The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-05-05
4 sN.GI.

3Ss3 80 NAS&& "a sAF%
Inicipal contest has ever gotten into that
Icf this city is the worst. Yesterday was
lone of the most exciting days. all be-
cause the newly elected board of al
Idermen could not agree upon a ques-
Ition of greatest importance to the city
government.
To go back and explain the situation
$50 that what we have TO say may be
understood. A primary was held in
this city on April 14th by the demo-
voters for the purpose of nomi-
mating two candidates for aldermen i'm
leach ward to be voted on by the peo-
lpIe at the municipal election to be held
ION May End and also nominate u cam
for mayor TO be voted for by
THE democratic candidates who should
be elected to the board of aldermen.
|Of course the nominations by the dem
|ocrats at the primaries of ten men for
|aldermen-two each from the five
" ards-amounted to an election, and
they were elected at the election held
on May End.
All who voted at that primary for
mayor understood that the candidate
receiving the majority of votes should
be the democratic nominee for mayor
at the meeting of the newly elected al
dermen.
There were two prominent results OF
this democratic primary. One was that
A. NJ. WaddeIl received a majority Of
the votes Of the democrats of the city
as the candidate for mayor. The other
that of the ten men nominated for
aldermen land who were elected as
the democratic nominees at the subse-
quent e~lection) five We're what are
known as Waddell men and five were
for his opponent, Mr.. W. Z. Springer,
the late incumbent.
1t will be remembered that two years
ago these anne two men were candi-
dates for the democratic nomination
IOl IidyoI dlu ludl III. bCDI1IlScI lO-
ceived a majority of the votes and was,
ir consequence, without opposition
from Mr.. Waddell, elected mayor and
served for the last two years.
To get back to the present case: We
have five men who We're chosen alder
on the Waddell ticket and five on
the Springer ticket, with the results
of the ward primaries showing a ma
jOrity in favor of Waddell for mayor.
The law provides that the ten alder
men shall meet on the day after their
election and elect the mayor. What
was there for these ten men to do,
then, at the hour of meeting yesterday
but assemble in the city hall and cast
democrats who had chosen them as al
dermen, had chosen to be mayor of the
city for the next two years? This was
a duty every one Of those ten demo-
cratic a~ldermen-elect was morally
bound to perform. Any n of them
who refused to do it put himself in
the position of a bolter. There is 40
to be made for them in the
clubbing about caucusing with or
without Colonel Waddell, with Or with
out this Or that understanding. The
democrats of the city nominated and
elected these ten aldermen and by their
votes at the primary instructed them to
vote for A. NJ. Waddell as mayor.
We think it would be far more credit
able to the ten gentlemen to get to-
gether and let it be known from now
or that they are aldermen for the city
and will work for it's future advance
ment, and not put there as "Waddelr'
or ''Springer' men.
Can you dissenting aldermen from
the Second, Third and Fourth wards
Say that you have done your
duty as representatives of your party
and of the people in your wards:
Were you not nominated and elected
aldermen from your respective wards
|tc carry out the wishes Of the majority
of the democrats of the city in the
election of mayor? Does not the
law. of the state prescribe one Of
the first duties to be the cleo
|tion of a mayor? How have you per-
formed that duty? Are you faithfully
representing your constituency in your
chickering's for the various po-
I%sitiOns?. You cannot save your
~lselves from public condemnation for
refusing to perform your plain and
your sworn duty by initiating the os-
Itrich of the desert, sticking your heads
in the mares nest Of recently dis
covered tangles in the laws, and
thinking that YOU can thereby eScane