Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1902-05-08

iniunction; denounced the packing
of the Federal bench with corpora
ton lawyers; swore that the Re-
publican party had been sold out to
| the Southern Railway; [ assailed
| McKinlev and the national Repub-
Eean party; I charged Pritchard
/ with being a Southern Railway tool,
| I praised Bryan as the true leader Of
| the people; I demanded lower
freight and passenger rates; [ fought
the 99-year lease; demanded higher
valuation for taxation of railroad
property-in word / declared my
| self in favor of those policies for
| which you conspiciously stood. Do
| you not see how deep was the game
| [ played? When I had fooled you
| into believing | was actuated by a
desire to serve the people, / request
| ed you to examine an order remov-
| ing the Wilson's. You did so and
| wrote me several confidential notes.
I have no doubt you have forgotten
all about them, but / marked them
| s:Exhibit A. to G.' and have pre-
served them against this day. There
was method in my madness.
Of course I know and so does
every lawyer that the matters upon
which you advised me did not go
before you as Judge, and could
never come before you, butmost peo-
pie cannot see the distinction, and
wnen they read these letters they
Southern Railway henchmen: "Aha,
/ have thee. You have been advis-
ing the Governor about a matter and
then sitting in Judgment upon it.''
You see we have digged a pretty
deep pit for you, and will make the
people think that you fell into the
bottom.
About a year or more after my
grand-stand anti-railroad play,
openly went over to the Southern
Railway. No matter why. You
know, others know. Whether it was
part of the game from the begin
ming, or came as a result Of some
later nianipulations, need not state.
Anyhow, [ put on their collar and
have ever since rendered them villein
service They wished your letters
to defeat your nomination. How did
r
they know I had induced you to
write them by making you believe I
was honestly fighting to make the
roads pay tax? You may surmise,
but it is not necessary that furnish
the evidence to convict myself. The
railroad folks have told me that [
had right to make public any let
ters you wrote because they related
to official business. That is good for
suckers and my hook is baited for
"suckers." Of course I know that
| if they were official, 1 was guilty of
| wrong in taking them from the
Executive Department. But l must
pretend to the public that I think
them official and depend upon my
dear friends, Fab Busbee and Bill
Day to convince the public that
| am not wholly dishonorable in turn
ing them over to the Southern Rail
road.
Anyhow my hour has come. Long
ago I threw off the pretense of being
honest i'll my anti-railroad fight.
Now I throw off all pretense to dec
ency. I have decided to write the
name BASTARD in large letters over
my name. by giving the letters to
the Southern Railway. I hesitate to
damn myself forever, as have done
by this act, but / reflected that my
record as Governor had already
damned me in the estimation of all
decent men, and that there was no
deeper hell for me. Therefore / hope
to drag you down. I foresee that a
hundred years from now the chill
dren will be told of this act of mine
along with Benedict Arnold's treach-
| cry, but my good friends of the
Southern Railway assure me that
they are now lin the saddle and will
hire man to white the history and
expurgate this chapter in my his
tory.
I hereby state that Southern Rail
way. folks have photographs of the
notes I have in my possession. They
didn't trust me, though I had prom
ised to print the letters, for they