The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1912-10-03
CHALLENGES Mr.. CRAiG
MIR. Meares Invites the Demo
cratic Candidate to Face
His Party's Record

no al - = 1NN@NI "a
He Names Important Issues Which
Should be Discussed-Wouid Like
to Hear Craig's Defense of the
Deep Wrong in Which He Took
Part I'm Trying to BIacken the Rec
ord OF Three Supreme Court Judg-
es-The Unjust System OF Taxa
| ton.
Hon. Iredell Meares, the candidate
| for Governor Of the Progressive and
Roosevelt Republicans. has challeng-
ed the Hon. Locke Craig, Democratic
candidate for Governor, for a joint
canvass. Several days ago Mr.. Settle
challenged Mr.. Craig, but Mr.. Craig
| and his committee declined, one of
the reasons given was the fact that g
| majority of the party were really
| Progressives and were not following
Mr.. Settle 1t would seem TO indicate
! that Mr.. Craig thought Mr.. Meares
would be the proper man to challenge
him. This Mr. Meares has done, and
in reciting some important matters
| that should be aired before public,
| Mr.. Meares says:
There are matters and things up
on which we might really inform the
| public. / would like to hear your
defense of several wrongs which your
party has inflicted upon the State
| that should lead to it's reputation.
"1 There is the lease OF the
North Carolina Railroad, at night,
secretly, five years before the expira-
! ton of the old lease, at Z per cent per
annum on the stock held by the
! State, aggregating three million dol
| lars par value, when, If open bids
| had been called for, there was an
| offer which the State might have
accepted at 10 per cent. This has
caused the State to lose the difference
! between Z and 10 per cent, or $780,
| 900 annually for the ninety-years'
period of the lease, or will cause it
in time to lose an aggregate of eight
million nine hundred and ten dol
lars.
of the Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley
Railroad, permitted by the Legisla-
ture of 1899, which cut that railroad
in two; gave one-half of it to the
Southern and the other half to the
Coast Line, destroyed the possibility
of a trunk line and subjected the
Central North Carolina territory to
the freight rates now in existence
and eliminated the then existing
competition of this line with other
railroads. This was done after the
Federal courts had held Mt could not
legally be done, without legislative
sanction, and it is singular that the
sanction was concurrent with receipt
by your party chairman for cam
paign purposes Of contributions from
the railroads. Mr.. Simmons admits
this, the then chairman, and defends
his action in taking them and in u.s.
ing his influence with the Democratic
Legislature to prevent discrimina-
ton against the railroads, because
the State. l have been informed
that this contribution from the rail-
roads was $4,000. Were those
railroads to be judges of that con-
stituted discrimination? The cost
for redemption came high
"(3) 1 would like to hear the de-
tense by SO eloquent a speaker of
| that deep wrong in which you took
part, in the attempt by impeach-
ment to blacken the regulations, hu
initiate them and their families and
| consign to infamy the justices of the
! Supreme Court, Judges Furches and
+ Douglas, as well as the memory of
the late Judge Faircloth. These men
were gentlemen whose lives were
above reproach, and merely for
judicial act were subjected to as
! highhanded proceeding, in my
| opinion, as ever was attempted in
! North Carolina. 1t has always SEEM
ed to me disgraceful episode in this
State that the group of politicians
| in Raleigh at the time should have
forgotten the respect due to charac-
/ ter and should have aimed to destroy
| it to create vacancies in the Supreme
)! Court of North Carolina because they
differed from the court that the con-
j struction of statues and the power of
/ the courts to issue units.
/ "(4) l would like to hear your
exculpation of the antiquated, cum
bersome and unjust system of taxa
ton, including our school system,
which your party has done little to
, correct, and it's cant about local self
) government while invading it at ev-
cry turn to suit the within of party
, exigency.
There are other matters and
: things both State and National
which I would like to have the op-
portunity to hear you in joint debate
discuss, and not the least of these