The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1898-11-01

A Deep Laid Scheme--Let Voters
Watch It.
Respectfully
g.. w. w.

Watch It.
correspondence of the Progressive Farmer.
At the very time that North Carroll
ma and other Southern States need in
creased representation in Congress and
the Electoral College, the disfranchise
ment policy of the Democrats will ma
terially reduce thGt representation.
ARTICLE IA, Sec 2 of the Constitu
ton OF the United States ia as follows:
Representation shall be proper
toned among the several States &C
cording to their respective number of
votes, the whole number of precincts
in each State, excluding Indians not
taxed. But when the right to vote at
any election for the choice of electors
for President or vice President of the
United States, representation in Con
gress, the Executive and Judicial Ch
GERS Of the State or members of the
Legislature thereof, is denied to any of
the male inhabitants of such State, be-
ing 81 years Of age, and a citizen of the
United States in any way abridged
except for participating in rebellions
or other crime. The basis OF repre-
~s2ntation therein shall be reduced in
proportion which the number of such
male citiz ems shall bear to the whole
number of male citizens, 81 years of
age in such State"
The plan Of the Democratic leaders
in this State is to disfranchise all illit-
crate white and colored voters. They
number about lao, 600. The entire vote
in the State is about $50, 900 or $50, 600.
It will thus be seen that the disfran-
chisements of the illiterate voters will
reduce the number Of Congressman
from the State and the number Of Elec-
tors so that North Carolina will have
five Representatives instead Of nine
and the number Of electors would be
seven instead Of eleven, as now. This
loss of representation will be made by
the Democrats simply that the bosses
many control in the counties and the
State.
To this proposition the Bosses will
answer that no loss of representation
has resulted to the Southern States
which have already disfranchised their
! voters. The answer ia that the appor
tionment for representation has not
been made since that time, and will
not, and could not have been made I'm
til the taking of the new census in 1900.
leaving out of consideration other
strong reasons why North Carolina
and other Southern States ought to
have increased representation in the
lower House of Congress and in the
electoral college-the question presents
itself most strongly to Populists: Is
a direct stab at free silver and fnan
cial reform9" The Acknowledgement
in North Carolina and other South.
ern States will cause q loss of about
thirty. five Representatives in Con
gress and the same number of Presi
dentil electors. At this time the South
ern States are all in favor of free silver.
That question merits the earnest con
sideration of all good Populists. There
is q natural identity Of interest be-
tween the Southern States and the
Western States in favor of free silver.
The Northern and Eastern and Central
States are for the gold standard. Now
when these Southern States lose thirty
five members of Congress under the
Democratic plan of acknowledgements,
there will be a corresponding increase
Of members Of Congress In the gold
standard States, 50 that it will be i'm
possible to pass any law in Congress in
favor of free silver or to elect a Presi
dent who favors the same proposition.
We know as a fact that the Demo
cratic leaders in this and other South
ern States, though pretending to be
for free silver are in fact gold standard
men and worshippers Of Grover
Cleveland. This Democratic policy is
a deep laid scheme to kill free sill
yer, through the desperate treachery
OF it's pretending friec1~, and, and is
more destructive to the Populist party
than any other policy which goldbug
Democrats can invent. We call or
all good Populists who favor the white
metal to consider this scheme Of de-
struction, conceived by the goldbug
leaders in ~furtherance of instructions
from Wall.
In connection with this thought, let
call your attention to the fact that in
New York and Connecticut, the Dem
ocratic Conventions have repudiated
free silver; the same thing has been