The semi-weekly messenger., 1906-10-26
Simmons Regards His Abuse as a
Badge of Honor.
ARE TOO ACTICE IN POLITICS
Interview With the State Chairman
Probable Legislation Which the Re-
pubiicans Would Pass IL They Got in
Power-COntinued Pernicious POliti-
cal Activity.
Especial to The Messenger. }

Especial to The Messenger)
Raleigh, N c., October 24.-Chair-
man Simmons said before leaving for
Carthage where he was to speak today:
ga friend has sent me a copy of the
Industrial News containing an inter-
| view with Marion Butler in which he
hurls epithets and anathemas against
i me. Many times since l became
Chairman Of the democratic executive
| committee in 1892, have had occasion
to denounce, expose and defeat the vii
famous political schemes and ambi-
tions of this man Butler. During all
| these years, as now, he has sought re-
venge for these exposures by invent
ing and circulating in person, and
through his paper and papers, all sorts
of lies and slanders concerning me.
When gentleman from an eastern
| county said to me a week or SO ago
that Butler was very denunciatory
| and abusive of me in the speech he
made in his county, l replied, and 1
was frank in that reply: II am glad
Of it. | accept his denunciations and
abuse as bade of HONOR and
I added with equal sincerity: eff But
Ter had praised me I would be asham-
ed Of myself. I should know | had
done something or that he hoped by
fattery to tempt me to wrong doing"
But let me get to the business now in
hand. This man Buler is a combina-
ton in miniature of Talleyrand and
Machiavelli. His failure to measure
up to their standards Of deceit and
lhiprocracy is an intellectual, not
moral failure. Like them, he cares
little for the opinion Of the world, his
chief concern being the success of his
enterprises. Like them, he cares moth
| ing for the exposure and denuncia-
ton of his past accomplishments and
misdeeds, but anything which balks
him in his present and future schemes,
ambition or selfshness fills him with
wrath and indignation. A few days
ago the Hon. E. w. Pou, in the pres
ence of several hundred people of
Johnston county recounted to his face
in plain, direct and unmeasured terms,
his manifold hypocracies, betrayals,
! deceptiOns, treasons and treacheries
He did not vince but looked conpla-
Gently at the ceiling and smiled with
satisfaction when reference was made
to some of his especially clever feats
of hypOcracy or deception. What cared
he, the things were done, the fruit
ireaped, it did not matter to him what
people said Or thought. A few days
after that expressed in an interview
the opinion that if the republican
party should acquire control of the
legislature of this state while Butler
is dominant in the councils of that
party as he is today, there would be
legislation providing for settlement
of the fraudulent special tax bonds
| which his party when in power just
| after the war issued against the state
to the amount of something near twen-
ty-fve millions of dollars and for
which the state received no considera-
ton. This was what Mr.. Daniels
would call a "gut-shot" The effect
upon Butler was electrical. Like a
galvanized dummy, he sprang to his
feet, beat the air and uttered forth
shrieks of abuse and denunciation and
billingsgate. He WINGED and cried
aloud not because he cared for his
reputation-that does not matter with
him as his silence under Pou's CALLING
fire shows. But it does matter with
him If his schemes of selfishness and
greed are interferred with or defeated
There are some men whose hide is toe
think to penetrate, but you can tear
the mask from their face. Of course
Butler denies to the people of North
Carolina. for avowal would be fatal
But it will be interesting to know
what he will say to his friend Pettigrew
the next time he sees him. Every
body in North Carolina accepts the
fact that Pettigrew was interested in
some way in the South Dakota bono
suit, but this matter was all over an6
settled and the money paid many
months before the equipment of the
Industrial News was purchased
Therefore. when Pettigrew went II
New England to aid IN the purchase
of this equipment, it must have beer
because he had some other interest tt
| promote in North Carolina IL tka
, other interest Is not connected witt
the special tax bonds, what is it?
what Butler says about the South Dake
ia bonds and suit were true, and it i.
} not, the fact remains that while b,
, still held the commission of Nortl
, Carolina to represent it in the senate
he accepted employment to appear
against the state and conspired witt
ex-senator to borrow the sovereignit.
: of South Dakota to bring sui
against his constituents. This wa:
black. diabolical treachery only less il
degree than his treason in turning
over his state to negro rule TO get !;
, seat in the senate
Referring to the continued pern-ciou
: political activity OF federal of1icehold
ers. Mr.. Simmons said: "Butler ant