The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1912-10-31

THE GOVERNORS COUP
How q Righteous Bill Was Forced
Through the Legislature

Through the Legislature
The investigation Of the means and
ways employed In the election Of q
certain United States senator. with
its muddle Of exposures, plots and
oounterplots. has enabled the news
paper reading public TO get an 90
casional glimpse of the parts that
private detectives occasionally are
asked to play In the politics Of this
country. There is q certain type OF
politician who Ii q good patron Of q
certain type Of detective agency.
"Go out and get something on this
guy" says the interruptions politician
to the INSCRIPTIONS detective, hand
ing him the name of q political oppon-
ent.
Then the INSCRIPTIONS detective, OF
which, unfortunately. there are 30
many in this country, proceeds in the
most INSCRIPTIONS manner to get
something on" the man who is to be
harmed. This ia happening every day
In this country. The Burns agency
never took any such business, or, for
that matter, any sort Of business
which was not entirely square and
above-board. But We have been called
into service in several political fights,
and there Is no more exciting detect
I've work than when two groups of pol
iucians begin to fight one another
with the help Of investigators"
A young governor in a certain state
which cannot be named had come into
Office on a reform ticket. The gov
ernor / will call Braden. The state
Of which he was the chief executive
Is one in which the manufacturing in
terests predominant. and up to the
time Of Braden's election these inter
ests had controlled the statehouse and
what went on there as completely as
II 1t had been an annex to their bust
ness, which is just about what 1t was.
Sometimes the state had Republican
governor, sometimes q Democrat; but
It didn't make any difference. He was
the manufacturers governor before he
had gone far in his term of office, and
ture.
The state house here was situated
at the top of hill, from which a
street car ran down to the business
district Of the town. At the foot Of
the hill, directly down from the main
entrance of the statehouse, was a lit
tie old hotel. The top floor of this
hotel was reserved year in and year
out for the lobbyists of the interests.
The state fancied that its affairs were
administered from the noble structure
on top of the hill; but everybody in
politics or big business knew that the
real capitol was down in the top floor
of the old hotel at the foot Of the hill.
There probably had been millions of
tors In that old building. Certainly
there had been more bills passed
down there than on the floor Of the
house.
Naturally state with its affairs ad-
ministered in this fashion did not
care much for the welfare Of the COM
mon people. The factory laws of the
most backward in the country. They
were all made and passed solely for
the benefit of the manufacturers,
which, Of course, made them inimical
to the interests Of the workers. A
manufacturer in this state could work
q man, woman or child Of any age I'M
der any conditions and for any mum
Der of hours; he was not liable for
what happened to them In his shop.
Wages consequently were low and
conditions were bad for all the work
ing people In the factories. They
were getting the worst of it in every
way, shape and manner; and so they
woke up and made a fight and elected
Braden governor.
Braden was a remarkable man. He
was the son Of parents who had
ground out their lives in one Of the
big mills of the state. He had begun
his own active existence as q boy In
one Of those same mills, beginning to
work at eleven years of age. The
mills didn't kill him, however. He
was made Of tough stuff, and at eight
cen he was working his way through
college and playing quarterback or
the football team. He came out o.
college and went into little law Office
up the state. He was brilliant law
yer and attracted the attention o
the interests. They sent for him ant
made him one of their counsel. HI
put In five years at 1t, then he resign
ed to fight the same interests that b
had worked for.
He settled down in one Of the BIZ
mill towns and opened a small lay
ofice and let it be known that b
would take any workingman's case
no matter what it was or how SINAI
the chance was Of getting fee. H
admitted that he expected to com
near starving at this game. and b
did; but he made more friends than an
other man In the state. He began t
be the peoples leader. He was forty
two when the people suddenly disco'
cred that thAY wanted him for thei