The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-10-21
Precinct Committeeman" Answered.

To the Editor: ALI good Democrats
desired to see the Senatorial contest con-
Quoted upon a high plane, free from all
undetermined work. and all questionable
methods 1t is now apparent that this
course is net being pursued by all. Cir
culars are being sent out by the mana
gers of Mr. Simmons campaign without
any signatures attached and without
any postmark to show where they are
written. These are taken from newspa-
pers, and sent out in circular form. One
OF these circulars bears the date OF Octo-
her 1st, and is signed "A Precinct Com
mittceman. 1t undertakes to make po-
litical capital out of an utterance attrib-
uted to General Carr.
To show how it has been garbled, the
very circular which contains this quota
tion prefaces it by saying that General
Carr said: "If he can have free ballot
and a fair count he will be elected.
Other advocates of Mr.. Simmons from
Murphy (see Raleigh Post Oct. 49,, have
General Carr as saying that he would be
elected elf he could get a free ballot and
a fair count at the hands of the Demo-
cratic organization" Advocates of Mr..
Simmons in other sections OF the State
are circulating the report that General
Carr said he would certainly be elected
IF he was not defrauded by the Demo-
cratic machine" BY no reasonable con-
struction of his language can any such
inference be drawn.
Gen. Carr is quoted as saying in his
Mount Holly speech "If my friends will
only turn out on election day, and work
and vote, victory is assured; and aside
from my personal interest, it is of the ut
most Importance that there be a free and
full ballot and an honest and fair count.
most Importance that there be a free and
turned until the Precinct Committee
man. puts Gen. Carr in the false atti-
tude of attacking the integrity of the
Democratic committeeman and other Off
GERS.
What is there in the above language
of Gen. Carr to offend any Democrat?
Surely, he is right in saying that it is OF
the utmost Importance ito have free
and full ballot. and an honest and fair
count" Does any man doubt that this is
necessary to the preservation of the
Democratic party? Does any man doubt
that fraud will destroy the life of any
party? Every citizen has right to in
sist upon a fair and honest election, and
cuse his party of fraud or wrongdong.
There may be individuals scattered here
ana there who would favor fraud.
Gen. Carr has received letters from
reputable men, warning him that there
was danger of fraud. A letter of this
character informed him that in the city
of Goldsboro an advocate of Mr.. Simmons
had said in the presence of others that
''if we can't carry the State for Simmons,
we will steal it, Ought not every Dem
oerat to condemn such expressions as
this? And if this man who used this
expression, or any other man, should at
tempt to carry out such an infamy, would
it be wrong. or. would it be an attack
uDon the Democratic organization for Mr.
Carr or his friends to protest. against 1t?
We have been taught in North Carolina
to believe, and we do believe, that DEM
ocracy IS synonymous with honesty and
integrity. When a Democrat goes so far
as to suggest that Mr.. Simmons must be
elected, if necessary, by fraud, then 1t
is time to call halt. Precinct Commit
teeman canot justly twist and turn Mr.
Carr's utterance into an attack upon tne
Democratic organization. Mr.. Carr him-
self has been a part of the Democratic
organization for many years lie has
eervad on the State Executive Commit
tee long and faithfully. He would be
the last man to attack the Democratic
organization, as long as it carried out
the purposes for which it was organ
lied. and he would be in the forefront
with other good Democrats in North Car
DINA in attacking members of the organ
ization. who would divert it from it's le-
Ultimate purpose.
No man should criticise the Democratic
organization as long as it is used for
Democratic purposes, but whenever the
party organization becomes an agency OF
any one Democrat against another Demo-
crat it is then not doing the work for
which it was created, and it ought TO
be criticised and criticised severely The
Democratic committeeman OF the State,
county and precincts. were chosen by the
party for the purpose of fighting the OPP
ponents of Democracy. These commit
teemen were entrusted with all the Sc
crets of the Democratic party. to be used
by them against the common enemy OF
the party. They have in their keeping
the Democratic poll books. The county
chairman in the various counties nave
list of the party workers and voters OF
their county. They were not entrusted
with this pOSltlOn OF lnIpTUFlH"i ~ 1872
one Democrat at the expense OF another.
In some counties, the chairmen OF the
county executive committee have been
sending out Simmons literature, together
with the literature for the candidates for
Congress and for Bryan and Stevenson.
This is wrong, and the committeeman
who do this should be criticised severely.
No committeeman has the right to use
the organization to help Mr.. Carr, or to
help Mr. Simmons, or to help Mr.. Wad-
dell and 70 one has right to use 1T to
hurt any one of these candidates. Thcy
are all Democrats. and if a committeeman
is not willing to give any one of them fair
treatment, he ceases to perform the will
of the party. The democratic convention
has made it the duty of the State execu-
tive committee TO hold and conduct the
Senatorial primary, ard it in turn has
entrusted il to the county executive COM
mittee in each county. The county cxecu-
tive committee appoints the poll-holders,
and must supervise their action, and
count the vote. This duty involves a
trust. There are counties in the State
+I,o of tha pYpcutivp =