The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1902-10-30
Speech Of Mr.. T. 7. Hicks
Delivered in the'C0urt House at
Henderson Sept. goth,
In the Joint Debate With Hon. {. b.
Watson.

Mr.. Hicks began by saying Ilia1
happiness and prosperity were large
Il. the result OF individual conduct |
and effort. DR.. Johnson long ago SAID:
'.How small of all that human
hearts endure that part which laws
or kings can cause or cure. Yet ,
there had been for several years gen
eral prosperity for which about two
thirds OF this country thought the
Republican party entitled to a large
part of the credit, while not a person
in thenatiOn believed the Democratic |
party had contributed one iOta to 1t; |
that there had been no prosperity |
under their four years admlnlstra- |
ton. tho the Lord sends his ram !
upon the unjust as the just. He |
showed that the Democratic party |
was founded by Jefferson upon the
fundamental ideas OF the largest |
possible liberty and State SOver- |
eighty, but that even Jefferson held
that the nation had the right to per
init slavery in some States and pro-
hibit it in others. That Jackson, the
next in rank among Democratic di-
whites. added II new tenet TO the |
Democratic faith. that 1.-THE victors
were entitled to the spOils, and that |
has continued to this day to be It's
most popular doctrine, and yet Jack |
son cOcrcrd South Carolina, when, III |
1892. she was about to nullify an Act |
OF Congress: that Jefferson Davis |
asserted State Sovereignty to the |
extent OF inducing BOO, 900 people, |
whose wealth consisted chiefly Ill
negro slaves, to 90 to war with ~
600. 900 He then stated that the
Constitution uptO 1866 did not pro-
hibit secession, but that fOur-fifths OF
the people were unwilling Tor the
other fifth TO secede and determined
to prevent it. and did prevent it; that
the Southern soldiers made the most
heroic fight the world ever saw, but
there is. perhaps, not II man llvlng
but is clad that slavery was abol-
ished and the Union preserved; that
the Confederate Constitution did not
prohibit secession and that il seccs-
sion had succeeded we would have all
been independent soverelgntles by
this time. fighting upon slight pre-
texts us the Central American States
are doing. He then stated that the
fortunes of the war were the fortunes
of the Democratic party; that 1T had
tried to reOrganizn by voting alter
natelv for Il Yankee General and then
Yankee civilian for nearly thirty
years, prcferring Blair, Greedy. Til
den. Hancock and Cleveland to
Grant. Hays, Garfield and Blaine,
and Bryan to Mckinley, between
whom, us respected their sympathleS
for the South or SOut hern ideas, he
could see little choice; that Democrat
tie criticisms OF independents and
Liberals were pitiful in view OF the
many aliases of conservative and
Liberal Republican," etc, under
which they, themselves, had sought
to regain power; that the Democrats
finally gained control of the govern
ment III March 1. 1893, and that
fact. before they had done anything,
paralyzed the industries, closed the
factories and the money market, be
cause OF the threats and promises III
their platform, for that great enter
prises contract, arrange and plan lar
ahead and were afraid to proceed III
the face OF the change and money
was scarcer and farm products lower
in 1898 and 1891 than ever before or
since; that the Democrats after one
and IL half wears of effort failed to
agree upon anything. Cleveland said
there were traitors to their trust in his
letter to Mr.. Catchings, which the
speaker held up and read to the
audience-the bill they enacted hav-
ING reduced the tariff about seven
per cent only on few things; that
their 1892 platform pledged to abol-
ish trusts, but tho they had the
Government. and Aycock and Glenn
for District Attorneys here III North
Carolina. they did nothing in that
direction or any other direction eX-
cept to split and divide; that the
. Democrats shook the country with
denuncmtion of Republicans and
Speaker Reed for making rules to
enable Congress to do business and
called him Il Caesar. Yet the very
next year the House went Democratic
and adopted and used the rules Reed
had made: that the North Carolina
Democracy in 1892 adopted the Ocala
platform true and simple to try &c
keep the people from turning Popu
lists, and then refused to put it into
operation.
The speaker then went on to show
that the Southern and Western PEG
pie turned Populist, and in 1896 anC
1900, twelve-fourteenths of the Dem
ocratic National Platform was Popu
listic: and that the country promptly
turned Republican in 1896 and thai
all signs indicated that it would sta,
SO for years to come: for the Re
publican party had a way OF dom!
things that it wanted to do and tn
Democrats We're Just the reverse. Tn
President is Republican. the Senat
also by 20 majority and the HOus
by 80 majority. He then referred t.
the fact that Democrats, nOtwith
standing their admitted breach c
faith and promises i'll failing to abo
ish tariff and trusts in 1898 are nov
clamOring to be given a majority i
the next House of Representatives
that n Democratic United State
Senator Harris said in an interview
in the Baltimore Sun of last Sunda
that he didn't care if the Democrat
didn't carry the next House; for
they did they would be sure to d
something that would rebound t
the benefit of the Republicans, an
the speaker believed that this wa
the opinion OF the country at larg
They were hurrahing because Speakt
Henderson would not run again afte
saying the West was against hin
but his successor had been nominate
on the same old Republican pla
form. He said the Democrats clail
the tariff is so high that we get II
revenue because foreigners can't pa
it, whereas the truth is that ever
day except Sunday for the last fly
years as the treasury statistics sho
there has been paid Into the Nations
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