Newspapers / The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, … / Oct. 16, 1912, edition 1 / Page 8
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3E ""GOV. W. W.. KITCHIN ON BEHALF OF t;. Jnr "i . . - vs. D emocracy senaioef;:m. SIMMON .r .-V 3 "BEFORE THE.- COURT MM - . ' m LAST RESMI--IH E PEOPil Indictment; if Ul And now comes Sam L; Rogers, Campaign Manager for Senator 3?:,. M. Sini- : mons, before this Court of the People, and in apt time moves to QUASH THE BILL OF INDICTMENT in this cause, for that . A. That said Gov. W. Kitchin, the complainant in this cause, is' not in fact the representative tf "Progressive Democracy" ; that the; said Gov. W. ,W. Kitchin is not :a ""Progressive Democrat" ; that he is "progressive" only in his political ambitions; that he has no rights in law, .equity or good, conscience to plead or. be impleaded "on behalf of Progressive Democracy," and .that insofar as" the complainant pretends to represent the Progressive Democracy in this cause that the same is a sham and a fraud, and that it is invalid and without force in law oi' equity. ' B. For that the indictment is not in fact brought "on behalf of Progressive ; Democracy" but that the same is in fact brought solely for and in behalf of the said Gov. W. W. Kitchin, and for his ozvti use and behoof . C. For that the indictment is not brought in good faith, and that on the con-; trary, it is the habit of the aid Gov, W. W: Kitchin to bring false and fraudulent indictmentsagaihsr good' Democrats, in the name of Progressive Democracy, ; when there is in fact no substantial cause for such indictments, and when in 'good fact the only reason for bringing such false and fraudulent indictments against: good Democrats is that the said Gov. W. W. Kitchin wants an office for the said Gov. W. W; Kitchin; as' witness Exhibit "A" herewith attached, showing a like charge against the knightly Locke Craig, whom the said Gov. W. W. Kitchin is ' now supporting and commending in high terms as worthy of the confidence and highest honors of the party, and which exhibit your respondent prays to have considered as a part of this record. , ; . . ' -; ": '"-.::.: D. For that the said Gov. W. V. Kitchin is so distinctly a non-progressive and reactionary that it has been truthfully said that in sixteen, years of public service, twelve years in Congress and ;foiir years as Governor of the State, he has . made no record no; achievement either in the line of material development in the development of any distinctively ennobling sentiment, or in the line of lift- ing any. burden from the backs of the people who have honored him, that he can now point to as a commendation of. his appeal to be entrusted with six years moro of public office, and that his only means of political preferment appears to be by, indictment of other, and more faithful, Democratic public servants. c E. For that he not only , has not made any record of progressive achieve ment, but that he does not now off er any promise of progressive achievement in the future: that he does not now profess allegiance to any principle of progress that Senator Simmons does , not now stand -for, and that he has not heretofore consistently supported, except his erratic platform of free trade in North Cdro Una products, as against revenue duties on such products, which would not make for progress, and which is not in accord with the National Democratic Platform r adopted at Baltimore. . ".-" ., F. For that .the professions of the ' said GovW.V. Kitchin, when seeking public office, are not zvorthy to be taken seriously, as evidenced by his .zealous professions of 'hostility to the American Tobacco Company, when a candidate for Governor four years ago, and that after he secured the aforesaid office he was found "asleep at the szvitch," as shozvn by Exhibit "B," herewith attached; that he advised legislators to go "slow" in anti-trust legislation; as shown by Exhibit "E" herewith attached, and that he "recommended" approved and endorsed amendments to the anti-trust law that weakened, instead ' of strengthmed, that law, as evidenced -by quotation from decision of ..the .North Carolina Supreme Court, herewith attached, and marked Exhibit "D f'r and as further evidence his appointment of friends of the American Tobacco. Company to of fice. i G. FOR THAT JTHE SAME INDICTMENT WAS "BROUGHT BE FORE THE PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATIC STATE CONVENTION, AND WAS FOUND NOT A TRUE BILL. . H. For that since Senator Simmons cast the votes for which he has been criticised on amendments to thei Payne-Aldrich bill-the Democrats of the Senate have twice made him leader of tariff legislation in that bodyir arid that botn times his leadership was highly acceptable to his colleagues, and in thousands of papers he was praised by the Associated Press. , -I., For that the indictment is not brought in ood faith in that other Con gressmen from North Carolina voted as Senator Simmons did on tariff measures, and Gov;' W. V: Kitchin is not only not making any fight against them, in the . name of progressive or any other kind of Democracy, but he has insisted that such rules be adopted for the Senatorial primary as will riot permit" any voter to be considered a Democrat and entitled rto. vote in said primary unless he" shall -. first have voted for such Congressmen.