The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-11-10


idea Of going into the Republican party
unless they thought they could carry
with them enough former Democrats to
make the Republican party stand good
chance of securing victory. All their eff
forts have been directed toward getting
large crowd of voters reconciied to be
known as Republicans, and they hGred
to carry the State for Mckinley in No
venber. 1900. And so, from the day the
amendment was ratified at the polls,
they denounced as 'agitators' and dem
agogues" all who intimated that the ne
gro had not been fully eliminated. and
they raved at the mouth whenever
newspaper declared that, while the
amendment after it went into effect
would eliminate a large number Of ne
groes, it would not be wise for white
voters in the South to divide. They be-
came almost wild at the suggestion that
the time never would come when. in one
form or another, the negro question
would not have to be reckoned with in
politics. They were more than beside
themselves when reminded that if the
Republicans obtained power they would
do everything in their power to secure
a repeal of the amendment and restore
the ballot to every negro in the State.
-
They thought the seed they had planted
ceeded in converting enough former DEM
ocrats into Republicans to make the
time ripe last month to open the cam
paign for Pritchard and Republicanism.
The Louisburg Business Mems Republi-
can League" the first of a series to be
organized by the McLaurinites OF North
Carolina, was to be the occasion for the
demonstration that would precede the
organization of the forces hostile TO
Democracy in North Carolina just as Nc
Laurin had organized them in South
Carolina. A League had been organized
ator Pritchard to be invited by various
so-called Business Mems Leagues all
over he State.
The history Of the Louisburg meeting
is known of all men. On the night be-
fore Senator Pritchard spoke in
Louisburg he held conference
in Raleigh with the boss of
the Morning Post AS result. after he
had made his speech to the usual Tues
day of court crowd at Louisburg the Post
did its part in the conspiracy to make it
mighty revolution to Republicanism
in Franklin county. 1t not only printed
the speech in full and gave glowing
interview from Pritchard that would
have made the reader think that there
were no Democrats left in Franklin
county, but it suppressed the truthful
account of the meeting sent by it's own
correspondent BECAUSE THAT REPORT
WAS FAVORABLE TO THE DEMO
CRATIC PARTY and in direct conflict
printed with Senator Pritchard.
When all the facts came out about the
Louisburg meeting, the manipulators,
who expected it to be the beginning OF
a mighty exodus from the Democratic
party, could not escape the conclusion
that it was barren of the results they
had predicted. They saw the hand
writing" on the wall and read their doom
in the Meme, Meme. Tekel, Upharsin"
that was seen by the whole State. And
then, when the President on top of the
Lousburg fiasco, invited Booker T..
Washington to dine with him at the
White House. the whole we'll devised
plan of campaign the McLaurinites had
been working on for months fell with a
dull thud, and those so-called Democrats
who had been making ready to help
organize a respectable Republican party
in North Carolina saw the ground slip
out from under their feet. Ihey nad
nothing upon which to stand.
1.-The best laid plans of mice and men
Gang aft aglee."
When they had recovered from these
stunning blows, the McLaurin disciples
in North Carolina began to pull them
selves together to see where they were
"at." They realized that Republicanism
was SO odious in North Carolina that il
they called themselves Republicans they
would have no standing and so the word
went from the McLaurin headquarters
to all the sell out papers and the rail
road organs to make concerted and
vicious attack upon the Democratic State
administration, the Democratic organi-
cation, and every Democrat that stood
for real Democracy. They argued after
this fashion: "If we cannot help the
Republicans by organizing and encourag
ing Republican Business Mems Leagues
! and in like ways. we will do all we car