The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-10-16

| factions of silver voters to be elected il
| o district that has got six thousand silver
majority?
! 1t is charged by the Republicans that
| the Democratic party cannot nominate q
| straight free silver man, your nomina
ton will give the lie to this charge.
The silver question was strong enough
to divide the white vote, and it is now
! strong enough to unite them again il
| true silver men are put to the front
| | know that the silver men are coming
| together any how before very long. Nc
mistakes of parties and politicians car
| keep them apart much longer; but by q
very little wisdom and some charity they
can be brought together in this election
Very respectfully,
A. G. GREEN.
MIR. PEELE'S REPLY.
; TO this letter Mr.. Peele replied as
| follows:
Raleigh, n. c., Oct. H.
Mr.. A. C.. Green:
Dear Sir: Your letter, which you de
sire published as an open letter, has been
handed to me to-day, and some cOntin-
gencies have arisen since | received it
which make it necessary that l should
! reply to you at once in an equally open
manner so that the people of this dis
trict may see the real situation and the
danger that threatens us from within as
well as from without
l need hardly say that I thank you
and your convention for the very flat
tering endorsement you gave me, com
ing as it did entirely without solicitation
and without requiring me to change my
party affiliations in the least.
My friends in the Democratic party
have been soliciting me to become a
candidate for Congress for more than
two months, but / had not very seriously
considered it and had discouraged it
until | became convinced by evidences
from many sources that the real silver
men. both among Populists and Demo
Gratis, were willing to unite on me- 1t
would have been false modesty, if not
treason to the cause, if | had refused
to enter the race for the Democratic
nomination. You are correct in your
suppostion that | am in full harmony
with the friends and supporters of w. j.
Bryan in the Democratic party. | have
no political enemies in that party except
few gold-bugs.
In the last two weeks | have talked
with about two hundred and fifty per
sons who voted for Strowd in the last
election. | have asked them uniformly
what per cent of w. j. Bryan Populsts
could poll if nominated by the Demo
Gratis against J. ]. Jenkins. The esti-
mate has veried all the way from twenty
five to one hundred per cent, and the
average estimate is at least fifty per
cent. These men may be mistaken in
their opinions. but l give them for what
they are worth. They cannot be wholly
mistaken.
The part which l took in the nomina
ton of w. ]. Bryan have never publicly
referred to: but. it will be doubtless re-
membered that | addressed him an oper
letter Just before the meeting of the
Democratic convention in 1896 in which
| called his attention to the fact that or
account of his declaration in Mississippi
that he would not support the Chicago
nominee if he were not Il true silver
man he would be endorsed by the Popu
lists at ST. Louis if nominated by the
Democrats at Chicago. The Populists
had settled upon Teller and as one OF
their leaders said to me his selection hhd
been made for six months. Without
going into details at this juncture, suf
flee it to say that at the end of weeks
hard work / was enabled TO telegraph
to the North Carolina delegation, to
Governor Altgeld, and to several other
members of the convention at Chicago
satisfactory assurances that Bryan
could be endorsed at st. Louis if nomi
mated at Chicago. / think you are right
| therefore, in your assumption that the
| true Bryan supporters can be united OF
me for Congress in this district, especial
| ly when my opponent is man who
worked against Bryan at st. Louis.
| There is no difficulty about Mr.. AT
water | have his assurance that .
silver man has got to go from this dis
| trict and this assurance was given mi
| in answer to a remark / made to him
| that j had paid him the compliment t.
say that he would not be in the race
five days after | got the Democratic
| nomination. Mr.. Atwater will hardly
be found trying to divide tne silver vote
! in the interest of Jenkins when he feels
bound to denounce him for betrayine
Mr.. Strowd and depending mainly oil
| Republican influence to nominate him il
| a Populist convention. Gentlemen who
tnlnk I1at MT. AIWaIer WOulu stay
the race against anybody who stood 8
chance of being elected do him injustice
He is trying to defeat jenkins and il
| turning States evidence on the conven
| ton that nominated him, has contributed
The means of jenkins defeat for which
all silver men will always be thankful
| to him.
| The Democrats in convention assem-
bled on the Doth adjourned without max
| ing a nomination for various reasons
lThey desired to ascertain the most avail
able candidate My friends were afrait
/ | could not be nominated since my NAM
had been first publicly mentioned onl!
four or five days before the convention
. met and they wished the delegates t.
90 home and see what the sentiment o.
/ the people of the district was. A few dele
| gates were in favor of making no noml
nation at all and winking at some can.
didate who could not get nomination
in a Democratic convention; this elemen
had the sympathy also of some of the
gold standard men here in Raleigh whC
preferred Jenkins to Atwater AS be
tween two Populists they say they vii
have the right to support either as Meth
| or will hova boon nom rod Inv Damo