The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-03-26
STATE PRESS.

II. S. Pingree. mayor Of Detroit,
Mich, was elected governor Of that
state last fall. He mas taken his Of
flee as governor but also holds or to
n mayorality Job. which he refuses
TO surrender, and an effort is being
made to Gust him through the courts
Noting this fact 4 contemporary says
We hav a similar case nearer hOme
Governor Russell is not only governor
of North Carolina. but he Is mayor o.
two towns-Wilmington and New
Bern. The Legislature amended the
charters Of these two towns Sd thai
Russell appoints half the aldermen III
ZACH and can therefore practically
control the governments Of these towns
regardless of the voice OF the people
And yet for years local s~clf-goyern-
ment-the right to vote for all officials
was the battle cry Of the republicans
In this state. Was there ever a worse
case of lyirg. deception and hypoc-
risy Landmark.
The governor gets 'enraged," not
drunk, and swears. The governor, we
are told, is one of the most gramati-
cal sweares in North Carolina and this
must be true for he never does any
thing but he does it well. and to take
our governor away from us-remove
such a central figure from our pres
ence, and you take Hamlet out of the
pa VI oiiu iOHfC 10 Ia "a ~
bordering upon paralysis. But if the
governor is really and truly anxious
for the downfall of The Tribune he
might best serve his purDose in the
acceptance of the judgeship, for as
things have been going on, and prom
Use to go merrily on, We nave grown
fat and proud and we see millions in
it. However, we have endured much
in our journalistic career, n we be-
l;4x,o MO GOULD ~,,rx;-ra th1 roxyornnr'C
appointment.
When the democratic party was
turned out of the government in North
Carolina by the socalled reformers,
among the reforms promised was a re-
duction of expenditures; especially
were we promised that salaries n
! fees of public officials were to be re-
duced to conform with the present low
prise Of farm products. Well, the re-
! formers are in and we have had ex-
| penditures reduced with a vengeance.
AS proof of this statement we cite the
reader to an article on the first page
{ of his paper, copied from The Chatham
! Record. The legislature of two years
ago, the first reform legislature, spent
more money than any of it's democrat
; ic predecessors, and the last one has
followed in it's footsteps. The expen-
ses of the last session were about $72,-
500, very near the same as that of its
predecessor. Taxes were increased, ap,
! preparations were increased, salaries
were increased and new and unneces-
sary salaried offices created.-States-
, vile Landmark.
! It is a fact that statistics prove that
thirty-five per cent. of the population
of North Carolina cannot read anG
write, and Of the $50, 900 children be-
! tween the school age in the state Over
200, 900 thousand never take advantage
| of the schools under the present law
and many that enroll themselves at the
opening of the schools attend so irreg-
ularly that the benefit derived is of the
smallest Importance. Examine the re-
ports of the teachers made to the
commissioners last year and you will
/: be ~astOunded at the number Of children
that enrolled at the beginning of the
term n the smallness of the actual
attendance. One reported an enroll
ment of siXty-f1ve and an average at
tendance of thirteen. Another reported
an enrolment Of twenty-five in a
sparsely settled neighborhood where
) the commissioners had appointed a
{ special term for their benefit owing to
it's isolated situation the average at
tendance was three and so on we might
add examples indefinitely. The same
condition Of neglect in attending the
! schools hat prevails in this county no
doubt prevails in all the counties of the
! state.-WaShington Messenger.
A review of the recent session of the
! general assembly would properly fill a
book. A distinguished citizen Of the
state, who takes no part in politics,
WIS Sked a few days ago to state in a
i few words the difference between tn
the spirit of the legislators who were in
the general assembly of 1869 and of
1897. THE legislature Of 1869 stole
more money, and was controlled by
more daring adventurers," he replied,
but they did it under the guise of in
tense interest in the industrial devel-
Opment of the state, thus Disgusting
their huge thieving operations. This
legislature cOuld not have stolen so
much if the members had been as dar-
ing as the leaders of 1869, because of
constitutional limitations, but there
was manifested his year tenfold more
venality, meanness, prejudice and
hunting for spoils than was apparent
in the memorable disgraceful legisla-
ture of 1869. I guess the gang then
was hungry for office, but there vas
more decency in their scramble. This
may be accounted for by reason of the
larger brides hat were given legisla-
tors then. Big money for votes may
have tempered the zeal for office, and
the scandal of wholesale bribery may
have OverShadOwed the scramble for
place. Be that as it may, the spirit of
hateful spite, spleen and that
characterized the majority this year
was not observable then."-Raleigh
News and Observer.