The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1897-01-21
4 COMBINE
OF RASCALITY.
The Spoil Of Ofics and Patronage
a. Fund for Corruption.
PRITCHARD-SKIENER DEAL.

- f.
4 the battle during the campaign
lever thought that such q condition
q has existed among some Of the Pop
list contingent was possible, and Dot
linking of such . humiiisting and
lisgrac~ful plight as some men, " ho
ali themselves Populists. have tried TO
,ring the party into, there was no rea-
illness to meet il.
The first incident Of surprise was the
by Harry Skinner, of the
lapes of sixteen Populists who were
'eported to have said they would bolt
he caucus to vote for Pritchard. This
report was read with incredulity, bur
'or the sake of assurance the editor of
he CAUCASIAN saw every one of these
men personally. Only two Of them
admitted there was any truth in Col
SINNERS report. One OF them said Ia
had never authorized any such state
ment, and oil the others declared en-
that they would not toIt ne
caucus,
The next incident Of surprise was
declaration by Col. Skinner, while he
was addressing the caucus. that
twenty men would walk out
Of the caucus TO vote for
This statement was
barely noticed from the fact that
nearly all the men whose names be
had published had emphatically denied
the truth Of the report put out about
them.
In the SUPPLEMENT issued this week
is statement of the correspondence
between the regular caucus and those
who did walk out of it, in spite of the
statements they had made to the editor
OF THE CAUCASIAN. 1t will be seen
that these men were Senators L. Il.
McCaskey, j. +. Newsom. J. NJ. Early.
G.. L. Hardison, G. II. Cannon, ID. Reid
Parker. Representatives Z. Ii. w. Bar
ker, f. F. Wakefield, II. L. Hodges, G.
J. Marlborough, J. E. Bryan, I. II,
Rountree, j. G.. Harris, Frank Brown,
l.. A. Abernethy, c. NJ. Babbitt, }. II
Parker, J. j. White, G. G. Pagan. TC
these must be added the name OF
Senator W. Ii. Odum, who subse.
quently wrote and published letter
saying he would support Pritchard
ALL these men were elected as Pop
ULISTS.
Itthus transpired that Col. skinner
statement to which so little attention
had been paid, to-wit that twenty
men would leave the caucus, PROVED
true.
AS soon as the surprise at this &C
ton had somewh hat subsidized, inyesti
CATION was begun as to its cause. |
was at once known that sOmethin!
pOwerful-MORE POWERFUL THAN TIL
INFLUENCE OF ANY MAN-Was benin,
it. Bu it was painful to be compelled
to admit that anything but~the infiu
ence of principle could control a
POPULiST.
While seeking for the cause, con
versation or conference was .hel,
in room No. i, at the Bransol
House, by some of those who wake,
out AID vas accidentally overhsar
By a reg4i4r Populist Senator. tn
facts brought out in that conferenc
are given in the Supplement to this is
sue, and they should be CAREFUL
| noted.
IRRESISTIBLE CONCLUSIONS.
Conclusions were then easy an
even irresistible.
| 1t was known that Pritchard ar
Skinner had worked up GREAT con
BINE. Pritcbard was to command an
control the members Of the Republica
party in the legislature solidly. Skir
her was to command and conrrt
enough Populists to unite with the RI
publicans to give the combinatio
sufficient strength to insure Pritcl
ards election. These Popnlists wei
to be rounded up at any cost and q
hazards. Pritcbard would write Lei
ter saying that he was for free silvp
Further than that be. if elected. woul
be able to control federal "pie" an
would dish some of it to these Popt
lists through Skinner. This is WI
Skinner was able to make the boa
that he vas going to put WHITE Pol
ULISTS in all the important pos
offices in his district stead of colore
Republicans. How could Col. Skim,
hope to do this unless there was SON
understanding with a representatir
! of the Mckinley administration
, Every true Populist in North CaroIir
fought Mckinley as effectively as
could, and no TRUE POPULIST ca
hope to be offered, nor could he acce1
anything from McKinley's admin
tration.
Let some one ask Represe utati,
, ". II. dunn, of Arson, if it has n
been suggested to him that he can g
the WadesborO postmastershlp und
certain conditions"
Another evidence of this kind
scheming can be stated by Represen
alive Ferrall, Of Wake. He was Sc
for and went. He was told that Il
thing to do was to look out for Sc.
and that there was way to look O
for himself in a material way. n
Ferrall spurned these oyertures Wi
:, contempt. HE was the wrong m:
for the com biDe to fool with.
J. Representative Morton of Richmor
was also approached" Ask him
he was not offered $500 worth
z patronage if he would do so and 5
T Ask him further. if he was not sent
3 and talked to a second tilne by {
Pritchard-SkinDer combine. Bat NJ
: ton was another wrong man. I
raised himself in his indignation al
said: "Get thee behind me sstar
? which was his polite way of tellil
J the combine to "go to the devil"
Ask DR.. Craven, of Mecklenbu,
1t he does not know something abe
these Vaccinations. But his know
edge of it was enough for him.
was another wrong man."
And as good man as Dr. D. Re
Parker has been supposed 3 be seer
e to be in this deal. When appealed
to come back into the caucus. be ask
What would such men as myself a.
: McCaskey get if we should go bacl
q By his own admission he holds pro,
Use of some kind ''in black apd v hi,
J from the combine. and tits suppos
i to be the Office of Commissioner of A
riculture. Let some one ask him if
5 can deny this truthfully.
The combine, perhaps, only kno
4 all the @promis-s" that have been ma
in the general deal.
IT MUST BE OBSERVED Al
n STATED THAT SOME OF THE MI
e WHO LEFT THE CAUCUS L
CAUSE THEY THOUGHT TIL
HAD SOME GRIEy X
TURNED WHEN AMENDS WEI
Il MADE TO THEM. AND IN
# SENSE ARE THEY A PART
r THE COMBINE AS 1T VII
b FINALLY STAND.