The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1902-10-23
News and Observer.

| News and Observer.
On Saturday at Ashevile the Joint
discussion between Senator Pritch-
ard and Hon. Locke Craig came to a
close, and on the fourth of November
Senator Pritchard will pass out as
| an influential factor in North Caro-
lima politics. He will, perhaps, be
given a job by the National Admins
tratiOn. If he gets such a position
as he will naturally desire he will be
| shelved. In any event, Senator
Pritchard has had his day in the pol
itics of his adopted State Condi-
lions and untOward circumstances
have enabled him to make oil and
water mix and so utilize the mixture
| as to secure his election to the great
| office held by Vance. He has demon
strated that he has the ability and
the politica1- ingenuity to combine
| discordant political factions when
such factions spring from the depress-
ing conditions existing in 10000,
as he did in Welding together the Re
publican and Populist parties i'll
1894. The utter failure of his recent
| attempt to divide the white people
| of North Carolina has no doubt con-
WINGED him that the new doctrine he
has been preaching is not popular in
conservative old North Carolina, and
has demonstrated that his political
| success in North Carolina is depend
| H., i.,f,, ~
| the Harrison hard times that caused
| the organization of the Peoples
party When "calamity howl" is
the winning card, and his oath: II
am for silver, 16 to |, so held me
Cod gives him POpulist votes and,
he has 100, 900 voting negroes at his
| back-it is then and only then that
! Senator Pritchard is successful
leaderi in North Carolina. When their
labor and good seasons have given
the people a breath of prosperity, so
that they can have time to think
correctly, and when the bulk of the
negroes have been disfranchised-it
is then that Senator Pritchard passes
out us q political factor. He came
in by the big negro vote, plus the
| Populist, in 1894. This year, for
| the first time, the negro is disfran
| chised. There is fitness of things
that the day that takes the ballot
from the negro witnesses the depart
ure OF Pritchard's politicalpower and
shadows forth his retirement from
| the Senate.
SO far as realizing his hopes is con-
| cerned, Senator Pritchard has found
that the Joint debate was a failure
for him and his party. He went forth
to the combat with confidence and
| gladness; he returns home in heavi-
ness and SORROW. He thought the
people had forgotten that he put
1 900 negroes in office, that he used
every resource at his command to
| keep the ballot in the hands of all his
negro political slaves, and that upon
the floor of the United States Senate
| he slandered the brave men whose
patriotism and courage eliminated
| the bulk of the negroes from politics.
He has found that the people have
long memories and believe i'll retri-
button. He began his campaign in
| the confident expectation that he
| would make converts by the score
| among business men who were sup
posed to favor protection and gold
monometalism and Imperialism. The
| debate is ended and Pritchard can
| count his converts on the fingers OF
| his two hands and have several fin
gers to spare. His doctrine of high
protection for creating tariff barOns
has not appealed to the followers OF
| his immortal predecessor, the lam
ented Vance. His appeal to the peo-
| pie to surrender their manhood and
fall down and worship those who
have gained great wealth by the Re
| publican system of burdenSOme tax
gathering has fallen on deafears and
| the Senator returns to his home IN
the midst of the peaks in Madison
| county conscious that his debate has
brought him defeat. He has found
that the sturdy manhood that dwell
in the lengthening shadows, taught
by their own Vance, will by their votes
in November shut out from him the
DrOspect of another term in the SEN
ate.
1
have, in like manner, assembled the
peaks of political glory and in so
short a while descended again into
political obscurity. The Senator's
political sun, in so far as it has gilt
tered in the realm of North Carolina
politics, is rapidly sinking beyond
the sunset slopes OF the towering hills
of his mountain home.
The Republican State Convention
at Greensboro turned everything
over to Senator Pritchard. 1t gave
him full and complete control OF the
party and its Federal officials with
the right to levy tribute for cam
paign purposes. 1t turned over to
him all the remnants of Fusion, all
the recruits that pie and promises
had made, all those who might still
be Init in the belly with a pone OF
bread" and the negro contingency
that had not been disfranchised. His
first act was to put the convention
declared the negro voter to be "a
body of death" His second act was
to kick every negrO-his first, last
and most loyal supporters-out o
the convention, knowing by the past
experience of Russell and others that
even though smitten and repudiated
whatever was left of the negro under
! the operation of the new suffrage
| amendment would be found lined VI
at the polls ready to kiss the hane
t of him that smites. He then tool
the Dingley bill for his text, selected
e mica and bull yearlings as the two
, principal subjects of his discourse
r and has lectured the people from Kin
Z rtnn via Smitlrfinld EaUnt teyillp