The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1934-04-02
Wallace Denies Faith In Enforced Control
WHITMIRE ACCEPTS ROLE
OF 'MUGWUMP' APPLIED BY
GOV. EHRINGHAUS In SPEECH

Declaring that if he must be-
come a "mugwamp" in order to
criticize the governor, R. L. Whit
mire, former state senator and
candidate for the solicitorship of
the 18th judicial district, today
replied to a statement made by
Governor J. C. B. Ehringhaus in
a speech at the Jackson Day din
ner in Raleigh Saturday night, by
saying that he would GLADLY as
sumo that role rather than be-
come a rubber stamp Democrat"
Mr.. Whitmire had previously
charged Governor Ehringhaus and
State Chairman Winborne with
manipulating the appointment OF
election boards in several coun-
ties in the district in favor of his
opponent, Solicitor ]. Will Pless
of Marion. His statement today
reads:
eff the newspapers have cor
rectly quoted him, Governor Ehr-
inghaus, in his speech at the Jack
son Day dinner in Raleigh on the
31st, cautioned the democracy OF
the state to clear its ranks OF the
'mugwump' who attacks his party,
its leaders and record, and gives
the Republicans ammunition to
use in campaigns"
Having recently charged the
governor and the state chairman
with manipulating the election
machinery of the state in the in
terest of the candidacy of Mr.. j.
Will Pless for solicitor of the 18th
judicial district, l assume that ]
am one of those referred to by
the governor as a 'mugwump' who
furnishes campaign ammunition
for the Republicans
when the governor removed
Mr.. Hamrick of Rutherford coun-
ty from the state board of cleo
tions and placed the law partner
of Mr.. Pless on that board, and
when Mr. Winbourne of Marion,
state Democratic chairman, for
mer law partner and close friend
of Mr.. Pless, rejected the recon-
mendations, in whole or in part,
of the county chairman of Polk,
Rutherford and Yancey counties.
all in the 18th judicial district
and then had the state board, on
which sat the partner of Mr..
Pless, to appoint men to the coun-
ty election boards of these three
counties who were acceptable to
Mr.. Pless, and over the objections
of the three county chairmen, 1t
was the present leadership Of the
Democratic party, and not the
smugwumps' who put campaign
ammunition in the hands OF the
Republicans.
GAN my life 1 have been a
loval and active Democrat. | am
still a 100 per cent Democrat and
will remain so through November,
the Ehringhaus Winborne Piess
machine to the contrary notwlth-
standing. But I deplore the fact
that the present state Democratic
leadership has failed to live up to
the glorious record of the party
in the past, and that the governor
is forced to invoke the doctrine
of party regularity to shield him.
self from criticism rather than
hermit his acts and leadership to
speak for themselves. And if l
must become a 'mugwump' in or
der to criticize the governor, then
I willingly assume that role ra-
ther than become. a rubber stamp
Democrat. And l believe there
are many more in Western North
Carolina whose views in this re-
spect are similar to mine, so many
in fact, that unless all signs fail,
North Carolina, after January l,
, 1884, will have at least one mug
wump' solicitor.
"And since 1 am now a mug
wump,' and 'mugwumping' is my
proper place in the party, charge
the administration at Raleigh with
sending the word down the line
that the officials and guards at
the state prison camps are ex-
pected to vote for Mr.. Pless.
"The glad tidings have already
been received at the Henderson
oo,,ptv camp"