- A ; . ' - . . J. For that the methods by which these' unfavorable newspaper expressions have been, obtained have already been made "plain. " Your, respondent avers that if he sliould employ experts to search the files of the Congressional Library at Washington that he could produce without nurnber opinions from outside papers . -commending Senator Simmons for; his service to the party and to the cause of ' ' tariff reform in the Seriate, but that in so far as this matter is to be settled by newspaper opinion the opinions of loyal and, itrue 'North Carolina Democratic editors is entitled to far greater weight ; that they are familiar with all the facts and conditions and with the relative services and :achievements of . the, several . 'candidates that it is well known that a great preponderance of these North Caro lina "papers are vigorously supporting Senator-Simmons, and repudiating the slanderous charges brought against him, at witness Exhibit "E" attached, written , by 'Archibald Johnson, Editor of Charity and Children, one ; of the best loved ' and highly honored editors, and .citizens of the State ; and that the columns of this paper could be filled for weeks with other like expressions of confidence in Sena tor Simmons and repudiations of. the said Governor W. W, Kitchin's misrepre sentations of the. Senator and his records - ' r K. For that the evidence presented to sustain the indictment is either irrele-J vani and incompetent, or unworthy to be believed, or such as has already been completely anszvered and disposed of in this court. Taking it up by 'divisions for a further answer, it s apparent: 1st. That much of it is entirely irrelevant to this controversy, as the quota tions frorii Woodrow Wilson, Progressive Farmer, Carolina Union Farmer, and others, which was not intended to relate, and which does not nv fact relate to . Senator Simmons. -On the contrary this respondent avers that these quotations - present no issue .whatever against Senator Simmons that the tariff views of Woodrpw Wilson, as they. have been expressed in his public addresses, are prac tically identical with those of Senator Simmons; and of the Baltimore platform. . 2nd. That some of the witnesses are in effect subsidized witnesses, and that their testimony is unworthy of belief, as witness the "Scarlet "Woman of Texas' Journalism,": and? the Helena, : Montana, Independent, written especially for Kitchin Headquarters. . - . 3rd. That others of them are incompetent to testify .in a Court, of ; Democracy, as ztitness M ark Sullivan, of Collier's W eekly a Pennsylvania Republican, half ' owner of a y straight Republican paperin Pennsylvania; and himself a straight Republican and member of a Republican Club in Neiv York, as sliown in "Who's 'Who in America," and by data which was evidently -furnished' by thim' to that publication. ' -' . ' ' 1 - " . . . .. i .:. . - ' v...... .. . , " 4th. That all of them are alien toour State and not entitled to.be heard in a North Carolina Democratic primary, ifi which ; North Carolina Democrats select a Democrat to represerit the welfare and the interests of this State. , Every other State in the Union has the same number of .Senators to represent them as we have to represent North Carolina, and North Carolina Democrats are going to attend to this job in their own way, and they don't need to be Ttold by -Montana or any other State what Democracy means. North Carolina has been handling these sort of problems about .as long arid about as well as any of them. " AND FOR A FURTHER ANSWER -.Your respondent avers that insofar as there is any truth in the testimony of-,, these foreign witnesses that it only goes to establish the loyalty of F. M. Simmons to the State that he has served so well and that has honored him so highly. Sena tor Simmons has made some enemies away from North i Carolina, and he has made them because he has been loyal to North Carolina, and to the most approved principles of Democracy. '- . . v:' ' " . - - ; ' - ' 1 v '.. ',.''' ' , . l i . .Senator Simmons knows that the people of-North