The gold leaf., 1910-10-20
Some Plain Talk.

Writes Another Vigorous
Letter to Former Lieutenant
Governor Reynolds-Scouts
Lame Excuses and Excori-
ates the Morehead-Butler-
ties for Their Duplicity in the
Local Option Self-Govern-
ment Plank--Does not Want
Success With a Whiskey
Barrel at the Head of the
Ticket.
Asheville, Sept. 30.-Several days
ago the open letter of Col. S. Lusk
to Hon. c. a. Reynolds, former lieu
tenant-gOvernOr Of this State, in
which Col. Lusk asked for an expla-
nation of the action of the Green's
bOrO convention in endorsing Presi-
dent Taft after the latter had de-
clared inferentially that there were
no Republicans in this State fit to
hold judicial positions and also ask
ing for a construction of the ''local
self-gOVernment" plank OF the Re-
publican platform was given to the
press, and it created quite a stir
among the Morehead- Butterflies.
Reynolds answered Col. Lusk's let
ter, and again has the "old war
horse come to the bat with another
lengthy letter to Mr.. Reynolds, which
is a rather severe comment upon the
position taken by the former lieuten-
ant-gOVernor.
The construction which Mr.. Rey-
nOlds placed upon the local self-gOv-
ernment plank did not seem to suit
Col. Lusk in the least and his reply is
a convincing argument that neither
party can afford to champion the
cause of the bar room. He con-
cludes: ''The party can never succeed
with a whiskey barrel at the head of
its ticket"
That portion of the letter dealing
with the local option or local-self-
government plank of the Republican
platform, follows:
Asheville, Sept. II, 1910.
Hon. c. A. Reynolds,
Winston-Salem, n. {.
My dear Reynolds: | have the
honor to acknowledge receipt of
yours OF 9th inst. and apologize for
not answering sooner, but the delay
was inevitable on account Ofmatters
over which had no control.
My object in asking your construc-
tlOn, or meaning, of the local self
plank in the Republican
platform adopted at Greensboro is
because OF the statements of those |
high in authority in the convention
who are now saying that local self
government as embodied in the plat
form means local option. Local self |
government AS always heretofore |
means the right of the |
people TO elect ali their officers pro- |
vided by the Constitution and laws
of the State, and has never at any
time been construed to mean the |
election of bar-room keeper or a
distiller, they not being officers vest
ed with either legislative, judicial, ad-
or executive powers in |
the Government. The way the local |
option advocates are constituting the |
question it amounts to nothing but |
a downright fraud upon the con-
vention. When the complexion of |
the committee on platform and reso-
lutiOns was discovered, and it was
found that they were all on one side
OF the liquor question and suspicion
was aroused that an attempt would |
be made to railroad a local option |
plank through the convention, GER
tain prOhibitiOnists interviewed men,
bers of the committee and were in
formed that all traces of local option
had been eliminated from the plat
form and that local self-gOvernment |
had been substituted therefor. From
my earliest political associations with
the Republican partyain North Caro-
lima 1t has been one of the tenets of |
the party to inform the public in
plain and unmistakable language the
meaning OF its platform principles.
W hen we took a position we did so
IN the open and not under ambiguous |
to deceive our enemies, much
less our friends; acted as though we
believed in the Justice and probity of |
our cause, and declared it in Ian
guage intended to be understood. |
Even when we declared for local op-
ton in 1906 we wrote in language
that was impossible to miscOnstrue
INTO meaning anything else but local
option; and Notwithstanding, we
were slaughtered hip and thigh, by
reason OF our local option proclivi-
ties, still there was no attempt to
conceal; and when in 1908 we dropped |
local option from our platform and |
wrote plain local self-government in |
It, we gained 10000 votes in the
State. If local self-government is to
be cOnstorted into meaning local |
option, local barrOOms to be estab-
lshed III every town in the State |
where the morally stunted can be re-
led upon to vote the wet ticket, and |
still houses become the |
attraction of the rising generation
instead OF the common schoolhouse, |
and poverty and misery, wretched-
ness and crime stalk forth in this |
.alr land OF ours, the civilized world |
VIII hold Us responsible for distorting |
the time honored principle of local |
into meaning local |