The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1900-03-30
Special Correspondence

Raleigh. -. G., March -
These are days OF constant work and
watchfalness for Democratic State
Chairman Simmons. His office IS
headquarters and II is a veritableI
campaign workshop. To him the par
~. through its state committee. has
conided much and he is justifying its
confidence. The man who is unfa-l
miliar with the volume of labor re-
quired TO conduct a campaign has no
idea OF the mass Of correspondence to
be given attention. Of the details to
be looked after, OF the dissemination
OF news to be made, OF the selection OF
speakers, of the placing OF these ju-
be covered. of the collection OF infor-
diciously in territory which ought to
nation from friend and foe, etc. For
a chairman, like a general. must al
ways get early and Informal
ton as TO hat the opponent party Is
doing.
Your correspondent asked Chairman
Simmons some questions regarding
matters much talked o these days.
Here are the questions and the replies
to them:
%. will there be a full vote in Au-
gust or will the negroes absent them
selves?"
Il hin there will be an unusually
full vote in August. Both the whites
n the negroes Will vote. All the talk
one hears about the republicans advis-
ing the negroes not to vote is thorough
ly understood by the democrats. Ii is
a trick, first TO try to shift the issue
and secondly, the republicans have a
little scheme which they think the
democrats know nothing about II
won't work, as they will find out later
on, and then there will be tremendous
hustling in republican ranks to vote
the last negro in the state"
CD. will the republicans stop the
election board by injunction?
No, there will be no grounds for an
injunction. The Legislature will meet
in June and the democrats of North
! Carolina know how to protect them
selves against the threat to invoke the
fusion judiciary TO stop the election"
81. Some republicans think their
party has made an error in committing
itself to opposition to the amendment.
Have you any idea but that the repub-
Leans will in convention declare
against the amendment?
There is no doubt in the world but
that the republican state convention
will declare against the amendment.
The republican party is composed OF
120, 900 negroes and 10000 white people.
! The negroes are opposed to the amend
ment and they control the republican
/ party. If there is not a negro delegate
to the republican convention, still that
convention will be bound to respect
and carry out the wishes of the negro.
In the republican party the negro can
kill and make alive and every white
republican leader knows it. For reas-
ons of party expediency and in the
hope of deceiving the people, the white
republicans will try to keep the negro
in the background this year. but
whether he attends the convention or
not, they will not dare do anything
against his wishes or what he thinks
to be his interest. The negro will be
willing to be put in the background
if he thinks thereby he can help his
party to win, because he knows full
well that if his party can once get in
power, that he can force his recogni-
ton. If there is n thing a negro
does understand, it is how 20 play
'possum."
90. What do you think the popu-
list convention will do as to the amend
ment? How many of the leaders will
stick to Butler? What will be the
attitude of Cy Thompson and Harry
Skinner"
IF the convention is in any sense a
representative convention, it will not
declare against the amendment, but
he Mark Hanna-Pritchard wing of the
OP0 POI lin "iho NlACAA III
and seventeen populists members OF
the legislature of '97 declared to be
traitors and passed resolutions expell-
ing from the party, has absolute con
troll of the party machinery of the pop
ulist party and Butler has deposed
j Skinner as leader Of this wing and be
come its prophet. The most of the
men who now control the organization
of the populist party are federal office
holders, thorough-going McKinleyites
1t is probable that this element of the
populist party will control the conven-
ton. If it does, the convention will dc
anything nat Pritchard wants done
7 don't know what will be the attitude
Of Messrs. Thompson and Sinner. As
I said before, Butler has now become
the leader of the Skinne element Of
the popuiist party"
90. who do you think will b. thu
republican candidate for governor
Will the republicans and populists fuse
on governor, etc."
Il have no opinion as to who vii
be the republican candidate for gov.
ernor. Nobody seems to want tn,
nomination, because everybody know!
that there is no earthly chance for tina
party to elect its candidate for govern
or. The republicans do not seem to b
agreed pon anybody for candidate
or upon n Gefinite policy Of any kim
eXcept a policy of general misrepre
sentation. a Wholesale effort TO fool an,
deceive the people. They seem L
think they ran fool and deceive tn
white people just as they have aIway
been fooling the negro when IL suite,
their party's purpose to do so. / sup
pose there will be some sort OF fusiol
between the republicans and popuIists
That is. the Mark Hanna wing of tn
populist party will fuse with the re
publ1cans this year. Populists wh'
still believe in free silver, who are op
: posed TO a high protective tariff. VIII
are opposed to government by tn
classes instead of by the people, M
who are opposed to trusts and mOnOp
olies, will not fuse with the republican
party whatever may be the action o
h convention held in the name o
that party"
In some counties it is said the re
publicans are pretending TO be maxim
up a list Of persons who did not pa
/. their taxes b. the lst of March. The