The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1908-10-08

biennial corruption fund
amongst the voters. They are
appointed by these men who
hold Office by virtue of the eff
,cient use of a corruption fund in
the county elections, not the
voice of the people. Then we
have also a jailor and about half
dozen deputy sheriffs appointed
by the Sheriff, who was appoint
ed by these same county comis-
sioners, who are elected as afore-
said. The poor devil who goes
to Jail has no voice in the selec-
ton of the officers who are to ar
rest him and keep him in Jail and
attend his daily wants. These
officers are forced upon him as
upon the good people of the
county, against his will, and often
times over his protest.
Who cannot see the shame and
the humiliation in the whole
thing to the good people of Hen
derson County? Decended from
Norman Kings, inheriters of
Magma Charta and the Bill of
Rights and denied even these
small privileges! But this is not
all. We have about fifteen post
Offices in the county. the incum-
bents of which receive in salar-
les from six to ten thousand dol
lars per year; about ten rural
mail carriers with salaries
amounting to about seven thou
sand dollars per year, one deputy
us. Marshal, one US. Commits
sioner, and one man in the reve-
nue. service at Statesville. Good
officers all, but the people of
Henderson County free and
white have no voice in the Sc
lection of any of them.
Then, too. we are burdened
with outside officers, such as
Federal Judges and Marshals,
with whose election TO office the
people of this white county have
nothing whatever to do. These
are only a few of the many in
stances of the denial to the peo-
pie of Henderson County of local
self-government, which could be
added to the list suggested.
The conditions in this county
are truly deplorable. Local self
government seems a far off
dream a creature of the poets
imagination. Even when we
have the opportunity to elect an.
officer by popular vote the popu-
lar will is not expressed, but
rather the popular power of
money to buy votes. 81
This county pays annually
about sixteen thousand dollars in
an effort to elevate her citizen
ship through the public schools,
and about four thousand bi-en-
nially in an effort to debauch
this same citizenship the latter
being usually more successfully
spent, quite a considerable part
of it being invested in whiskey.
Nor would we have it under
stood that these conditions are
of recent growth. AS far back
as 1895 the Republican Legis-
lature at one swoop poured out
upon the county twenty-six JUS
tees of the peace, besides a
Judge and clerk of a criminal
court; this clerk being given the
power to appoint the county su-
pervisor of schools. And this,
without the wish, desire or con-
sent of the people of the county.
Judge H. G. Ewart was in that
Legislature and helped in this
peanut political jobbery, even
going so far as to accept, HIM
self, the judgeship of the court
he had helped to create and at a
very decent salary, too. And r.
S. Mccall became solicitor by the
same method. Not only this,
but this same good man, II. G.
EWart, afterwards, without any
popular election or other express
cion of the will of our people,