The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1908-03-26
This is the Stuph.
Col. Fairbrother Takes a Sur
We, of the Politico-P rohibito
Situation in North Carolina
and Draws a Few Deduc-
tons Therefrom Which Nav
or May Not be Correct.
Fairbrother's Everything.

or May Not be Correct.
Fairbrother's Everything
Different reports come from Salisbury
where the Democrats who are opposed
to prohibition held a meeting few days
ago 1t is claimed by many that there
was not present @ cOrporaFs guard;
that a scant half dozen responded and
Representative Morton was practically
alone in his scheme. Cyrus Watson
wrote a letter which was read and
which was to the point but it was un-
derstood that the meeting was a fizzle,
pure and simple. Mcneil, OF Fayette-
vile. writes q letter to his home paper
concerning the meeting and be paints
things in more hopeful color than given
out by the press representatives, but
from what can be learned there was
nothing much, if anything. doing.
The object OF this meeting was to get
an expression from the Democrats who
are opposed to the Democratic party
submitting prohibition to the State; it
was to organize and attempt to raise
funds and maintain literary bureau
to the end of arousing the masses to p
sense of duty. But when one figures on
this proposition there is nothing in it.
The Democratic party is committed
tn the prohibition measure. The leaders
nf the party in the State are all com
mitted The Democratic nlatform which
the State convention will hand out and
| which it will order swallowed withon
any questions being asked or answered
will declare for prohibition and the hand
full of patriots who see their liberty or
the tohOggan will look in vain for q
"emedy inside the party.
The Democratic party in North Caro-
lima believes the time has come whe,
his State must be prohibition. 1t be-
! lieves that the Nation should pass laws
stopping the importation of whiskev
| within the State; it believes that the peo
pie should vote out likker for all time
| and in order to keep a howl from reach
ing the clouds. it submitted the question
md ordered an election in May.
1t didn't wait until the regular elec-
'ion; that wouldn't be politics. Neither
id it it propose to submit the qu astinn
If wet or dry in the State. but it pro-
poses to keep the so per cent. of terrific
ry it already has dry and have the whole
State vote on a few towns. In other
words the Democratic party proposes to
force on the people OF North Carolina
what a few leaders want, and the rank
and file are not consulted and not con-
slider ID. so far as that is concerned.
And the rank and file will not kick
over the traces on the whiskey question.
That is moral proposition and a man
mustn't make any noise when the morals
of his State are being discussed. He ia
lot allowed to think for himself and con-
.lude as he irresistibly would that regu-
| alton is the only way 20 restrain an
| avil: he is supposed to shut his eyes.
have his sentence read and then do the
bidding of the leaders self appointed and
self chosen.
This is the situation.
If Mr. Morton and Mr. Mcneil and Mr..
Watson do not like this program they
have a chance to kick over the traces; to
get into the Republican party which
doesn't care much what it does. ii any
votes are in sight-but they dare not do
: this, because were they to ''jine'' the
RAIDS they couldn't be heard any longer.
so they remain between the devil and
the deep blue sea; write letters; call con
. yentiOns and resolve and re-r. solve and
= will die the same.
Right on the eve of the proposition Ol
Mr.. Mcneil to open his literary bureau
and flood the State with literature op
posing prohibition comes the announce
ment that the Denver convention will ir
all probability tack a prohibition plank
on the National platform-and OF course
that would end the heart-ache, if not
the sorrow. The Republican party has
been the party in other years thai
! stood for temperance laws; Democracy
and whiskey erstwhile went hand il
hand-but Democracy is now posing AZ
tee-totaler and the Republican breth
: reu are sweating blood in an endeavol
:. tn head off the widespread sentiment
0 against whiskey.
/ here is no use. Things are upside
n down and the two great parties; th'
2 two parties which have been so long ii
= existence and which have become SO con
- Trajectory are up against it, and Mr.
Hearst with his Independence League il
going to do a stunt this year wortl
while. We note the Washington Sta
in it's cartoons recognizes Mr.. Hears
= and wonders what he ia going to do
and even the New York Sun which hate
Hearst and Hearstism says in its Sunda,
paper editorially:
'As a plain matter OF fact, withou
It reference to the wider circuit OF Hearst
ian activities or hopes, Mr.. Hearst j. a
present an important factor in the pol
tics OF New York.
Hearst has announced positively. tha
he will have q candidate of his own i
the field and it must not be forgotte
v, that Hearst almost carried the State {
- New York and he did carry New 1or
City His platform was said to be til
= soundest and best of any platform eve
submitted to the people, aud in this yea
of grace there are thousands OF me
wondering what to do, and Hearst. 6
Il Ill s,-t,&
ne only poll the vote of his attached follow
ers. but also become in every State tt
refuge of the Indignation and despair
many American citizens whose bushes
or livelihood has been ruined or is threa
ened."
So if Messrs. Mcneil, Watson and No
tor, ct al are looking for place to rit
in safety they may be forced to VIZ
uutil Mr.. Hearst chariot passes by.
will be the most attractive thing c
wheels this coming campaign and it is
surprising thing to know the number
conservative people who are thinkiT
that his party is the one that will sa'
- the country.
II While Hearst all along has been a
" Gus. of being yellow end sensationa
while he has advocated things thu
caused men to shudder, it stands unco
tradicted that the platform OF the Ind
pendenee League was the broatest ar
best of anything before the America
people last election and it was SO sour
and SO inviting that the majority OF Il
people in New York State almost a
eepted it. This time Hearst will NJ
head the ticket-but a man OF Hearst
choice will head it and the League W
. surprise the world.
Not only in New York, as the S,
points out, is Mr.. Hearst an importa
factor just now but in the Nation. Becau
Ii must follow that his following "