The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-03-17
IN Worm CAROLINA.
A Cbnos or Politics silver and NsErs
Dnminntinn the landing Topics.

A Chaos OF Politics silver and NeEre
Domination the Lending Topics.
wAsHiNGTos, March lathe memory OF the
oldest lnhabitnnt can furnish no parallel to the
chaotic state OF public opinion which now ex-
lists in North Carolina. There can BIZ no doubt
that the free coinage OF silver at 10 to l IA the
predominant sentiment among the three par
ties, Democratic, Republican. and Fusion. For
even the Republicans. willie contendinR with
each other In regard to tho relative merits OF
Mckinley and Reed as Presidential candidates,
claim tn he bimctallists. This Is the position OF
MIR. pritchard the Senator who halls from the
extreme western part Of tho state, and OF per-
hnps all the Republican Representatives except
Mr.. Settle Of tho Fifth district. The Democrats
and populists OF Democratic antecedcnts are
overwhelmingly in favor of bimetallism. There
are able and influential Democrats OF the con.
trary opinion. hut they ARE confined In locality
TO the larger towns, where there are banks and
capitalists.
Yet these vital questions are held by many TO
BIO subordinate to another question Of still
greater interest to tho people. viz, "whits
supremacy" There are in the eastern or lower
half Of the state fifteen or sixteen counties
which contain moro negroes than whlts people;
and while the Repub licnns were in power, in
reconstruction times, these counties were In the
habit Of %electing negroes, with little OF no edu-
ers, who had the power of assessing taxes. and
OF Justices Of the Peace, whose business 1t was
to decide controversies between citizens The
negro Commissioners and Justices were inVari-
ably associated with white men generally carpet
bavgers, who, with more Intelligence and even
less honesty of purpose, converted the County
governments into machines for tho wholesale
robbery OF the people: Exoroitant taxes wole
appropriated to the uses of the knaves who
had obtained control Of he Government.
Under the old ante-bellum Constitution OF
North Carolina the business of levying taxes
for he state and the counties was placed in the
| han al NJ rho InGtipna ,nf tina IlanRn tpln
appointed by the Governor on the recommends
tion OF the representatives OF the several coun-
the carpetbaggers. instituted a new order OF
county officers, styled Commissioners. and gave
taxes and perform other duties that had for
merry pertained to the. County Justices, The
by the people, the latter by the voters OF the
several, townships into which the counties Y8ra.
divided under the new Constitution. The effecE
was to establish negro ascendancy In many
counties, and, "a regarded tho choice OF JUS
tees. to some townships in counties where the
whites Ind u II majority.
The counties and localities which were thus
course, were those in which the wealth, refine
ment. and aristocratlc sentiment chiefly pre-
vailed, and the emhittered feelings and inn
Government which imposed II can be better
imagined than described.
But the system could not last long in
North Carolina. where nearly two-thirds of The
population are white. and IN 1873 u Convention
was called which rem~ielled the Constitution
Z" apHoin' 'hN justices % he Peace. and to tho
Justices Of the several counties the power to Sc
lect tho Commissioners. This system went i'm
mediately into operation. and worked well for
nearly twenty years. But. strange to say. n dis
erection was left with the Legislature TO set IL
aside and act upon the plan OF the Constitution
of 1868. The Convention of 1875 in making
the change had to consult the wishes OF tho
western counties, In which n complete white
asccndancy places them beyond the contingency
OF negro domination. and 1t has been hard to
impress on The whites of the western counties
eastern friends by n resort To Dppnlnr elections
for commissioners and Justices, and they little
dreamed p a Of What %a9 in store for them; Nod,
bination Of what would have been deemed
utterly incOngruons elements between Repub-
lists. and the Populists, who demand AN I'M
deemable paper money. and many other things.
The coalition was a success. The Fusionists. as
secured, large majorities in both branches OF
the Legislature and, OF course, the two seats in
the Representatives In the House. The LeRis-
lature. which met here fourteen months ago:
Gonstiitntion Of 1875. at onee u restored to inc
counties the right to elect Commissioner and
fishing the carpetbaggers' Constitution Of 1865.
And this Is now one OF the great issues before
as \ western county man. is for standing By iti
and. although an avoweh free coinage silver
man, he declare tha. he regIrds the silver issue
county government. But he will be unable to
infuSe into the minds OF western men senti-
ments comparable in intensity In favor of the
restored carpctbagger system of county gov
eminent with those OF eastern white men
against II.
Mir. Butler. the Fusionist colleague Of Mr..
Pritchard. was Of Democratic nnteccdents, with
Democratic ideas Of the tariff and OF the
finances. He established here. while a member
of the Democratic party. and still continues to
publish, II weekly newspaper entitled the Cdu-
cdSidn-a fact which leaves the inference that
he was no halfway opponent Of Northern Re-
publican ideas. He IL a man OF ability. and
here. where he is best known, he is regard ed as
u shrewd party manager. He was n member OF
the Fusion Legislature. by which lie was chosen
senator for six years. to succeed Senator RAN
som. Mr.. Pritchard. who got the short term,
10 fill out the remnant OF Senator Nance's term.
Is OF Republican autecedents. and n strong nd vo-
cate of Mr.. McKinley's Presidential claims. Both
the Senators are young men. and, although
elected by the new party, at the same legislative
session. they are now as wide as the poles apart
in principles and purposes. They can never fuse
again. whatever may be the case with the rank
and file of the Fusion party. II Is now UNDER
stool that Mr.. Butler wishes to reunlts with the
Democracy. on the silver issue. at least: and
there has been no little billing and cooling be-
tween him and certain Democratic leaders. not
without encounterinR the frowns of the old folks
at home. 1t looks as IL he would be taken
In. Bu: II remains to be seen what will be the
course of the Southern Democracy. In case Of
tho nomination OF monometallists. on n mono
metallic platform. But OF that at another time.