The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1910-08-18
CAMPAIGNING IN TENTH
DISTRICT.

Lii AA4ebAANAS3 aug. - "A 1OOhCI-
on here in Vienna who knows
nothing of the true inwardness of
Of North Carolina politics, attract
ed by a poster, attended a congress
sional campaign meeting at the
village school house the other
morning. Although your corre-
spondent reads The Congressional
Record he. never heard of Con-
gresham Grant, who represents
the tenth congressional district in
cluding the thriving cities of
Asheville and Henders0nville, and
not unnaturally he expected a
heavier intellectual pabulum than
the discourse on protection and
corn bread which the Congress
man dished out to his thirty
eight hearers.
Mr.. Grant, or "John, as he
frequently called himself, spoke
with rare good will and kindly
feeling of his Democratic oppon-
ent, Mr.. Gudger, and of Demo
Gratis in general barring the editors
of The French Broad Hustler
(which never by accident told the
truth" !" The Asheville Citizen, and
The Charlotte Observer, which
latter had Joined in the latest
and meanest attack upon me,
even writing an editorial ridicul-
ling me for sending North Carroll
ma ground corn to Washington
and eating corn bread. This
grave matter of corn bread furn-
Iished the meat for glowing
peroration, In which he denounc-
ed the hot rolls of Washington,
and declared that he would as
soon eat loaf-bread as corn-shucks
in August.
Mr. Grant S speech was largely
a boost for protection, sound
money and John Grant. He said
the time had passed for dealing
out abuse, and that he was not
personally opposed to joint dis
cussion, but his. managers were
because it engenders the feeling
between neighbors. It was true
THAT there had been a joint discus,
sion at Brevard, but that was be,
cause the Democrats had called q
meeting at the time previously ap.
pointed by the Republicans. He
intimated that his opponent had
been badly worsted, and shouted
In stentorian tones: "Gudger does
not want another. /"
He reviewed the alleged policies
of the Democratic party since
1884, totally misinterpreting OF
misrepresenting the policies Of
Grover Cleveland and making
some startling deliverances as te
the economic history of our coun
| try The only sound and sensible
Ipart of his address was his excori
ating allusion to William j. Bryan
and fair criticism of the Demo
:ratic party for following so blin6
a leader of the blind. He prat
| tied about sound money for per
lhaps half an hour though probably
he could no more easily define
"sound money" than could 80 pei
cent Of his audience.
The Mills bill the Mckinley
bill, the Wilson bill and the Ding.
ley bill were considered In turn
but there was not whisper OF
mention of the Payne-Aldrich bill
of abomination, or of the insur.
gent movement.
/ Your correspondent, fair-trad.
er by conviction was intensely
interested to see how John would
bring the blessing of protection
and high tariff home to those
mountaineers who profit as little
by protection as do the Hotton-
tots. At last it came with the
statement that under the Wilson
bill Mexican and Canadian
ponies and horses had been ere
iduced from $50 ahead to $40 a
centad valorem. He illustrated
this by saying that he now drove
la team that cost $500; whereas In
those frightful Democratic times
he had bought Mexican ponies at
ridiculously small prices.
This was evidently intended foI
"a ten strike and should have
received storms of applause; but.
the audience was apathetic, posi-
bly,, his hearsers who could not af-
ford $500 teams might not object
to a return of the era of cheap
horses. The illusions to the tariff
on lumber and tanic acid fell ap-
parently on dull ears, but still he
continued to laud protection,
protection, seeming to derive as
Il \ H.