The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1897-09-16
Mastery Speech.

A Mastery Speech.
foootisnsA Yseo YSsA fs0-
sxHA1o1 nCYIxRp svHHc0.
Senator Butler thea proceeded 20
Addrees the crowd, and Cor ITO hours
aud kali be held the yast aase0biaee
without the siighsest sppeasaoce of
weastness- He beGDn BY exoeessiE4
pleasure IT the large number os his Eel.
low couufymen that had come out %
hear him, and bat f,s theis pressiss
Invitation he would not have come AS
this time - be Vas much Ia need Of 8
rest after his Congressional iaboes, bat
he came 10 bear Q special message &C
them and 20 expose the plans Of the
enemy Of reform and good ssvernmsus
who have already opened the cam.
paign more than Q year in advance
and are striving TO pesvert and eide
track the living issues Of the hour By
raisipg fsise alarm over al issue that
exist ocly in the imagipafic, Of Q
predj udiced few. He declared that
there were great economic questions
now before the public concerning both
the State and the nation and that
these questions are foremost in the
minds Of every honest voter and patPi.
OF, and must be settled finally and set
tied right before minor Issues CAD en-.
gage the public mind. The light for
these reforms must be strong, continu-
Gus and unrelenting, until the victory
10 won. To side-track these issues or
regard them ~ secondary at this crit
ical hour In the eSht for reform, is to
give up the fight and to lose to the
people the glorio1s fruits OF their past
laoofs, and 70 give up. . cause when
the victory 10 in sight. ...
The Democratic rarity 10 hopelessly
divided an every issue before the State
and the p4tion. There arc those who
favor gold and those who favor silver,
each faction high in the councils Of
the party, and strongly backed BY
prominent editors whose papers have
. wide circulation. There are those
who favor the lease, aud those who 0p-
pose it, and each faction 10 backed BY
their own pet newspaper, yet they are
oil Democrats in good party standing.
There are those who favor . reduc-
ton of railroad freight and passenger
rates, against gold contracts, against
free passes, against the powerful in
fiuence OF the railroads and railroad
lobbyist in c0rrupting the Congress
and State legislatures; these are few,
and there are those who enter no pro-
test At these iniquities, and openly de-
nounce those who do, yet they are ell
Democrats in good party standing.
There is no settled policy Of the Demo
cratic party, either on State or national
issues, and cannot be without . reor-
ganizatiOn Of the party and purging
Of its membership - now constituted.
But there is no attempt to do this, but
rather to draw closer into its folds all
these elements of contention and dis
organization, not to reconcile these
cOntending factions and present . SOL
id front for truth and right, but to
abandon the fight and come together
on the "nigger issue" and raise the CRY
of white supremacy" The "negr0
scare" is delusi0n and lie, and has
has been raised with no pretentions OF
sincerity. This line of policy has been
decided upon by the gold element
and the silver element in the Dem.
Ocratic party in order that they
may lay aside their differences and
come together on . new issue. The
plan was conceived and dictated by the
| railroads in order that the fight or
the lease might be forgotten, and the
demand for lower rates be hushed
Every true son of the Caucasian race
desires white supremacy" and white
| mans government, and no man car
be more ardent in demanding Angie
Saxon supremacy than I am, but n
the same time l am the negroes frient
and desire his rights protected, a.
every good citizen desires, but he il
net an issue in North Carolina politics
and to attempt to make him the sol
issue is fake and delusion.
We, too, desire that the "g0od peopl
of North Carolina should come tOgeth
err" but my friends let them come to
gether on high patriotic grounds, OF
live issues, fighting for reform an,
good government. Let the uni0l
come and come quick, but we mus
come together on live issues, not deat
ones. 1t must be an honest issue, an,
not ghost to intimidate and scar
the timid and the weak. Let the uniol
mean something, and We will give tn
movement our honest support.
Three-fourths Of the good people o
North Carolina are in favor Of the re
forms we advocate, the best element o
the Democratic and the Republics
party favor them, but their represent
atives in the last legislature betraye
them and the State. The rank and I'll
of the Democratic party do not an
cannot endorse the record of thei
last legislature and they dare not al
tempt it. The lease question, the rat
> question, the free pass question, j
TACT every question that effects tn
! great trusts and m0nop0lies that n
controlling every money interest {
our State, the Democrats cannot al
low to become an issue in the mex
! campaign, for to do 80 would mean
|, destroy the party. Every Democrat
Senator voted against the people !
> the last legislature on these issue
and every Democratic representativ
3 except six or eight. A most sham
, full record!
al The forty genuine Populists in tt
face of great obstacles, and the strong
est temptations to which any set of me
. were ever subjected sided with IL
): people and stood as true ~ steel.
q record that made every patriots heal
o glad. But they tell Us that Populis
: cannot be relied upon, that q part
2 our number sold out. 1t is true, n
r friends, that . number of men elect,
a as Populists betrayed the trust r
posed in them by the people. II
;, Democratic party and the r
J publican party each have b,
: representatives who betrayed the
Q trust. They have proved traitors, n
IS only in State legislatures but in Co
}. gress a. we'll. '4e was the Sad C0ngre
that the Democrats controlled both &
+, Senate and the House by large majo
= tiles, all pledged to the people on +
free and unlimited coinage of silv'