The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1900-05-03
POpuliSt Inconsistency.
TWO PLANKS OR PLEDGES OF THE PEO-
PIES PARTY PLATFORM
Which Show the Utter Inconsistency
of the PopuIist Position on the
Amendme mt Que Would Allow
the Negro to Vote But Disqualify
Him From Holding Any Office, Be-
cause They Want all the Offices.
(Pitt>bOrO ReCord.)

(Pitt>boro Record.)
Two planks or pledges of the Popu-
list platform, adopted last week by
the Populist State convention, de-
serve special notice. One Of these
planks proposes to place all negroes
in the same class as convicted crimi
nails by disqualifying them from hold
ing any office, and the other plank
pledges the Populist party To disfran
chisc to a CERTAIN extent not only igno-
rant negroes but ALL the voters OF
certain counties,
This assertion. or statement, start
ling As it seems, is strictly true, and
to prove it we will here publish these
two planks as published in the Cau-
cosinn, Senator Buffers paper.
The first OF these two planks, after
declaring that The Peoples party is
and has always been more distinctly
than any other party in North Caro-
lima a white mans party" proposes
the following:
amend section ). article 6, of the con-
stltntlon OF North Carolinh, by inserting
among tn" dIsqualIticatIons for office
enumerated therein. the following, viz
All n"grO"s and AL prisons Ot negro
descent to the third genrrntion inclu-
siv"'
Now. what Is section ) Of article 6
of the State constitution which it is
proposed to amend as above stated?
1t is as follows:
The following cInSSr~ or D. rsnns shall
be disqualified for office: FIRST, all per-
SONS who shall deny the beingoi Almighty
God. Second, n'l prisons whO shall have
b "n convicted OF tr.si-Gn, l,.r Jury, or of
any other infamous crime. since b,rOu-
ing cltIz.'ns Of the United States, or nf
MA practlc" III office, unI.'S> such IsrSOn
shall have been legally restored to the
rights Of citizenship
SO, here is the declared purpose of
the Populist party to ''prohibit ALL
negroes and all persons Of negro de-
scent to the third gencration' from
holding ANY Office whatever, and to
put them all in the same class with
convicted criminals.
Comment is unnecessary. and yet If
such a proposition had been made by
the Democrats what y howl would
have been raised,
| The other plank or pledge Of the
Populist platform to which special
| attention is called is i'm the following
words:
I'VE pl"dg. the Peoples party to the
maintenance of the system of local self
| government in all the white counties,
towns and cities in tn. State as estab-
| li-hed by the General Assembly of lS9a,
| AMI at the same time to provide and
| maintain IL leg isative system of county
| government for all the negro counties OF
| the State, so that there can never be any
| question that the white people shall al
| ways have full and complete control OF
| every county i'll the State
Now, what was the system of local
sclf-government "established by the
General Assembly of 1852" This
question is answered by reference to
chapter 135 of the public laws of
1895, the fifth section of which is in
the following words:
| 'SectOn >. That whenever IT'S many ns
five electors of the county make affidavit
before the clerk of thu superior court, at
any tine after the election of the county
commissioners, that they verify believe
that the business Of the county, ii left
entirely in the hands of the three com.
mis.ioners elected by the people, will be
improperly managed, that then upon
petition of two hundred electors of said
county, one-haIf of whom shall be free.
holders, and so certified 10y the clerk o
the superior court. made to the Judge
presiding therein, it shall be the duty OF
the said iudgcto appoint two honest and
discreet citizens of said county, who shall
be OF n political party different from thai
of II majority of the board of commits
sioncrs, who shall, from their appoint
mcnt and qualification, by taking the
oath required for county commissioners
be members of said board of commits
sioners i'll every respect, as fully as |
elected by the people. and shall continue
in office until the election aud qualitica
ton of the successors of said board o
county commissioners, and that NJ
money shall be pail upon the order o
said board, or official bonds accepted
nor shall any d,hr be incurred, excep
upon the concurrence Of as many as fOuI
of said board. That all motions con
cerning financial matters shall be taker
upon an aye and no vote, and recorded
upon the minutes.
So that the Populist State conven
tion solemnly pledged to re-enact tn,
above section ) Of chapter 135 of th'
laws Of 1895, which is copied above
in full, So that our readers may know
exactly what the Populists hav'
pledged to enact.
According to the above section 5
whole counties may be diSfranchise,
or their votes nullitied in the election
of their county commissioners, be
cause the two additional commission
ers which may be appointed by tn
Judge. have a veto power over tn
acts of the commissioners elected b.
the people. In other words, one maj
living in another county (the judge
can appoint two commissioners t
have as much power as the thre
elected by the people. Is not thi
multiplying the votes Of the peopl
whose commissioners are thus con
trolled? And upon whose petition
may these two additional commits
sioners be appointed? Can they b
appointed upon the petition Of any o
the voters of the county, No; bu
only upon the petition Of 200 voter
"one-haJo of Uhom shall be .treeholders.
This is drawing a distinction and dill
ference between voters who own Ian
those who do not own land. and pre-
scribes a qualification that no Demo
crat would presume to suggest.
So odious did the Democrats max
the above quoted section 5, that tn
paxt Euc;op ori .lat,,re of 1907 re