The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-08-24
TWO OLD TIMERS
Col. Lucas, of Hyde, and
Williams, of Pitt.
In Eastern North Carolina Politics Ten Yeas
Ago. Some Delightful Anecdotes
Told,

Two of the most unique an impress
siye individualities in Eastern North
Carolina politics ten years ago were Col.
Wilson G. Lucas, of Hyde, and Willis r.
Williams. of Pitt. For many years they
were colleagues in the State Senate and
leaders there They were typical old
fashioned, long-haired, long tailed-coat-
ed Southern gentlemen planters, litera-
tours, statesmen and politicians, devoted
to public life, poor in purse, but rich
in devotion to their people and in gar
nered wisdom of the ages, being more
at home with the writings of Thucydides,
Horace, Plato Shakespeare, Josephus.
Moses and st. Paul in the original, than
with Darwin, Spencer, Mills, THE
Duchess" Bill Arp or Mark Twain.
They dropped out of the Senate when
the fusion cyclone struck us. and for
few years, aside from one of them maxi
ing noise as a State oyster superintend
ent, and the other as a member of the
State Board OF Agriculture for a while,
then as one of the executive committee
of the State Colored Industrial College,
have been in retirement.
I was delighted to meet Senator Will
liams this summer and to find the old
gentlemans heart still in the right place,
beating strong for humanity-African
humanity even-at the expense of him
self, and to note the old-time fire of
genius flash from the cavernous depths
of those shaggy eyebrows. And in a
months time the joy of seeing Colonel
Lucas with his old-time seven foot
"yaller" buster was afforded me. for
had thought him dead; instead he was
the Ivest number at the State Demo
cratic convention, and made his county
man Watson, famous by single short
speech. And again is he redivivus, for
his county has nominated him this week
to represent her in the House of Repre-
sentatives. There is a fine streak of
genius somewhere in Colonel Lucas. At
that convention he conceived the idea
of Dustin up the foolish waste OF
time, so often experienced at nominating
conventions, and suggested that all rival
candidates for offices, except the Legis-
lature, put themselves in his hands to
make the eulogies. This was agreed to,
and Col Lucas proceeded to make six
splendid speeches for as many rivals for
the office of Register of Deeds, four for
one out of each bunch had been selected,
the Colonel's fifteen speeches had tickled
every faction, every candidate, and every
delegate pretty nigh to death, at some
one vital point, with the result, that
when nominations for member of the
Legislature came up as the last act, and
Col. Lucas had started out to deliver
encomiums upon his rivals for the posi-
ton, the convention could not stand
such generosity, but with one voice cried,
stop there, We'll take you" So great
was the furore. that the rivals arose
and to quiet the storm, withdrew their
names and themselves moved that Col.
Lucas be nominated by reclamation, and
he is running now full tilt, with every
leg up, and will be a power for good in
the next General Assembly, the county
of Pitt will have the sagacity, the APP
probation of merit it ought to have, and
nominate at it's coming convention, Will
lis r. Williams for the lower House, to
hold Col Lucas down. l hope Pitt county
will send the old Senator to the House,
and let him round out his public career
and his life, now drawing to a close,
in the halls of legislation He would
be fine there alone, but with Col. Lucas
the two would be invincible, and the
finest pair to draw to imaginable.
l cannot close this rambling sketch
without relating a characteristic incl
dent in the official lives of these splendid
old gentlemen, knowing that they will
enjoy the recital as we'll as others-and
little bit better. For years in the Sen
ate each had his hobby; Col Lucas had
ladies, fish and oysters; Senator Will
iams, ladies, farmers and usurers. At
every session they would antagonize
each others evident popularity among
the ladies in the gallery, though Senator
Williams always got the biggest bouquets
and the most of them. If Col. Lucas was
pushing an oyster bill too fast at the
expense of a six per cent. usury bill
Senator Williams always was pushing,
there would be a clash certain. Col
Lucas always managed to get a new oys-
ter law each session, while Senator Will
liams never did get his usury bill adopted
that being made into law by the fusion
lists the very first session he failed to
get there.
But this constant, good natured rivalry
between these two tall. gaunt, beetle
browed, loquaciously eloquent Senators
continued for years over prestige on an
usury law, an oyster law or the favors
of gallery goddesses, was the occasion of
many linguistic bouts on the floor of the
Senate. The most exquisite of all per
haps that occurred 1 was fortunate to
witness. l was sitting in the gallery by
lovely widow from Washington. lust
midway between the two Senator's homes.
and when they began a tilt, suggested
that she let me procure a bouquet for
her to drop to the victor. She readily
consented, and soon had a twenty-five
cent. bunch of flowers conspicuouslv
dangling over the railing. The Senators
had been craning their necks toward that
point making Goo-goos all the morning.
only it was before we all knew what a
goo goo-eye was. After a heated coIlo-
guy between them, Col. Lucas arose snd
delivered philippe which electrified we
upper crusts, and closed by saving he
only wanted the privilege of writing
Senator Williams ~epitaDh whom ~ 7;5