The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1898-10-01

cnce of 1.-THE onliest niger colonel"
would have made the jubilation com
plete.
Jim was needed to lead the choir
chanting the i'll deeds of Atwater and
| pcce and anybody else who might dare
10 become candidate in opposition 10
the Sajntcd Jenkins. This is to be re-
grctted Though Jim is not figure tn
ravish the art-loying eye, his presence is
always calculated to make the heart OF
the nigger~loying fusonist glad.
Jenkins shakes hands gladly with all
r0mers, and seemed TO think the lard -
he shook the more solid he became with
the voter. SO he gave each extended paw
a vigorous pump-handlc movement, with
little spasmodic squeczos during the per
formancc An the time he WAS 5obbing
his head i'm an unaccountahlc sort OF
way. This bowing he keeps up inccs-
sanity as IL seeking 10 ingratiatc himself
with the whole world I've seen geese
make much the same motion.
But IL was Jenkins clothes that In
tcrcStel me most. Jenkins has come
to-Icsus face, hut his clothes label him
at once MS II dead game" sport, They
arc at the loudcst pattern and sportiest
cut | asked him why he didn't get III"
checks ON 'em caShrd aud he grinncd rs
if he'd never heard the joke before.
couldn't understand it all for awhile.
Then examining more closely il all seem
ed plain enough. In the motley gray
cloth there we're threads of gold, not
rt,al gold 20 he sure. hut yellow bands
grrat broad bands that made these
loud raCc-horSc stripes. Could this be thu
uniform that lIolton had put ON "our
caudjdat,& for Congress? y Wig said IT
WAS and | took his word for it. One
thing is certain, Nrrayed in these tags
/ ar amy other. Jenkins will never lead
ANYBODY dangerously near silver. He's
not huilt on that plan of political arch-
lecture.
The trouble with jenkins is he's abso
,utely without convictions. He lacks
staying qualities. and has no more back
bone than m angle-worm. His thin,
licnt. gauzy nature flutters to any breath
When he's with n good ropulist he's Il
mighty good silver man; with a Republi
can he's the most rabid gold standard
advocate in the district. Jenkins is a
fashion of weak tree-toad that will pipe
shrilly from any tree and turn any color
he's put in contact with. TO all intents
and purposes he was yesterday as strong
Republican as there was in town.
But to return to that suit: | don't think
l exa ggerate when / say that nothing
like it has been seen recently in this
city. Every time you witness it you
say. "Oh-h-h," as though You were look
ing at fireworks. And you catch your
self wondering how he sleeps with it in
his room Mt night-it's so loud. With Il
new hat, clean collar Of latest cut.
pink and yellow tie, carefully shined
shoes and that suit there's nothing left
to wish for. Not thing. Jenkins was
exploSively radiant-gOtten up evidently
for the Radical convention and regard
less of time and expense. 1t is Il gold
standard outfit of purest ray, and
imagine when Hoton fist saw il he said,
wen done, thou good and faithful sery-
ant, wear this last years birds nest.
thou little fledgling to the end Of the
chapter. and if they don't strangle you
about the third act there'll be no doubt
anout where you stand when you win
out"
Will this Slim-Jim politician be chosen
to represent this district in the next
Congress?
Well, that depends on the voters. The
IJel1DcTHIS say not. L ne Alluuit~Ol-IHt-
Road populists. say not. All good silver
men hope not. And even many Republi-
cans have pebbles in their sings for the
Chathamite.
Jenkins sticks TO it, though. in n low
browed, sullen sort of way that he's Il
winner But he doesn't look or act as if
he were exactly sure he'd win out. He's
lost that jocund look of easy confidence
he wore before Atwater announced him
self Il candidate and the Democrats fail
ed to make nomination. He rocks aloft
now on some billow of hope, now sinks
in the trough of dependency.
| could see it as plain as day yester-
day-that he was simply whstling to
keep his courage up. ! asked him wha'
he thought his majority would be-
Between 5000 and 1000"
How do you figure it?'
''ln Nash I'll get 1000: in Wake 1000;
in Vance 1000; in Randolph 700; in
Franklin 1000. Chatham depends on
what the Democrats do and Johnston
will be against me-"
"That only gives you 400, allowing
you all you claim"
''Well, that's enough"
Jenkins didn't know that two of his
advisers and confidential friends had
just told me with no Democratic ticket
in the field, but a Midde-of-the Road
Populist in the race he couldn't hope for