The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-09-25


OVER PRITCHARD'S OPPOSITION, he
and other Republicans may have on sew
eral occasions voted for the pension bill,
just as in Congress those who opposed the
construction of the Panama canal will
vote for appropriations to complete its
construction. But they can claim no
credit for doing what they will be doing
virtually by compulsion of the majority.
That is the exact position of Prtchard
and all other Republicans who voted in
1885 against the principle that the state
should commit itself to paying pensions
to Confederate soldiers.
p
as further defence of his party against
the charge of pensioning the deserters
from the Confederate army white voting
against the principle and policy of State
pensions for Confederate soldiers, Mr.
Pritchard turned to Mr.. Craig at Kinston,
and with Lam Sir Oracle air cried out:
when the Fusion party controlled the
600 to erect the Confederate monument
on the Capitol Square at Raleigh. Where
is the monument to the Confederate sol
dicrs the Democratic party has erected?"
And we are told when the Senator put
forward the above claim. the revenue
dooders and the negroes went wild with
applause. thinking their man had effec
tualIy answered all Democratic criti-
cism. 1t becomes necessary to examine
this big claim put forward by Senator
Pritchard. We give him credit fer
ignorance or forgetfulness rather
tnan for Intentionally Illustrating the
facts Inasmuch as his braggadocio
speech is not true it becomes necessary
to give history of the appropriations
made by the Legislature for the Confed-
crate monument. Instead of claiming
credit for their action with reference to
the Confederate monument, it is story
that shows the baseness of the Re-pop-
Iican LEGISLATURE of 1895. Neither the
Republicans nor Fusionists voted $4,000
10 build the Confederate monument. The
Legislature of 1895 appropriated $4,000,
bit a majority of the Fusionists voted
against it. and nearly all who voted Tor
Il cid so under duress, as will be shown
by an appeal to the history of the bill.
The Confederate monument was erect
ed by the good women in North Carolina.
They organized in nearly every county
and by the aid of generous friends OF the
Confederate soldiers collected large
sum to erect the monument When the
Democratic Legislature of 1893 met, the
Ladies' Monumental Association asked
for an appropriation of ten thousand dol
lars 1t was promptly voted. At that
time it was supposed that the money that
could be raised by private subscription,
supplemented by the ten thousand dol
lar appropriation made by the Democratic
Legislature, would give ample funds for
the work. 1t was found, however, that it
would cost an additional ten. thousand
dollars to erect a suitable monument. and
the Ladies Monumental Association, upon
the advice of leading Confederates and
Others determined to ask, the General
Assembly of 1895 for the additional ten
thousand dollars needed. 1t was at that
time supposed that the Legislature would
be Democratic and there was no doubt
that the appropriation would be made
But the Fusionists won that year, and,
of course, everybody doubted whether
! they would vote the needed money. 1t
was determined, however, to make appli-
cation, and a bill appropriating $4,000
was drawn and introduced at the request
of the Ladies' Monumental Association.
When the bill first came up in the Senate,
, it was, on motion of Senator Mewborne,
of Lenoir, the Fusion leader. postponed
until February 23rd. A few days before
: the bill was to come uD, the Fusion
bosses determined not to make the APP
preparation. To that end a vigorous
editorial in opposition to it appeared as
a leader in the Caucasian. At that time
the Caucasian was published daily, not
as a Populist paper, but as the official
organ of the Fusion party, and its policy
was to CARR out and advocate the plan
agreed upon by Pritchard, Butler and
/ the other Republican bosses. The defeat
of the appropriation was foreshadowed
| by the following contemplate editorial
, in the Caucasian of February 18th, 1875:
These people referring to the ladies'
of the Monumental Association), have no
right to expect the State of North Caro-
lima to draw upon it's slender resources to
build monuments to the dead soldiers of
the dead Confederacy.
1T is not at all certain that any monu-
ments ought to be built on either side to
perpetuate the memories OF our unnatur-
al civil war. The sooner the rancors and
hates of that unhappy struggle are for
gotten by both. North and South the bet
| ter it will be for the whole country.
eff the Association is not able to COM
plete the monument it should not have
begun it. People have no right to begin
mere sentimental work of this nature,
apd whom thew find that their Sentl-