The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1901-01-31
OUR RALEIGH LETTER.
FIVE MOST IMPORTANT MEASURES PEND
ING BEFORE LEGISLATURE.
Probable Defeat of Each-DifficuIiie
in the Way-A Critic Of "Llewxam"
Looked After-Success of Home In.
dustries-l1inOr Mention
CFrom Our Regular Correspondent

dustries-i1inor Mention
CFrom Our Regular Correspondent
RALEIGH. n. G.. Jan. %. 1901.
AS the people of North Carolina are 80
greatly and closely interested in several
bills now pending in the General Assem-
bly,, | cannot do better than to devote
this letter almost entirely thereto.
And yet | am almost tempted not to do
so, for it does seem that the time has
come in North Carolina among a certain
class Of people-the 'holier-than-thous'
their own dwarfed and prejudiced mot to
say dishonesty views, with which they
console themselves by vainly claiming
them as virtuous-when a man cannot
utter in print his honest convictions of
his own head and heart without being
attacked and slandered for it.
1t has even got to be so that |, in my
private capacity as the Raleigh cores
pOndent of your paper, Mr.. Editor, am
not permitted to give expression to
thoughts land more frequently the views
and opinions of Others, public men more
capable of forming valuable ones) on
questions of moment, in the line of news.
in q purely unprecedented and impartial
manner, without any object on the face
OF the earth except to write a readable
letter to your readers-withOuts some self
constituted critic from the alien crowd
outside essaying to inpugn my motives,
simply because they do not accord with
his own contracted ideas and his pro-
scriptive. pro-Populistic creed
At the same time, he insults the editor
of every paper publishing these letters by
practically calling him fool-and there's
not one on the list that could not easily
teach him lessons in journalism, litera-
ture, common sense and gentility.
A WORD Personal.
A weekly paper. published in a little
village in an Eastern county by person
who is an utter stranger to me. last week
contained an inexcusable and ridiculously
silly libel in reference to the author of
these Raleigh letters-whether malicious
~ and with intent to in ure my business,
will be enquired into and ascertained
later, and if necessary before jury.
After alnding to the ''rumor" that the
Seaboard Air Line had purchased an in
terest in the Richmond Dispatch (Which
turned out to be false). and alleging that
there in North Carolina two or more of
these big corporations have entered the
newspaper field and control some of our
brightest papers, being liable to employ
the best talent" etc, the editor adds an
assertion that he has no ground or evil
dence on earth to support. and never will
have, viz, that they have established
news bureau at Raleigh and are now
furnishing weekly news letters to many
State papers, etc
| notice this either ignorant or in
famous assertion according to the pur-
pose and intent actuating it's authOr)
merely to say: 1t is false from begin
ming to end; no railroad company, no
person in any way connected with any
railroad company Tor any other corpora
ton or company whatsOever) has aught
or has had aught to do with this Bureau
in any manner, shape or form affectingi it's
control or policy; nor has any other per-
son except the writer of these lines. and
that he is not in the remotest degree con-
nected with or interested in any railroad
company, or other company having any
dealings whatever with this Bureau, save
through its branch of legitimate adver-
Using; and that no railroad company or
any officer or agent of any such company
ever had any advertising business, even,
or business Of any character, with this
DuiC0u, hot dlI,S OCIltI
except one Virginia insurance company.
l know the o-Populistce element have
nOtapproved of the position have taken
at times, and didn't expect them to ap-
plaud certain liberal sentiments that
have given voice to. But they were and
are my honest convictions, the emanation
OF my own brain and heart, and for which
no other person on the face of the earth
is responsible for or connected with.
These letters are furnished for a consid-
Grafton, that is paid by every newspaper
using them. as a purely private business
transaction, and any suggestion to the
contrary is born of ignorance or a mali
cious intent to injure my business for
some unworthy or base reason.
A copy of this letter will be mailed to
the author OF the above quoted libel and
he is notified to publish the denial herein
contained of his slanderous statement.
IMPORTANT LEGISLATION PROPOSED.
Five OF the most important measures of
legislation proposed (most of them since
my last letter. are still pending, though
two of them will probably be disposed of
this week All of these bills originated in
the Senate and will therefore first be con-
sidered in the upper house."
| refer to the Aycock bill pending for
State adoption of a uniform series OF
school books; the reform school bill; the
Brown bill to prohibit the sale mot man.
ufacture) of cigarettes in North Carolina;
the Ward ANTITRUST BILL" and the Hen
derson bill pending for alimony (at dis
erection of trial judge in cases of absolute
divorce. Each of these measures is of
great Importance to the people of the
entire State.
The Aycock bill is probably the most
important of all, for Uniform series of
school books. through State adoption. is
one Of the great needs of our people. be-
cause it means cheaper school books and
avoids the necessity Of purchasing differ
ent books when children change from one
school to another.
The system provided by the machinery
OF the bill for selecting and contracting
for these books Through State Com
mission. with the Governor at its head,
and the Superintendent of Public In
struction as its Secretary, will open the
doors of competition to all. and the
hook trust will therefore not be able to
control the supply.
BILL DON'T SUIT BOOK TRUST
The johnson Publishing Co., of Rich
mond, and other independent school book
firms, have stated through their attor-
neys. to the legislative committee on edu-
cation, that they are satisfied with the
Aycock bill and would be glad to see it
made a law-although it is not exactly
what they would have suggested
The attorneys OF the University Pub
fishing Co., and the American Book Co..
both OF New York, and which some claim
are the leaders in the trust" opposed
the Aycock bill at joint meeting of the
two legislative committees held Thursday
night-a meeting that lasted till l o'clock
a. m. Friday morning The bill is now