The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-05-01

| the Democrats who repealed the law
that reouired a man to own 50-acrc
tract before he could vote. The
amendment will dsfranchise no
white man. but il will eliminate only
the IGNORANT and vicious negro vote.
| Senator Pritchard himself had admit
ted i'm the Senate that one provision
Of the amendment was for the prOtec-
ton of the white man who could vote
in 1867. And Mr.. Thomas Settle, an
other Republican. has said that if any
one was DISTINGUISHED by the amend
ment this would come by the action
of the Republican party. Mr.. Gllmer
concluded by emphasizing the vital
importance of the election. Not to car
nv the amendment, said he, meant
that the streets in eastern North Car
DINA would run red with blood"
The speech of Mr.. Franklin Mcneil
was short. but it was one of the best
campaign talks | have heard. He is
one OF the States strong men and
when he starts out on his own hook,
so to speak. the people are going TO
find Mr.. Mcneil one of the best cam
paigners in the State. He has
splendid delivery, an excellent voice,
he is the soul of sincerity and truth,
and speaks with power and ability.
DR.. Dixon made very short speech,
( but il fairly bristled with humor and
telling points. He is one of the
readiest and brightest men in the
State, and his speech delighted and
pleased the people.
The speech of Mr.. AycOck was
worthy of the candidate Of the party
| Of intelligence for the highest office in,
the gift of the people. And that IS
| to say that IL was as near perfect as
could be. 1t made no appeal except
to what is best in human nature. 1t
was free from malice or Remuneration,
| and had nothing of eXaggeration
| about il from start 10 finish. lie held
up the Republican policy and the ac-
| tons of Republicans for public con
demnation: he ridiculed some of their
pretensions until the bitterest Repub-
| iicans were forced to laugh; he show
ed that, composed as it is, the Repnb-
lican party could not even
| if it desired (and he said
| he believed they had hoped
to give good government because
| government cannot be better or WIS
er than the average of the intelligence
or virtue of the party that govern II.
| II is the negro DtlllIlu tue
or and not the oftice-holder that
makes negro government
Aside from his tribute TO the honest
| and brave uncultured Anglo-SaNon.
| from Runnymede 10 AppomattoX,
which is worthy of Prentiss. the best
| part of the speech was his reply to
| the statement i'm Republican news
paper that he had boosted of the rev
| II, 4
| graphic recital of the events in Will
mington and the response the white
men were ready to make for any APP
peal for assistance. Mr.. Aycock said
with an emphasis that brought forth
applause from every nearer:
Il do not boast of what happened
| in Wilmington. But | do boast of
| that manhood of North Carolina that
will guard the safety of the woman
hood and childhood with their lives if
need be"
| / have heard Mr. Aycock half hun
| dred times. and never. not even as
! boy in a primary school, heard him
| fail to interest those who heard him.
! He has made speeches as good as the
! one he made here today. notably
| wonderful speech he made nj Lucama,
| Wilson county in 1894. but it is doubt
| full If he ever made a speech altogeth-
! er so worthy the occasion and the
| theme as today's effort. The best com
! pliment ever paid to any speech is
| that il commands the undivided at
| tention. it makes men laugh one min
| ute and brings tears to their eyes of
| the next, and when the speaker con-
| cludes makes men feel that they are
ready to 90 and stand for the cause
| advocated by the speaker. That was
| the tribute these Mecken6urg men
! paid to Mr.. Aycock's speech today. /
telegraphed that no living man. other
than the gifted Nebraskan, could have
made so effective a speech. Upon re-
| Election. it is not saving too much to
say that not even Bryan could have
| made so great speech upon the
| theme in hand. 1t was a speech not
| born of today or conditions of this
| year, though largely shaped by them
! and dealing almost exclusively of the
remedy for bad political conditions.
| Mr. Aycock's speech was the growth
of twenty years. There was not n
| line or sentence in ii from former
| speeches, but those who had heard
him from his first speeches twenty
| years ago could see that today's effort
was the evolution of n thoughtful
mind that had long deliberated upon
| the solution Of the question of negro
| suffrage.
| Mr. Aycocll makes the ideal speech
to unite the white voters for White
| Supremacy, but he has the genius, Tor
is it the expression of heart that has
| kind feelings for all?) to line up his
race without any bitterness or with
out engendering bitter race autagon-
| ism. ] call il genius. for other men
with equally kind feelings toward the
negro, do not have the success that
Mr.. Aycocll has in presenting the ne
| gro question.
The wisest part of Mr. Aycock's
| speech-and the one that ought to be
followed by every Democratic speak
er-is his championship of that part
of the amendment which requires cv-
cry boy under thirteen years old to
learn to read and write before he will
be permitted to vote. 1t is that pro-
vision which the demagogues have
thought the weakest portion of the
amendment, and the one they had
hoped successfully to attack.