Carolina are not a selfish : people. He knows that they are patribtic, and that they are willing to take a broad view of public questions,. and so he voted for material reduction of duties ' on all products' in which the, South! is interested, even in connection -with the . highly protective Payne-Aldrich bill,r and oh three separate occasions he voted for free lumber in connection with the Reciprocity bill. -The average rate. of .duty that he voted for on articles sthathe has been critkisedj!fcr was less than 15 ' . per cent, while the tariff bills passed toy the recent. Democratic Congress averaged ; over 30 per cent. All this array, of selfish xriticism of Senator. Simmons-from - outside ' sources comes from the fact that he bared his breast to the enemy (the Republican enemy, that wanted to satisfy. the righteous demand for: genuine tariff tireform by putting farm products and Southern products on the free' list, ; without interfering .with the protection given Jthe trust manufacturers) and be-1 . cause he stood between the people, whose interests he was charged with represent- ; ing, and absolute free, trade for North Carolina and for the South, while protec- tive duties piled high were maintained on alLother products. It is ;because he ; has, refused. to subject the products of the North Carolina farmer, the ' North- Carolina mill man and the North Carolina woodsmen, to unrestrained f ree-trade, . that he is called in question here this day. - .' . : , Free Trade is not, and never has been; a tenet of Democracy; and no party or , statesman in this country (except Gov. W. W. Kitcbin) advocated; it, now- as a v. present or a prospective policy. . ' ' .' '''. ' . ' y:;-.:- Every progressive leader of the -Progressive Democracy repudiates free trade and North Carolina does nbt need a representative in the Senate to fight for free , trade in farm products tobacco, peanuts, live stock, potatoes, rice, etc. What she does need and what the country needs, is a man with the training1 and posi- tion of influence which Senator Simmons has acquired to-attack the citadel of -protection the high schedules on the products of the Steel triishand other trust manufacturers that now' place, such great aitd Miijust burdens on the people' to cam unjust dividends on trust, watered stock, and to reconstruct tariff duties on : manufactures and other articles on d revenue basis, for which he was making the fight in the"recent session in entire actord with the Democrats of the. House and Senate. Read the Baltimore platform and the speeches of Woodrow-Wilson and -you Will see that these are the great abuses that they are agitating for correction, ' --and in F. M. Simrnons we have the. best prepared man in America for the job ' the man. who lias been placed atjhe head of the fight in the Senate by his Demo- , cratic colleagues: who has been 'neither disloyal nor . idle in the service ;of; the . people, who has done something for his State, and for his party, and who is now and has been for years, fighting for every tenet of Progressive Democracy that the 1 progressive convention at Baltimore deemed zvorthy of , a place in its chart of -progressive principles. , . r . ; - - . - - . Wherefore your respondenFprays that judgment be entered- 1st. That the indictment in this case be quashed. , ... . -2nd. That Senator Simmons -be "returned "to the Senate,' where he: has ac- -quired the greatest honor that has come to a North-Carolinian in .half a century , anda position of greatest opportunity for service to his State and to his country ' . " in the future. , 3rd. That he be given such a majority on November 5th as will be an effec tive answer to tfre false and slanderous indictriients brought against the leader of ' the. White Supremacy campaign 'now the leader -in tariff-reform jn the United States Senate ; and such majority as will be effectual 'notice that political prefer ment and honor is. not hereafter to be gained in. North Carolina, by false imiict ments against the personal and political character of loyal Democrats. SAM L. ROGERS, Manager , for Senator ;Simmons. v EXHIBIT "A" WHEN THE KITCHINS SEANDERED CRAIG. . Asheville,'June i9, 1908. TheKori. Locke Craig issued the following state ment tonight: "Have just been informed that before the primaries held in Nasi, and franklin counties, and others, on the day of the primaries, a report wa . circulated in these Counties by the friends of Kitchin, that I not only voted for s Blaine, but while in .. Bertie County , voted .the entire" Republican ticket and for the negroes on the ticket.; ' This statement is utterly false,, and was originated : by some slanderer for the purpose .of; helping Mr. Kitchin, and injuring