The gold leaf., 1910-10-13

Mr. Pou brought down the house, and
Candidate Cooley was plainly embar-
raised.
John Sharp Williams thought | was a
fit person to be named on the ranking
committee of the House and Republican
Speaker thought the same thing.
How long do you think it would take
Cooley to earn a place on the ranking
committee of the House representing no
party, no platform of principles? He
was in your State Legislature-he missed
291 roll-cails in sixty days. He answer!
ed 2OS times and failed to answer 291
times. Judging from this record he
would hardly accomplish very much in
the House of Representatives.
What do you Republicans expect to do
with him? He says that heis stronger
Democrat than | am. He said in Chat
ham that he was glad we Democrats and
a few insurgents had abolished Speaker
Cannon's committee on rules and that
he only regretted that we had not abol-
ished the venerable Speaker along with
that committee. How do you Repub-
licans like that? But that is not .al.
He said he agreed with me that there is
no defense of the administration OF the
Republican party in this State and that
he reckoned the only thing the North
Carolina Republicans could do would be
to get on their knees and ask forgiveness
for the crimes they had committed.
Now | have been asking him a few d.
rect questions. He has not yet answered
them. Will you vote for the nominees of
the Republican party for Supreme Court
Judges? Will you vote for the Rspubli-
can candidates in your own county?
Cooley said he would answer in his re-
10 inder
Mr.. Pou closed by reading from the
Republican Textbook for 1910. | find
a quotation from the Great Douglass
He says, speaking to the negro, the Re-
publican party is the ship; all else the
sea. This Great Douglass is Fred Doug
lass, who married a white woman.
When | read that my mind went back
over the history of my State. | saw our
beloved State sunk to the very bottom
of the pit of degradation in '6S and 20
under Republican carpet-bag rule. | saw
the State redeemed by the Democratic
party, under the leadership of the great
Vance, in rs. For nearly twenty years
l heard the plea of that discredited party
to give US another chance and we will
do better. | saw the white people divide
in "a and once again that party was in
power. | saw the State again sink down,
down, down, in the estimation of the
world | saw nearly l 1000 negroes in
office. | saw your negro magistrates
and your negro school committeeman
and then saw the State again redeemed
under the leadership of AycOck and Sim
mons and Overman and kitchin and
Glenn and | said if it be true that the Re-
publican party is the ship to the negro
then the Democratic party is the veri
table life-boat to the Southern white
man. Mr.. Pou closed amid great en-
thusiasm.
Mr.. Cooley commenced by reading
from his own platform. He said ii the
people thought it was a Democratic
platform let them call him a Democrat.
If they thought it was Republican plat
form let them call him a Republican.
He attacked Mr.. Pou for refusing to vote
10 put unfinished lumber on the free list
and then made the crowd laugh by ad
mitting that he thought Mr.. Pou had
voted right He charged that Mr.. Pou
had violated the plank in the Demo
cratic platform. He said he believed in
men standing on the platforms on which
they were elected. He said he should
not enter the Republican caucus If elected
and would not be bound by the action
of any caucus. He had succeeded in
arousing right much enthusiasm among
the Republicans present until he was
asked by Mr.. POu to answer the ques-
tions propounded and then came afrost.
"Yes," said Mr.. Cooley, 81 will tell you
people howl am going to vote. L shall
not vote for the nominees ofeither party.
| shall not vote for the Republican nOmi-
~l T oho1 70 f0r tho nnmn-
cratic nominees. | am independent and
shall not vote for either side" The Re- ]
publicans were casting significant G lances !
at each other The enthusiasm had COM
pletely subsided for one Of the most pop
ular of the Republican, candidates for
Judge lives in this town of Henderson.
"Does Cooley think we are a set OF
fools?" said one of the most prominent
Republicans present. docs he think we
will vote for him when he refuses to say
that he will support such a man as L. L.
Hicks? He will have to take back that
statement if he gets any Republican
votes in Vance county,
Several Republicans were heard to say
the same thing. Mr.. Pou's reioinder cut
to the quick. He read from CoOley's
legislative record showing that he did
the very things OF which he is now COM
planning. He voted to repeal laws per-
mitting the election of justices of the
peace and commissioners by the people.
He took the appointment of justices in
his own hands for Nash county and sup
ported other bills of the same character.
Mr. Pou's friends were thoroughly well
pleased with the result OF the debate.
He will carry Vance county by a larger
majority than he received two years
ago.