The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-09-26

their power to retain the ballot for all
the negroes. Why? Because he wanted
their ignorant votes to keep him in Office
In spite of this opposition, the white peo-
pie ratified the amendment by over So
600 majority The bulk of the negro vote Is
Gisfranchised in North Carolina for
many years, if, as the Democrats believe
the suffrage amendment is constitutional;
only for a brief period, If, as Senator
Pritchard has asserted an hundred times
it is unconstitutional Since the present
campaign opened with Senator Pritchard's
appeal to the white voters to divide, now
that the negro vote is eliminated, every
effort has been made to get Pritchard
to declare that ne and his party will &C
cept the amendment as permanent set
Element of the question of negro voting
but he has persistently declined to make
any such declaration or pledge. Why?
Because he and his party have a sneakins
~
divide the white vote to encourage liti-
CATION to test the constitutionality of the
amendment. in the hope that they may
then restore to all the negroes the right
to vote. 1t is because of this intention
that Senator Pritchard gets mad when
Mr.. Craig touches upon the reasons that
~
essary and demands a plain, unequivocal
statement from Senator Prtichard of his
intentions And so Pritchard asks no
votes on this issue.
1t is therefore "up to- Senator Pritch
ard to make the tariff the one paramount
issue and the one plea that he offers for
the support of the people. 1t is that Or
nothing. Root hog, or die.
Ina speech in the Senate on May 18th,
Senator Pritchard declared, referring to
North Carolina, "Our people are protec-
tionists" If he believes that the people
of North Carolina are protectionists, it Is
passed upon. Instead of "our people be-
ing 'protectionists," there is less SEN
timent for protection in North Carolina
today than ever before in the history Of
the State Before the war, when protec
ton meant a tariff of less than an aver
age of twenty per cent and confined to
;,1fo I'D, nj fhnr ctr ono
timent for it as advocated by the Wing
party. After the war, when the home
market made a demand for all the pro-
ducts of American factories, there was
still considerable sentiment in favor OF
protection. But today, when the products
of North Carolina factories are depend
ent upon the markets of the world, there
is no reason why the people should favor
protection, and there is no considerable
sentiment in favor of it in this State. II
the people could vote upon the Dingley
bill direct, it wouldn't get 10000 votes
in North Carolina. Indeed the great
est manufacturing industry in the
State, is hampered and hurt by the tariff
duties in two ways: Everybody knows
that the tariff does not now and never
has been of any benefit whatever to the
cotton mills of the State. If any man
doubts this statement, let him read the
great speech of the late Col. Walter L.
Steele, president of several cotton mills
in Richmond county, made in Congress
some years ago He showed clearly and
unanswcrably in practical way that 50
cotton mills are concerned, protection had
never been worth one cent to them.
There are two ways wherein the Dngley
high tariff law injuriously affects the
cotton mill interests in the State:
/. The duties of the machinery neces-
sary in the equipment of cotton mills by
reason of the heavy duty, costs Southern
cotton mills much more than the same
machinery costs English cotton mills.
Manufacturers of cotton mill machinery in
New England ship their machinery to
China, Japan, Cuba, England pay the
freight on it, and sellit cheaper to foreign
purchasers than they will sell it standing
in their factories to Southern factory
owners. IN a speech in Raleigh last
week, Hon. f. w. Pou read letter from
a cotton mill expert, in answer to a re-
quest for the price of cotton mill ma
chinery in this country and in England.
Here is the letter giving the information:
"a carding machine can be bought in
England for from 1915 to $780, while the
same machine in the United States costs
from $500 to $3.50. Mule spindles in Eng
land cost from $1.00 to $1.25 per spindle;
in this country from $1.75 to 1925 per
spindle. There is about the same differ
ence as to fly frames. Ring spindles cost
about $500 in England and $500 in this
county
That is to say. the tariff tax imposes
from so to nearly 100 per cent heavier
burdens on Southern manufacturers than
English SINNERS have to pay.
2. The high tariff duties imposed
against the products of other countries