The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1908-11-12
LETTER FROM BILKINs.

Talking I'm This State-Commen,
on the Result, and the Cause.
Leading Up to 1.-THE Democratic
Party is Scattered"
Correspondence of The Caucasian.
Enterprise.)
Bilkinsville, n. c., Nov. 10, 1908.
These air sad days in Bilkinsville
The elecshun IL over an hit went
wrong awl erround. Ov course We
dymkrats carried few townships In
this State an sum ov the other
States. But, I'll be dad-gum IL the
Republicans didn't cum purity nigh
maxim hit unanimous. We awlso
elected little feller by the name OF
kitchin Governor in this State, but
l don't expeckt he will ermount to
hill ov beans, fer the only thing
he heZ ever succeeded in doin' wuz
ter talk little mush an milk stuff
jist like Governor Glenn hez done
durin' ov the past few years, arrayin'
man erginSt man, an stirrin' up
naborhood strife. I'd give at least
IS scents ter the campane fund II
they would nommynate a deaf an
dumb man fer Governor next time.
They hez bin too much talkin' In
guide old North Carolina fer several
years-talk that sounded purty-but
talk that wuZ not woEth hearin' fer
hit didn't hev much truth in hit, an
hit really did whole lot ov harm.
Betsy an me wuz sittin' by the
fire last mite. l had bin readin' ov a
paper an soon got sleepy an dis
gusted, fer hit didn't hev anything in
hit but news erbout the eleckshun an
erbout Taft carryin' the whole world
an part ov North Carolina. Betsy
sed: "An' what do you think ov
hit now?"
think ov hit? sez I. 81 don't
think anything ov hit Billy Bryan
IL defeated an we hev lost several
counties an two or three Congress
sional districks in this State an the
only thing we hev left IL hell an
a few States down South like Georgy
an Louisiana, an the might riders
an the devil air in control thar, so
what air we goin' ter do erbout hit?
Think erbout hit! Why, my dear, l
can't think. Awl I kin see or hear
or think IL few campane predick-
shuns an a few speeches an edito-
rials ov the prohibition variety, an
they awl seem jumbled up tergether."
your party seems ter be sorter
divided ergainst itself, an hit can't
git pulled tergether any MORE" sed
Betsy, fer she IL still a populist ov
the worst sort.
Divided. No, that amt the word;
hit liz scattered erginst hitself-
scattered is the word. I know what
liz the matter with hit-hit liz scat
tered erginst itself an the old boy
hisself can't never git hit tergether
any more. Why, the dymakrat party
ov which l am a charter member, an
ter which I hev stuck through thick
an thin. liz scattered ter the four
winds ov heaven an I reckon hit
wont never git tergether anymore.
Yes, hit iz scattered-from Billy Bry
an, the head ov the party, down ter
Jodeseevus Daniels, the tail ov hit;
the dymakrat party il scattered er-
ginst ITSELF"
Il suppose the country did not like
your PLATFORM" sed Betsy, "an' so a
ma ajority voted erginst hit. The only
thing ter do iz ter grin an bear hit,
pick yer flint an try hit ergin."
TRY hit ergin," sez I. Ov course
we will try hit ergin. But what il
ther use? We have advocated every
thing from ther free an unlimited
coinage ov silver ter infant baptism.
We hev favored high tariff an low
tariff; sound money an deprecated
currency; honesty an dishonesty;
right an wrong. What IL left fer
US? Why, we stole the Greenback
party's platform thirty years ergo,
hit would carry us through
an got swamped ter our ears. In
1896 we stole the Populist platform
an cum so near gittin' in that we
held on ter the most ov hit fer the
past twelve years, except the campane
that we nominated Parker, when we
stole the Republican platform an
worked hit over an whitewashed hit.
But we couldn'a fool anybody. We
hev favored everything that hez bin
ov an hev bin ergin purity
nigh everythin' at one time or an
other, an still here We air with
nothin' left but an empty campane
box an a few sad thoughts with
which ter begin ter prepare fer the
next battle, which liz due in 1912,
that il if we don't decide ter quit the
game"
why don't yer try ther prohibi-
ton platform next time" sez Betsy.
"Try ther prohibition platform" "
sez I, TRY what? Why, my dear, we
hev tried that. We had bin watchin
the struggles ov that small but game
little party fer years an not seem
anything else lynn erround loose, we
we actually stole the prohibition plat
form an got hit mixed up with the
other stuff in our perlitical junk
shop. An hit seemed ter be pop
ular, too. The preachers they cum
ter US an sed: Now, you air git
tim on the Lords side, we will help
YOU now. You air crate big giant
an hev got the strength; we will do
the prayin' an you do the votin' an