The semi-weekly messenger., 1903-10-09
CURRENT COMMENT.

The democrats of Massachusetts, did
not instruct for Richard Olney for pres
ident, but they nominated Richard OIL
ney, Jr., for lieutenant governor and
maybe with the view of testing Senti-
ment in the state with the name. Let
us wait. then, and see how the maneu-
Yer works before Speculating further
about the Olney presidential boom. If
young Olney runs ahead of his ticket,
and particularly if the ticket is elected,
we may expect rise in the stock Of the
elder Olney. But if there is the same
old story told at the pOlls-a republican
victory scored hands doWn-then we
shall probably not hear much more
about New England as fighting ground
for the MISUNDERSTANDING Star.
Booker Washington is not having as
smooth sailing now as he was accustOm
ed to before his violent appropriation
by President Roosevelt. The last time
he spoke in Boston the meeting came
very near breaking up in a row. At the
recent election in Mississippi the white
people of that state took very decided
stand against the negro by curtailing
his educational privileges, and all on
account of the political prominence
into which Washington has recently
projected his race. And at q meeting
of the Pres sbyterian Board Of Missions
in Philadelphia the other day the Rev.
Dr. Wooden declared that the populari-
ty of Booker Washington did not help
the Presbyterian board SO much as it
helped Booker Washington and Tuske-
gee Institute. 1t was u sad day for him
when he permitted himself TO become
the chief adviser of President Roosevelt
in the distribution of political patron
age in the south.-NewS and Courier.
The New York Sun was responsible
for the story that President Roosevelt
refused to attend the exercises at the
opening of the City College of New
York because former President Cleve-
land was to be present and make a
speech. The president has thought the
matter important enough to require
formal denial of the story. We are in
cIined to think that The Sun has been
preparing for this story long time.
More than once during the past few
weeks, it has made editorial reference
to the prospective occasion, and always
has remarked the expectation of the
Joint appearance of Roosevelt and
Cleveland. with an emphasis that indi-
Gated some underlying purpose. In its
report that the president had refused TO
appear because of Cleveland'S pres
ence The Sun makes this observation:
political wise men who were at the
ST. Louis exposition ceremonies said
that Mr.. Cleveland got altogether too
many cheers to suit some friends of Mr..
Rooevelt t"-Charlesto Post.
Thomas w. Dewey, the former cash.
ier of the Merchants and Farmers
bank of New Bern, who disappeared
from that town some weeks ago leaving
a shortage in his accounts of from $l00,-
! 900 to $4,000, has written letter to
/ the editor of The Raleigh News and OBJ
| server saying that copies of the Raleigh
and Charlotte papers containing re-
ports about his detalcatiOnS had been
| seen by him by chance, and denouncing
| these reports as malicious lies" He
| insists that his true shortage will not
and cannot be made by honest men to
| aggregate half of the amounts publish
| ed" He says that he has never had
| any idea than that of returning to New
| Bern when he felt that he had the
| strength and courage to do so, and says:
| Il wish to live only for the innocent
| onces depending upon me-" In the cir
| cumstances, however, it does not ap-
! pear that Dewey would be a competent
| judge of what honest men, might say,
or might not say, in his case, and as
| for his wish 'to live only for the inno-
cent ones depending upon me-" he ought
| to have thought of that before he
| wrecked the bank.-News and Courer.
!