The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1907-02-12
POLITICIANS AND CORPORATIONS

We have an abiding faith IN the Scot
hard sense and conservatism OF he
people of North Carolina to save the
old ship of state from being driven
upon the breakers. Their motto is
justice and fair treatment for all. and
when let alone they can be counted CT
| to act up to those principles. q
At times they have been, for a wniie.
| carried away by sudden ~arousing II
, passion or belief in imaginary wrongs.
! when they followed a set of selfish POI
iticians who had engineered a political
! upheaval for the purpose Of riding On
| the popular wave into Offices which
they knew they could not secure ~
/! any other way. Bus in every instarc3
of this kind that our state has expert
enced the people have 500 learned
the true character and purpose Of thei.
| self-appointed leaders-the so-ca:le1
!, reformers and champions of the people
and have turned from them to re-
sumo their former conservative ard
| common sense attitude in public ;f.
fairs.
Some years ago the third party
reform movement swept over the state.
All kinds of radical measures were
proposed and for a while it looked as Il
the people would turn the affairs OF Ibe
state over to the leaders of this move
ment, but this radicalism was checked
before the damage was done, and he
people returned to their old principles.
Later on, populism gained a strong
foothold, and for a short time held the
balance of power and by alliance win
the republicans, secured control of the
state government; but again the people
saw whittier they were drifting uEder
such leadership and again ~repudiatei
those w%ire-pulling politicians who were
trading on the politically manufactures:
ulSCOLS0AL 1OE luS1I 6Hu SciuSu &AII-
poses. !:
Politicians Of the same stripe as
the leaders Of the third party and the
popuiist movement are now at woTk
in the democratic party. Their par-
pose now is to stir up such hostile feel
ing on the part Of the people against
corporations, especially railroads, and
to 70 infame the public mind against
these corporations that the people MI.
take these men as their leaders ard
look upon them as the saviors OF the
people and the state from Bankruptcy
through the greed and pilferiRg of
those corporations. Many of the pee
pie have been led astray by the cry of
these politicians and seem ready t.,
endorse any movement against corror~
atoms without taking the troubla 20
see whether there is any justice in il
or eve whether it will not In the end
work to their. own great injury. 49,.
-
Like the other radical movements
started by ambitious but heretofore
unsuccessful Office seekers, this crusade
against corporations will terminate
before great harm is done. As before.
the people will find out the true motive
of the men who are now leading this
movement and they will repuhia:e
them and their cause.
We do not believe these men in the
present legislature who are making |
themselves so conspicuous in this class
legislation and who are thereby try
ing to pose as the champions of the |
against corporate greed and OPP
preston will ever reap the rewards I
they are calculating on at the hands
Of the people. Their true nature and
will soon be found out and the
people will revolt against such leader
ship, will abandon the suicidal course
1f lndlscrlm1nate warfare on corpora i
ions which is another word for mil i
ions Of dollars invested in the deve<
)pment Of our state and the advance
nent Of agricultural, manufacturing /
commercial conditions, and will
'eturn to their normal attitude towa;u
those corpO1ations-justice and fair II
treatment given to them and expected Er
rom them. k
II has been published in the news =
apers OF the slate nnd has not been a
enied by the man or any Of his q
riends, SO far as we have seen, that "a
be leader Of this AGAINST -