me. x ucvci.ju mjf uic vuicu iui dny ixcpuuiitdii CAtcpi J3innc, iiilU 1 never in my life cast a ballot in the County of Bertie, and never under any circumstances vutcu iui a iicgio. . . s - v - -j t , . - "I also have information from a gentleman of absolute reliability that Con gressman Claude Kitchin stated in-the presence of a number of gentlemen last week in LouisburgvFrankliri County, a -few days prior. to the primaries in that County, that he could get an affidavit from a reliable' man in- Bertie to the effect that I not only voted for Blaine," but for. the entire Republican ticket, includinp Congressman O'Hara. I have been further informed that Mr. W. W. Kitchii ' has intimated in some of. his speeches that ' I voted the Republican ticket in ' Bertie County. '':,'.'' r,: : .; . . "If these statements be denied . I can prove my authority. I denounce each and air of such allegations as. vile falsehoods, originated, by some designing per son for the advantage of Mr. Kitchin.., Such methods have been freely adopted without hesitation in the desperate attempt: to irijtire me,; .withthe Democrats of ! Aorth Carolina. It is. astonishing that Democrats would resort to such tactics. a I. defy either : of the Kitchins or any af their supporters- to produce any proof of these slanders." ..-'--.. - - ' . y . . - : , .... x " EXHIBIT "B" WHY KITCHIN WANTED TO BE GOVERNOR, v- v And Governor Kitchin plead-for the office of' Governor because, as he said, the. Tobacco Trust was fighting him because -it .knew he would -not acquiesce in : their; iniquities." Well, IF BUCK D0KE' HAD BEEN'GOVERNOR, the To V bacco Trust would nothave been -troubled Jess than it bas been . by . our "Trust busting" Governor.--News and Obseiarer, ,. July. 25,' 191 lv.v ' - ; . EXHIBIT "C" A .CONFESSION, ?. : : (V' Mr. Eockhart then ; said that. he had .a: confession to make.- "Four yean ago Mr. Kitchin came to Wadesboro and opened the campaign, and in that speed! Mr. Kitchin said, 'elect me Governor,' and Will put: the trusts officials behind ' prison bars and in stripes.' Mr, Lockhart said: r' " . i . f ' r . 1 . . - -f ' V" ' 1 "I .believed him. I knew. that he had failed to do anything while he wask j Congress: but he had told me: that he: did not know .'how and that if he wM'A be made Governor he would- be an independent and active Governor. I truSid5 ' " him and supported him. I spent money for carriages, hired a brass band, paid foi l the printing of the tickets, and I worked for him.. It is true he offered to repay me ; but I wouldn't let Him and told him. that I did not want the money ; but that I did want him to be 'a man for the people of 'North Carolina, 'and fulfill his prom ., ises to the people. . . - : Xy '' ' 'y 'W ' ' : t "The first suspicion of Mr. Kitchin came to me when "the convention was - in Charlotte four years ago, and then it was that Mr, Reuben D. Reid of Roclc- ingfranr County came to me in the Selwyn Hotel and' said that he was afraid -'that we were making a mistake and that Kitchin was In'tne hands of the American " -Tobacco Company. , His closest friends we're the close friends of that-big cor poration. They were apparently backing him. v ' STILL BELIEVED. ! " , f Still, I believed in Kitchin. Then as the deadlock continued, Mr.' Reid came ; to me again and begged me to withdraw my influence from Mr. Kitchin, but still , I, believed in him, and I still thought; he was all- right until. I, as the Senator; from Anson County introduced the bill known as ! the Lockhart anti-trust biU- I was not its author. Ht was drawn by Reuben D..."Reid of Rockingham County. I was told by William Walton Kitchin that the people of. North Carolina did not want any anti-trust legislation, and that: the people of Rockingham County had ., defeated Reuben D. Reid because of his interest in that legislation. ,. 'Ir. Kitchin said to me 'go slow, the people don'V want anything done.' I went out from his office disgusted and undone, and my confidence in W. W. Kitchin was gone, and gone ; forever, and! K am opposed to nominating that kind iof a man for the exalted office of United States Senator." Speech Hon. James A. Lockhart, at Madison, N. C, Oct. 11, 1912 . . , ; v ; EXHIBIT "D" ANTI-TRUST NARROWED AND RESTRICTED. - -Qubtkion , from opinion delivered by-Supreme Court of -North Carolina, Spring-Term 1912, No.' 515, Burke,rJr-Mr Smith -vsrAIorganton Ice Co. et als.: ."Laws i907,:Chap. 218, now; Rev. 3028a, sub-section (b) made it unlawful for 'Any- person, firm, corporation, or association gi directly or indirectly destroy wilfully or injure, of undertake to destroy orinjire the business of any opponent or business rival in the. State of North Carolina with the purpose or intention