The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1898-04-14

VT CdIlIIul Cullllliuc SuuoI'Ip'
lions that have expired. Please
attend 10 this al once.
TuI Biblical RECORDER; THE LEASE
QUESTION:; ASD IUE GONEHNOB.
It i, well known IL at The CAUCA-
SIAN has differed with the Governor
upon the question Of the arrangement
recently entered into betwix the South
ern Railway Company and the Direc-
tors Of the North Carolina Railroad in
respect to the ninety-nine year lease.
But we have no sympathy whatever
with such attacks upon the Governor
of the State IA that made in recent
issue OF the Biblical Recorder; and we
desire to eyince Our utter want OF
sympathy with such attacks, from
whatever source they may come, by re-
plying to the misstatements, misrepre-
sentation of motives, and gross perver-
sion of facts contained in the article
we have alluded to.
We hold it to be elemental journals
tic morality, that every newspaper
should tell the exact Truth about mat
{ ,rs which it discusses; and, it would
s.e,n, that this law Of elementary NOR
ais should have special binding force
upon religious newspapers. But it
would seem that sucb moral force is
not always felt by newspapers in this
latitude. THE CAUCASIAN has always
deprecated the colossal ability of poll
teal journals of certain kind in
North Carolina to avoid any and all
connection with the habit of truth
telling. 1t is more than surprised at
this example of perversion of fact,
But to the matter in hand:
The Biblical Recorder says editorial
ly in the article under review, that the
Governor has denounced Judge Sim
onton as "scoundrel." Every per-
son who has read carefully the public
press knows that this statement is I'M
true.
1t is true that the Governor has
spoken pretty freely in commenting
upon facts, made notorious, mainly
through Democratic newspapers, that
JUICE Simonton has been in the ha bit Of
accepting such favors from the South
ern Railway Company as would indi-
cate, that he was wholly under the in
huence of that corporation. 1t Is also
true that the governor has sometimes
commented with really cOmmendable
vigor upon some of Judge SimOntOn's
rulings in we'll known railway litlga-
tions. But that he has ever called him
a 'scoundrep or applied to him any 9TH
er epithet of like import, is utterly I'M
true. We think that we have read the
newspapers pretty closely. We think
we have read all the Governor has said
publicly upon the now famous lease
question; and we know he has used no
such language, as applying to Judge
Simonton, as that which the Recorder
attributes to him.
The Biblical Recorder further says,
"Our Governor has given up the effort
to make void the lease of the North
Carolina Railroad to the Southern
Railway Company
Well, if what the Recorder says so
gushingly about the Improvement of
the road by the Southern-about the
Southern's better management of the
road-about the better service given
to the public by the Southern-about
the better pay to the State from the
road in the hands of the Southern-if
all this gushing praise, which has the
appearance of having string to it som G
where, be true, ought not "our Govern
or" to have given up the fight against
the ninety-nine year lease some time
ago? If the State has a better road un-
der the lease-if the people have bet
ter service under the lease-if the
State gets more money from the road
under the iease-it would seem that
the Governor would be dong not only
avery impolitic thing, but also very
wicked thing, in trying to get the lease
set aside in Judge Simonton's court OF
elsewhere.
But has the Governor given up the
fight to make the Southern Railway
Company do exact justice to the State
of North Carolina and it's people in all
respects, including those Of the ninety.
nine year lease? We trust not, and
we think not; at any rate we know
that The CAUCASIAN and the people
have not. Will the Biblical Recorder
stand with US in this fight?
The Biblical Recorder also in speak
ing of the compromise says, "The
terms are-on the side of the State, alb.
solute surrender"
This statement is in our opinion
wholly unwarranted. As we under.
stand it neither the State, nor the
Governor, nor the Directors of the
North Carolina Railway, has surrend.
cred anything whatsoever to the
Southern Railway in this lease fight
The facts are, that the lease case is Il
20 on in Judge Simonton's Court to
final hearing and decree. How cal
anyone but q man who writes either
recklessly or ignorantly, say, that thu
State surrendered anything in collect
ing all her costs out of the plaintiffs il
the case? Let US suppose for momen
that Judge Simonton shall finally de
eide that the ninety-nine year leas
was made through the procurement o
fraud; in that event, the State will
have lost nothing, will have surrender
ed nothing. But on the other hand