The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-08-30

| News was the best Wav TO arrive at
| the true situation; provided these of
| ,ceiS VIII answer candidly and fully
| ,he questionS propounded. 1t certain
| ~ mac the right to ask questions
about matters it thought the people
| desired and needed information upon.
| ana III gave to those interested an
| oppor UNITY TO answer in public: and
II theif answers accorded with the
facts that would be an end of the
| lnatter, ana the people would @know
| the truth What public official cborId
object to that? yet they do otber1
wise where is the offence? Now if
| MI. Green or any other person had
/ desired to know my connection with
| questions referred to and desired to he
accurate and fair in their state
ments, he or they had only to ask me
ana would nave unhestatingly told
Them and they would have avoided
| the error OF giving me all the credit
| for them and would have, probably.
avoided other mistakes they have
made. The facts are, / gave the edi-
tor of the Apex News a COW of the
Farmer and Mechanic containing a
summary statement of receipts and dis
bursements of the county, published
| in December, 1908, and the exact
amounts paid newspapers for adver-
Using railroad bond election, and the
Indebtedness of the county as given
me by the Register of Deeds and
Treasurer of the county. The editor,
| | suppose for l did not, framed and
wrote the questions contained in his
| paper of August the 18th. l sought
| ether information, about the dealings
| of the Board and it's Subordinates con-
| corning the buying of stock from its
own members, while seeking this in
formation, through Mr.. Penny. in the
| Register of Deeds office, Mr. Green
came in and as / could not readily
| find what / wanted, l made inquiry OF
Mr.. Green, who said: There had been
purchases of stock made from parties
| inquired, about, but that he could not
remember the particulars; that stock
was bought from individuals in the
county as they needed stock hardened
to work, which could not be secured
IL the market
And he also told me of the county
paying him $500 for his mare which
was injured by accident While loaued
to the county.
That is all the information Mr..
Green gave me, as / remember. about
| the matters referred to in questions.
The exact information about part of
| the stock, Mr.. Penny gave me from
the stub books, which l gave the pa
per: Information about other stock
was furnished the paper by other
| gentlemen, as l did not secure all of
1 it; and upon the information so furn-
shed the Apex News, the questions
appearing in that paper August the
| 18th were based. / make this detail
ed statement so that errors contain
ed in article signed by Mr. Green can
| be seen. L would not discuss the in
| competency extravaganza and I'M
lbuSineSS-like methods of the Board of
| Commissioners, but as they have adj
| mitted same by Withdrawing as can
didates for nomination, it becomes un-
necessary; and besides when a man
| submits he is generally entitled to
mercy. But as the writer's of the ar
| ticle signed by Mr.. Green failed, ut
terly, to give satisfactory answers to
the questions they pretended to an
swer some they evaded and one 90
| they ignored, and attempted a,.dodge
as to the Indebtedness of the county,
| which | think was apparent to the
| most casual reader, l desire to say,
| from information given my by the
| Treasurer of the county, which | be-
| lieve to be correct, this Board has
| been expanding, since they have been
| iE office between seven and eight
| thousand dollars annually, more than
| they received from all taxes, inciud-
| ing the additional taxes received by
them on an increase of over two mil
| non uO1IslTS III tie dSSeSSHleDl Oh prop
| erty made last year. And that the
Board has expended some fifteen thou
sand dollars more on roads and ma
chinery than received from road tax
| es, making the county Indebtedness at
| least $87,500. Which will probably
| have to be increased before the money
| from this years taxes will be avail
able.
AS to the present road law, the
| Rn nd mr. 10 aXu. 70
| of the fact that while Mr.. A. b.
Hunter, Mr.. f. A. Whitaker and N.Y.
| self voted for and secured the passage
| of the law in the Legislature of 1903,
at the earnest solicitation of the Board
and it's friends, we always objected to
certain provisions of same; and con-
tended that it would not work well.
! shall always regret that we did not
pass road law of our own creation,
which / am satisfied would have been
better suited to the county than the
miserable makeshift we now have. AS
to the assessment of property in Raj
eigh township, and the recent action
of the Board relating thereto. I will
not speak. for it is simply inexcusable
and indefensible to say the least; and
[ remember they have thrown up their
hands.
BY the way. Mr.. Green. who advised
you to withdraw in the interest Of
| harmony? Who advised the other
| members of the Board to withdraw in
the interest of harmony? Was it not
| the men who have been pretending
To be the friends of the Board, and
| who were your friends as long as you
could help them? Now, 7 think it a
| pity that they should treat your
| Board as 1 suspect they have done.
Received your favors; caused you to
announce your candidacy, promising
| to stand by the old Board in success
or defeat, and then when your re-
cord is attacked desert you, and COM
mence hunting other men they hope
| to fool the people with, and whom
| they expect to control IL nominated.
I would not stand any such treatment.
If | was in the place of your Board
| / would, and 1 ask that you and your
Board, come back into the political
arena again, and stand up like men,
and give an account of your official
conduct to the people; and if they
award your Board with the nomina-
| ton, / will do as I have always done,
vote the Democratic ticket from top
to bottom without scratching; and
thereby acknowledge that the Apex
| News and every person who opposed
L iha Roo I'd