in their earnest work for the
party, has brought about unity OF
purpose to carry the State, which Is
what the party needed.
The Populist plan, the Star CORES
pondent is assured on high authority,
was to seek in all sorts of ways to in
duee the Democrats to postpone noml-
nations, and then the Populists would
have Immediately held convention,
named Wm. A. Guthrie for Governor,
and given liberallyt to Democrats places
on a mixed State ticket. That this plan
would have caught many Democrats,
goes without saying, the more partic-
ularly as the Populists would have
said: This is the wayto getsilver. Ihls
is the way to defeat ID. j.. Russell, the
Republican nominee for Governor.
But the action of THE Democrats has
nullified all these plans.
POPULISTS AND REPUBLICANS.
A Democrat of prominence, who en-
lows the confidence and respect of the
Populists, says that he feels sure that
the plan of the Populists and Republic
cans now is to have a joint State tick
ct. to put Guthrie at its head, to make
Russell United States Senator, and
Senator Pritchard to go In Mckinney $
Cabinet. The source from which this
news comes makes 1T particularly in
teresting. Though 1T has been repeat
edIy denied that Russell ever wrote n
letter Offering Ito come down as the
head of the ticket, the Star correspond
emit is assured by James c. MacRae,
f II. Busbee and T.. e. Smith and 9th
ers that the letter was written and
placed in the hands of Senator Pritch-
ard. to be acted on whenever thought
best. Russell declines to deny that he
has written such a letter. Russell IS
a silver Republican, and the plan is
that he is to be silver Republican
Senator, it is asserted.
AS to the electoral ticket put up by
the Republicans, it is said majority
of their State committee favor taking
| ii down and substituting PopulIsts.
| James II. Young, a member of the
committee, says this is the state OF the
case. Senator Pritchard, whose pros
poets of reelection have for several
months been regarded by many as in
grave jeopardy has favored giving the
Populists the Governor and half the
electoral ticket.
There is, personally speaking, no
love lost between Senators Pritchard
and Butler This is we'll known. The
friends of Senator Pritchard declare
| that Butler has not lived up to his
compact made on January, /, 1895, THAT
| he and the Populists would work and
vote for Pritchard's reelection in 1897
| They charge Butler with turning trait
| or. One of the leaders in this active
| championing of Senator Pritchard is
| Representative Pearson.
On the other hand, the friends OF
| Senator Butler say that Pritchard was
one of the promoters of the Populist
revolt against Butler: that he pressed
Representative Skinner, Cyrus Thomp-
son and others to issue d
| manifesto against Butler, and
| that they have melted James
NJ. Mewborne, and other Pop
ulists to do the same thing. They fur
Their allege that one of Buffers clerks
in Washington was regularly betray'
| ing Office secrets to Pritchard.
POPULIST COMMITTEE MEETING
The Populist State executive com
| mittee is called to meet here on the
Bird of July. This was decided on last
Saturday Guthrie came here that
day. He said that great movements
were on foot. More than this he de-
clined to reveal, but said the commit
tee would call the State convention to
assemble between August / and Is
Incidents are often straws to show the
direction of the wind, and it was sig
nificant that Republican-Populist
State Treasurer Worth, while at the
| station Saturday with Guthrie, intro
duced the latter to some relatives as
| Governor Guthrie" Guthrie said the
| Democrats had put up Cy. Watson to
| beat Russell, and that now the Popu-
| lists will put up a man to beat both.
Guthrie has insisted that the Repub-
lican party is honeycombed by Popu-
lism, and that he would get $4,000 of
| it's votes, and he also said if he could
not beat Russell he could not beat
anybody. There are Democrats who
declare now they have all the while
believed that the Populists would fuse
with the Republicans again simply be-
cause they were not willing for the
world to know how small their real
strength is. 1t has been one of Sena-
tor Buffers objects to keep his party
as the balance of power in both the
State and Nation.
The negro voters claim that their
race holds the real balance of power,
and that their attitude this year will
be far more Independent than ever
before. The convention of anti-Rus-
sell negroes which will be held here
next Thursday, July 2, is awaited