The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-06-07
A WORD OF THANKS.

The events of the past week have
so engrossed every minute of my time
that 1 have been denied the pleasure
of sending a personal reply to the
hundreds of kilograms, letters and
messages that have come to me from
men who love justice and liberty. |
find now that the number is SO great
to each, but must employ the col
umns of The News and Observer
to convey my debt of gratitude.
The first messages naturally came
from the people of Raleigh and the
county of, Wake who heard earliest
that was to be punished.
1t is now nearly nineteen
years since I came to Raleigh
to succeed the late Randolph A. Shot
we'll as editor of the State Chronicle.
which had a few weeks prior to his
death been consolidated with the
Farmer and Mechanic, My first work
in Raleigh was to write comprehen-
sive sketch and appreciative biography
sufferings for liberty and freedom en-
deared him to the people of North
Carolina. Coming to the State capital
with neither influential friends nor
wealth nor anything except an ambi-
ton to build up here an honest and
useful newspaper. l have received
nothing but kindness and friend
ship at the hands OF the
good people of this city. III
the joys and successes in the sor-
rows and adversties,-andl have hao
my share of BOTH have found mere
neighbors and friends among the peo-
pie Of Raleigh and among the cltiZen-
shin of Wake county who have given
me helpful support and cheer. If | had
cause to be thankful for their good
will before, their kindness since my
sentence of last Tuesday has been
such as to make my love and obliga-
ton enough to call forth every effort
of mind and body to serve them.
The people of every section of North
Carolina,-good women as well as
men-have been equally generous,
equally kind, equally helpful. The
kilograms had hardly sent the news of
my Imprisonment before from Ashe-
VILE and Elizabeth City and nearly
every intermediate point there came
to me such evidences of personal
friendship and such devotion to the
freedom of the press and hostility to
judicial tyranny as to show the noble
and generous spirit that pervades the
people of this liberty-loving Common
wealth. Offers of money enough to
sonal regard, assurances that the
writer's were ready to make any and
every sacrifice to preserve a free press
in North Carolina, came from men in
all callings-the laborer who had
only his mite and the millionaire who
put his wealth at my disposal. From
men in all parties and of both races
came words of approval and offers
of assistance. How can l ever tell
these people how deep is my personal
gratitude? 1 shall strive to do so by
better service to the Commonwealth
and giving myself more fully to the ad-
yancement of those measures that Will
make for the betterment of every in
terest helpful to or dear to the people
of North Carolina. Bancroft under
stood the early settlers of North Car
DINA when he called them the
freest of the free" and said: They
were imbued with a passion for liber-
ty. With absolute freedom of
conscience, benevolent reason was the
simple rule of their conduct. They
were tender and open, gentle to. the
weak, and fierce only against tyranny.
Are there any who doubt man
capacity for self-government? Let
them study the history of North Caro-
lima. It's people were restless and
turbulent in their imperfect submits
sion to a government imposed upon
them from abroad. The administra-
ton of the colony was firm, humane,
TRANQUIL, when they were left TO take
care of themselves. Any government
but one of their own institution was
onpression." The turbulent events of
last month-the resolve not to submit
tn the control of State affairs by Fed
aral authority of alien influences-or
to judicial tyranny-shows that the
North Carolina of this century is
dominated by the same spirit that
bancroft admired in the men who set
tied North Carolina in the days OF
primitive simplicity.
To those members of the legal pro-
fession whose wisdom and courage Sc
cured my release, l owe profound gra-
titude. 1t is a noble profession, en-
bracing now, as always, many or the
leaders in the State. They did not stop
70 ask any questions about the ability
of the editor to pay fees. They saw
q free press imperilled-aye destroy
ad unless there could be a remedy
outside the presiding judge-and
they thought of nothing but his lloer'
ties and the right of the press to print
freely without restraint. Backed by
- ctr n l.