The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1902-09-26
A Letter from Hon. e. w. Pou.
smithfeld. n. c., September ..


Editor Wilmington Messenger.
Dear Sir:-In The Messenger Of Sep
TENDER the goth. an editorial appears
of which the following paragraph is a
part: He (meaning niyself) is report
ed as saying in substance that there
were some voters of this state who!
heretofore had voted the democratic
ticket simply because OF their desire to
maintain white supremacy in the state
land that. if these men could not vote
the democratic ticket through 'princi-
pie the democratic party did not want
votes"
The report upon which the above
paragraph is based is entirely errone-I
Gus. l never made such a speech,
either in public speech or in private
conversations. I have never said any
thing from which such IN inference
lcould be drawn. Here liz my own dis
itrict 1t is hardly necessary for me to
deny a statement so puerile. Your So
Ilic!tude IS entirely g%ratuitous and your
CRITICISMS undeserved. If you had writ
ten or wired me inquiring whether the.
report was correct or not. / could have
saved o the painful lator expended
in writing the editorial.
/ presume the speech which gave rise
Ito the report must haze been the one
delivered by me in the city % Raleigh
ION Tuesday night, September the 18th.
Neither one of our Raleigh dailieS,
both of which had reporters present,
Iintimated that l said anything in that
speech calculated to DIVE men into the
republican party. Not d single demo
Icrat present will say that / made such
a statement as hat mentioned in your
editorial. SO far as I can learn, it
was not supposed hat 7 had driven any
lvoterS away from the party until u
editorial appeared. III pleasant on
trast thereto l received yesterday a
letter from one of the leading reDubli-
leans in my district in which he Declares
THAT upon the issue of tariff REFORM, as
Ioutlined in my speech, the democratic
party will sweep the country in 1904.
l did say in substance that our enc
mies charge hat a considerable num-
lber of men had heretofore voted our
ticket under duress, that while not be-
llieving in democratic principles they
iyet felt constrained to vote our ticket
to prevent negro rule. l laid that our
Iparty had emancipatad the white man.,
that negro rule was no longer d menace
land that If our party was not right in
principle it did not deserve to succeed.
hardly think you will dispute this
proposition. l then proceeded to dis
lcuss what l conceive to be the para
mount issue in this campaign, the issue
upon which / believe we can elect our
candidate for president in 1904, the ne
lceSsity of a revision of the unjust.
~lsc|edules in the present tariff law.
The tariff is the parent Of the trusts.
The Baltimore American, a republican
paper, declares that the trusts are SELL
ing protected goods very mucn cheaper
abroad han at home. This PROPOSE
ton is hardly denied by our republi-
can adversaries The democrats in con-
lgress insisted that the duties on these
articles should be reduced to such a
poiHt as will force the trusts TO sell as
cheap to Americans as to foreigners.
IThe people have raised his ISSUE: in
Justice has forced it to the front. Upon
lit the democrat party should receive
Ithe support, it seems to me, OF every
imam who has ever voted that ticket.
You cannot desire democratic harmony
more TIM 1 do. Being the candidate of
that party for congress in this district,
desire every vote l can hOnOrabiy Sc
lcure both for myself and the entire
ticket. In my speech L was insisting
that this was the great issue and that
upon it the democratic party, with con
fd0nce, might appeal to the con-
science and intelligence of the Ameri-
lcan people. [ think L did say that the
man who believed that trusts were a
national blessing and hat it was right
for the American people to be punished
iloT ldhl1S lneHl F1Ci ought TO vote
the republican ticket. for al avowed
1enemy is less dangerous than a trait
Tor in our own ranks I shall be glad
TO cooperate with you 70 induce every
Voter possible to work iE our ank
You have described IL your editorial
the kind of politics which, IN an hum
he way, 1 have tried to promote. /
believe our political discussions should
zoe clean, should be free from personal
IahuSe. hat no flame of hate should be
kindled, that issues, not meu, should
be discussed, as far as possible. We
iare entering into a grea. contest. We
shall need support of every man who
loves justice. If our party is successful
in 1904, we must regain the confidence
of the American people. I respectfully
submit thatAthere is no reason why the
manufacturer, the mechanic, the farm
Ter and the business man may not sup
port h democratic party. Issues which
have divided US in the past have been
eliminated, not only by politicians, but
by the people. The cotton mill man
pays a tariff OF 40 per cent ad valorem
ION the machinery in his mill, but the
protection he receives from tho repub-
llican tariff amounts 10 nothing. The
men who build our railroads are paying
more for American steel rails than the
foreigner. The American farmer is
paying more for his agricultural i'm
lplements than the foreigner. The
wages OF labor are fixed by the trusts
and are less now han under democrat
tic rule. while the cost Of living is very
much higher. The merchant is forced
to buy the majority of the goods in his
store from the trust which fixes the
lprice. He is forced to meet competi-
ton in selling, but is compelled to buy
lin a market in which there is no COM
petition. The position of the democrat
Iic party upon this question is known OF
Iall men. Time and again in congress
W. tried to secure consideration fol
measures introduced by democrats
which would reduce the tariff to that
Joint which will force the trusts 1o
81 as cheap to us as 10 foreigners.
ut being in the minority our efforts
""re futile Let us appeal TO all OF
our fellow citizens to unite with us in
this fight against injustice,
Inasmuch as our editorial Ices me
la greviouS Injustice, which 1 think was
lunintentional upon our part, I request
that you will give publicity to this
correction.
Yours respectfully.