of attempting to fix the price of anything of value vwhen the competition is re moved." - . . x , 'This action was begun when the above section was. in force, but Chap. 167 I Laws 191 1 sub-section (b) amended the above section by interpolating the words "BY CIRCULATING FALSE REPORTS" tending to damage the credit of said opponent or rival. . The effect of. the amendment made in sub-section (b) by the act of 1911- is to narrow and restrict the forbidden conduct "tending to interfere with the trade of an opponent of business rival with , the purpose of attempting to fix the .price of. anything: of -value wherLtbe competition is removed" to the single instance when it is done "by circulating false repbrts." Under the act of 1907 all conduct of any, nature done with such purpose or intention was made unlawful. Under the act of 191 1 no conduct with that purpose or inten tion is unlawful save only that of "circulating false reports." Exhibit "E" -WHAT ARCHIBALD JOHNSON THOUGHT OF THE GOVERNORS SPEECH. Gdvtmor Kitchin made a speech in Thomasville a week ago yesterday on his way through the County, and Mr. Archibald Johnson, editor of Charity and Children, published at the Baptist Orphanage at Thomasvllle', commented on It through the col umns of The Thomasville Davidsonlan last week. Mr. Johnson was not pleased. He says: " , ' "jAn audience of men. that filled the hatl, with perhaps a dozen ladies, 'gather ed on Tuesday evening last to hear Governor Kitchin speak. ' ; " , ,.', "It was a cold crowd for a campaign orator, The usual enthusiasm and spirit of such an occasion were painfully absent. It was a melancholy meeting. The most pronounced applause was given when the Governor held up the lumber Journal and showed the picture of Senator Summons on the cover; and a Simmons man "started the cheering and the others joined in. t " . ; . "The Governor realized at' the outset that he was.facing an audience the maority of whom were favorable to Senator Simmons; if they were Kitchin men they we t - "The speech was a strong deliverance, and the boldness and courage of the speaker as he hurled his anathemas at Simmons in the face of the friends of the Senator, wa speaker eulogized Woodrow Wilson and Locke. Craig, the whole speech was a bitter and relentless tirade against the man who for 27 years has been a recognized leader in th ability and honesty of William W. : Kitchin. - . . ' ,v , V l"The warm eulogy of the Governor as to the purrty of motive of his blameless life, if It had come from another, would have been 'beautiful; but coming from the lips o who went up into the temple to pray and who thanked the Lord that he was virtuous, honorable, truthful, saintly and pure, and not like the joor publican by his side who wou "Tne wnoie trend of the speech was destructive. 11 was in auempi ic rise upon the ruin he had wrought. While there was nothing in what he said that could be fair rs suffering with cold feet ' " s altogether admirable. With the exception of the first ten minutes, 'In which the e public life of North Carolina, and a fulsome and disgusting tribute to the fidelity, ef the hearer ;wio,did not stop'to,think it over,, was that no traitor. more designing ever lived in the ' United' States than F. M Simmons. "T ;'The speechwas not "a vote-getter It was exactly the opposite. Mr. Kitch In, we dare say, is not so strong In Thomasville as.he was before he delivered his sp the.Senafe It jwHI be in spite of the speeches he Is making In this campaign. - 1 - 4 , - . - ' ' , TJie Governor boasted that his yvhite -banner had; never tirailei. n: the dust, and all through the speech such bbmbast-asUhis-weakened all he said. it was a Strang -. selfAThea himeJI it, for t the burden of the Gove ' Senatorial struggle; we are simply giving our of Governor Kitch Ih's speech and the spirit that promoted It, and we do not hesitate to say that we wer et a statesman, but she special, pleading of a'selflsh and ambitious politician.? , , , ' f the man himself, it was slightly out of taste. One could be reminded of the Pharisee Id not so much as lift his eyes to heaven." , - ly construed as personal abuse, the culmination and 'conclusion of it all In the mind1 .' . -.' . '.. ' -. . ;. eech. The policy he is pursuing cannot win out. If Governor Kitchin is nominated to e mixture of bitter, unrelenting hatred toward his opponent and of adulation of him rnment. We are notin this article making any prediction as to the outcome of the e surprised and disappointed at Its matter as well as Its tone. It was not the appeal I ' . .' ' ' - " ' . . 1 1-
The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Oct. 16, 1912, edition 1
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