The National tribune., 1906-07-12
NORTH .eAReE1yA POLITICS.

Secretary Taft went to North Carolina
at the instance of the President with a
cruise of OIL AS Usual in the South. the
Republicans of North Carolina are at
one another's threats with very sharp
knives. The intestinal quarrels in the
Southern States are directly responsible
for the failure 20 build up any Repub-
lican Party there Since Reconstruction
days the party has been usually in the
hands of little crowd of office-holders.
who did not want any more Republicans
and resisted any attempt to enlarge the
party and make more competition at
the pie counter. IN this they have had
the aid of the Democrats, who were only
too well satisfied with their efforts to
keep the party at a minimum and as
sisted them all they could. North Caro-
lima is naturally Republican State. 1t
was a reliable old Whig State before
the war. and never actually went into
secession. The Union men there were
strong and assertive, and only by
trick did Gov. Vance get the State
swung over to the Confederacy and al
mistaken sense of State pride the North
Carolinians did the very best fighting
that was done for the Southern Confed-
eracy Since the war there have been
frequent expectations of carrying the
State for the Republican Party, but
these have never materialized, being
frustrated at the most critical time by
the baneful influence of the controlling
ring. The Democratic ascendency was
at one time broken by the Populists and
Republicans working together. As soon
as they were successful, however, the
old fight renewed itself, and the Demo-
Gratis regained possession of the State.
AT the time of the coalition in 1902
Marion Butler, the Populist leader, was
elected Senator, and he afterwards be-
came Republican and remained
so. Judge Pritchard was also elected
to the Senate, and is now upon the
United States Bench. When he was ap-
pointed Judge he retired from the man.
agement of the Republican Party, but
his son-in-law, Tom S. Rollins, became
State Chairman, and it is claimed that
Pritchard manages the party through
him. The faction of which he is the
head is known as the Pritchard- Butler
Adams-Rollins wing, and opposed to it
Is a faction headed by Representative
Blackburn. the only Republican who
has of recent years been elected to Con-
gress from the old Tar Heel State.
Blackburn was elected to the 57th Con-
gress, but defeated for the 58th. then
reelected for the 59th, in which he is
now serving. 1t Is claimed that the
opposing faction did all it could to break
him down, and actually secured his de-
feat when he was a candidate the sec
ond time. Factional aninosity went SO
far as to have him indicted for receiving
fees for legal services while he was In
Congress, but the Presiding Judge di-
rected the jury to bring a verdict of not
guilty on some of the counts and quasl-
ed the others, so that Blackburn came
out of the thing triumphantIy. Black
burn seems to be a fighter and quite
able to cope with the other faction. The
State Convention was held Tuesday, July
10, and up to the time of its being held
1t seemed that Blackburn had secured
quite handsome majority of the dele
gates There were S51 delegates in the
Convention, of whom $50 came from
the eastern part of the State, where the
Pritchard-Butler combination has the
most strength, and the remaining sol
from the western section, where the
tha H.
iicans are mostly native whites of the
stamp that went so largely into the
Union army Blackburn made whiri-
wind campaign through the mountain
Counties and carried most of them, de-
| feating Judge Pritchard and Tom Roll
Inns even in their own County, Bun
combe. Whether Secretary Taft man
aged to reconcile the bitterly opposing
factions and consolidate the Republican
Party remains to be seen. If he does
the Republicans viii have fair chance
| of carrying the State. This prospect
has some influence upon Speaker
| Cannon's boom. Cannon is a ma
tive of the mountain region of North
Carolina having been born not far from
Greensboro, and he has promised ito go
back there next Spring, greet his old
family friends and make some speeches.
II the North Carolina Republicans can
be unified the State may be made very
substantial addition to the Cannon
/ boom.
/ LOCAL MEAT INSPECTIONS. Il.