The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-12-03
PULLS WOOL OVER
ROOSEVELT'S EYES
Now View This Vision OF
North Carolina.
|SO SPEAKS PRITCHARD
But Conditions he Paints do not Exist in This
State, and While he May HoodWink
Roosevelt he Deceves no One
Here.
Especial to News and observerD

Especial to News and Observer
Washington, d. c., Dec. 2.-Senator
Pritchard today gave out the following:
There seems to be an erroneous i'm
preston as to the attitude of the Re
publican party in North Carolina with
respect to the colored voters When our
party met in convention at Greensboro 1T
declared in it's platform that inasumch
as the recent Constitutional Amendment,
which restricted suffrage in so far as
the colored voter is concerned, had been
adopted, it was no longer a political
question, and that it could not be con-
sidered as a political issue in the fu
ture IL the Democrats would abide by
the pledges which they made in the
campaign of 1900, which were to the
effect that if the Constitutional Amend
ment should be adopted all men would
be permitted to exercise the right of
intellectual freedom on dealing with po-
litical questions.
There were contesting delegations
from a few counties in the east, and 1t
was we'll understood that they attended
the convention at the instance of DEM
ocratic manipulators, and with the sole
view of doing what they could to pre-
vent anything like the formation of a
strong Republican organization in their
respective counties. The delegates seat
ed from these counties were substantial
farmers and business men. and were Sc
lected by qualified voters, while, on the
other hand. those who contested their
seats were selected by citizens, the ma
jority Of whom were not entitled to
vote, and in some instances these dele
gates had made incendiary speeches de-
nouncing the national Republican ad-
ministration, as well as those who are
responsible for the management and
control fthe affairs of the party in
the State.
THE Committee on Credentials re-
ported in favor of seating one or two
delegations in which white and colored
delegates had been elected by consti-
tuents who were legal voters, and who
were in sympathy with the movement,
which has been inaugurated in North
Carolina, with a view of placing the
Republican party on a permanent basis
in the eastern part of the State. Thou
sands OF colored men are in accord with
the movement. realizing as they do that
any attempt in the future, by improper
arguments and methods to secure the
solid vote OF the colored people for the
Republican party will result in great
injury to their race.
There were two classes of people
who strenuously objected to the policy
adopted by the Republican party. and
strange to say. these classes had here
itofore been diametrically opposed to
each other. The Democrats insisted
that we ought to make the amendment
an issue in the campaign, and a number
of misguided colored people insisted that
it should be made an issue, but the de-
mands of neither were needed. and the
results of the recent election afford
ample proof of the wisdom of the policy
adopted by our State convention.
There has been n. disposition on the
part of the Republican party in North
Carolina to prevent the colored man
from participating as a delegate in any
convention to which he may be elected
by these who are duly qualified voters
the Republicans in North Carolina sim
ply refused to adopt any policy which
has a tendency to create strife and con-
tention among our people as a whole.
Every wise colored man knows that any
thing approaching negro domination in
the South would result in disaster for
the Republican party and lasting injury
to the colored race. These are plain
facts that cannot be ignored by those
who desire to see the principles of Re-
publicanism triumph in the Old North
State
while the white Republicans of North
Carolina did all in their power to pre-
vent the adoption of the Constitutional
Amendment, yet a majority of the colored
votrs who were permitted to register
and vote under the amended Constitution
at this election voted the straight Demo
cratic ticket, and their action in this re-
spect presents a NV phase of the race
question. l call attention to the follow
ing extract from an editorial in the Raj
eigh Post, leading Democratic paper,
published the day after the election:
Yesterdays election develops a new
problem large number of the colored
popie allowed to vote cast their votes
Democratic nominees from top to bot
tom. This was so in this city and county,
and we are informed the same thing took
place even to large extent in number
of counties. Indeed we would not be sur
prised, taking all circumstances under
considera ton, if the facts could be as
certained, if large majority of these
voting throughout the State yesterday
did not vote the straight Democratic
ticket
Here we have tn Democratic press
boasting that majority of the colored
votes were cast in favor of the Demo
cratic candidates. The editor Of the Post
is one of tn best informed politicians in