The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-10-30
DEMOCRATIC
DISAFFECT|ON
Found in Several LOCAL.
ties in the State.
SOMEFUNNY REASONS
A Few of the Causes and Excuses That
Men Give For Departing From the
Beaten Path Of Democracy
in the State OF North
Carolina.
Carolina.
By r. B. ARENDELL.

By f. B. ARENDELL.
That there is disaffection in the
ranks of the North Carolina Damoc-
racy is apparent to any close observer.
I have been pretty well over the state
and | have found it in q number of To-
calities l have investigated the condi-
tions and collected as many reasons for
this disaffection as possible. They seem
to me to be insurmountable, they are at
least too hard for me, so l am going to
mention as many of them as 1 can re-
call and pass them up to be dealt with
by those in charge of the campaign.
In Beaufort county 1 found a Demo-
crat diSaffected because the last Legis-
lature put the Watts law on the county
Of Beaufort. When / reminded him
that Beaufort county had the proVis-
ions of the Watts law ten years before
il became a State measure. He said:
"Is that so? Well he never"
In another eastern county / found
a voter ripping the party up the back
because in his opinion the Board OF
County Commissioners ordered the
construction of a bridge quarter of
mile higher up Swamp creek than it
should have been.
In Johnston county an erstwhile
staunch Democrat declines to follow
he flag of the party a single step
further because the Democratic cam
didate for Register of Deeds hurrahed
for the Kenly baseball team in a game
of ball between the I<enly team ana a
team from his home town.
In Wake county lives a gentleman
who IS getting tired of the party be-
; cause the Democratic county admins
tratiCn has made the public roads 50
good that people are driving their
horses and mules 10 death over them.
In Pender county the only disaffect-
ed Democrat l heard of was a fellow
who was mad as q hornet because he
hadn't been summoned on the jury in
two years. In another eastern county
there is some disaffaction because the
Board of County Commissioners de-
clined to grant license to open bar
rooms i'll clever little town of about
enc hundred inhabitants
met man in a western county
who was raising several different kinds
of "cane" and declaring that he was no
! sort of a Democrat hereafter / asked
! him the reason for his political presto
change. Because" said he this
| Board of County Commissioners had
The assessment on my land raised from
| four dollars per acre to six dollars per
acre" When one Of his neighbors who
| happened TO be standing near asked
him 'if he had not been offered ten
dollars per acre, cash, for the same
tract of land" He coolly replied, 'Yes,
| but | don't want TO sell it."
| l saw another gentleman, a member
| of Il school committee in a rural dis
trict, who had bid farewell to the par
| ty When l enquired the cause of his
| change of party fealty I found that
the other two members of the board
| had selected young lady to teach the
| Schoo, when his Wife'g first cousin
wanted the place.
| met a man from another county
who was terribly disgruntled and de-
| clared he would not vote the ticket
| because merchant of the county who
was on the ticket for county commits
sioner had paid one of his neighbors
10 cents per pound for a bale of cot
| ton and week after that would only
offer him 8 "a cents.
L heard of q former Democrat in
! one of the western counties who de-
ciared himself AGAINST the ticket be-
cause one of the county commissi 1n
ers had traded his mule for horse.
| He was getting too biPgitty," said
! the voter.
| orange county has citizen who *
a real convert to Roosevelt-Chaf1ie
Reynolds Republicanism. He heard
POSTMASTER REYNOLDS and he straight
way decided to swallow Roosevelt.
| - 'oANo dIO Tie enllfe Republican
| War and Navy Department This is
the only real genuine Republican con-
vert | have met in the Fifth district.
and at this rate / figure that it will
take the Winston postmaster Just
about 1000 years to defeat Bill Kitch-
! in for Congress.
| CabarruS county has a few anti
| Glenn Democrats, who predicate Their
| opposition to the stOrm-tosser of North
| Carolina Republicanism on the fact
that he appeared on the size of tile
prosecution in the White-Sherrill case
! in Salisbury
| / met another man, but l don't re-
| call his county. who has quit the
| party and all it stands for because the
school authorities consolidated two
school districts the result of which
was to place the school house three
quarters of a mile from his home, in
stead of three-eiehts of a mile. the
! former distance.
| met another mal-content who was
furiously fussing because the people
! in his district had voted a local tax
for school purposes and thereby ad-
vanced his poll-tax zoe. per annum:
/ he paid no nro~ erty tax and had two
| children attending the public school.
4 / met another more or less DromI-
nent gentleman who was cussing the
party because Governor Aycock ia
vored teaching the negro children
how to read and write. On investiga-
ton 1 found that he had for fifteen
/ Continued on Second Page.l