THE HEADLIGHT.
JOHN H. WALSH,
Emtok.
w.^i 'oovarfrro*, I fmiMwam.
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MramtnKMi um.
JOkMhi|ir jmmr, MrtoUj gak hi
nt« faiakk.J an mp
Nalml amrdiu id art olOgamw
uik*|M«fliiMHoikkiihiaJi. 0.
OTEDKEBDAT NOV M. not.
NOT TO BE INTIMI
DATED.
this is a me country
Hear Both Sides.
With a grand flourish of
trumpet* in the form of a big
•care head, double column,
filled with editorial rollings
from the Headlight and com
ments thereon, the Anglo
Saxon "goes for us” in a
measure so eharsoistic of the
management of that paper.
Well, somehow H effected
os variously. The first sen
sation wee one of extreme
curiosity-wondered what
was the matter. Having read
it carefully, the following rw
flactions resulted. That we
wees reminded of Aesop’s
fable of tho mountain and
the mouse. The rest was s
desire to acknowledge it as
the first compliment since the
announcement of its advent
the Headlight had received
from ha neighbor, which had
so long affected not to kuow
of Its existence. As to what
may have been the motive of
the Anglo-Saxon in copying
the Headlight’s editorial ut
terance* we care nothing, nor
does it lesson our obligations
to our contemporary for free
use of he columns thereby
giving ua the benefit of the
combined circulation of both
papers; and now sinoe we
have become acquainted, we
will avail ourselves of a lib
eral use of the privilege ex
tended.
UtM Anglo-Saxon immac
ulate? And doaa it arrogate
to itself a degree of wisdom
which entities it to sit both
ae judge and jury over, mat
ters political in the oonnty?
Does it set itself up as au
thority in its discussions ae
. to peaty loyalty? If not,
, then it assumes this attitude
without right. If our “word
mincing and vsporings"
amount to nothing, why do
they disturb the sereoity of
nor neighbor? Ie h the
aaoutb-pieee of “the power
behind the throne?” Ie H
the bright polar star to guide
the !>emoefuta of Richmond
in Ikefr journeying* through
the approaching campaign?
If so, then it h time for the
Demoentie hosts of the eon n
ts look well to their beringi,
and obesrrs the port towards
which their end ie heed
^Now it undertakes to file
no many complaints against
the Headlight, that it will re
-/inife a number of issues to
to answer thorn ell, end, be
sides, u* are not to he so
easily halted into e trap. It
li net hate to tarn the light
an evesytfafjtf at anas, as
tliere are some things tit at
will keep until the proper
ti me comes to bring them to
lights W!»en this time will
arrive, depend* upon circum
stances. When we started
the Headlight, we knew fall
well, that unlees we drifted
in a certain channel we would
encounter opposition. This
we could not do, and the
Anglo-Saxon comes to tell u«
that our anticipations have
been realised.
Well, if our voice is to be
stitiled and our pen directed
bj’ anybody, we are willing
to go down in the fight for
equal rights for every man
in Richmond county, friend
or foe. The voices of three,
if not four fifths of Richmond
county are clamorous for
primaries, and had the An
glo-Saxon, the mouth-pieoe
of the controlling element of
the party guaranteed these to
the people, but little would
have been said by the Head
light upon this subject. But
it has not done it, but on the
contrary has been dumb un
til it felt ita foundation shak
mg.
The Headlight has said
nothing it proposes to re
tract, and it claims to be as
loyal to the county organisa
tion that now exists or may
hereafter exist as the Anglo
Saxon, but it has not boon,
and will not be controlled by
individuals. It has never
advocated insubordination,
but always scquiesconoe in
whatever is done by the or
ganization. National, State
and county. Its record will
prove this, and yot tho Anglo
Sazon charges the Headlight
with making insinuations
against such men as the
“brave, generous, publio
spirited Capt. W. I. Everett,
our popular sherifT, our popu
lar and effioient sand-hill
Democrat, Walter Thomas,
register of deeds, onr excel
lent board of oounty com
missioners, W. C. Tjeak,
’Squire Terry and Mr. Whit
look, our one-legged coroner,
Daniel Gay, and our excel
lent surveyor, Mr. Graham.”
Now let us examine the rec
ord :
In our first issue the fol
lowing write-up of these
gentlemen appeared:
••RICHMOND'S COUNTY OF
riyjano.
“Richmond may wall he consid
ered ae having a food eat of coun
ty officer*.
Our commUeiooera, Masers.
Leak, Terry and Whitlock, are all
excellent ami, who d ieohaege their
duties impartially and wisely,
without regard to party or race.
“Oept. Everett, the 0. 8. 0., is
one of our ablest end I wet eitieana,
and with the aid of hla deputy.
J»hn I*, hi* am. keeps s nest and
well-r>Kel«t»d office. For a long
tima (though wa weald not sell
hla old) ho has served hla people
well la every position he has been
sailed to fill.
“Walter 8. Thomas, the new
regiatev of deeds, lea model yoeng
men, hath as ho moral aha raster
and baalnem eaparity, and hie
offiaial record thee far, la witbont
spot or blemish.
And what shell we my of o«u
“pmeeher sheriff," lev. T. 8.
Wright. Wa haven't apace to eey
It all, hat we will eoy that he hie
the right man in the right place;
and all he does Is “Wright/*
While he mekee a medal sheriff,
he re still faithful to Ms mteia
tariel aelting. and when ha la not
ha h anSag happy hearts ui
wedlock, burying the dead, calling
•inner* to iwpeotanoe, or eaaafort
ing saint*.
“That gallant old Confederate
veteran, who left one leg on the
battle griMiad, Daniel Gay, is our
coroner, a natural bora oorouer, a
good coroner, a good citiseu.
“If you want your laud* accur
ately surveyed, or a claim of title
made dating back to Noah'a flood,
Neill Graham, our efficient county
surveyor, is the man. Like hi*
good father, be knows more about
tho landmarks between the roar
ing Pee Dee and Drowning oreek,
than any man in the State.
"These are our county officers
we are proud of.”
In our issue of the 30th
October we said:
“We ara glad that our' oonnty
officers, in Bichmond county, are
good men, and are quietly/but
faithfully discharging their
duties.”
Now tho Anglo-Saxon must
stand condemned by the rec
ord and to act*in good faith,
it should acknowledge its
error.
The Saxon says: “Amend
ment or no amendment, ne
gro or no negro, common
doeoncy, if nothing elso, sug
gests that men who go into
a primary or convention to
select candidates shall honor
ably support the result of
that primary or con vention. * ’
Here our contemporary is
exactly right, and we’ll prove
our loyalty in a primary or
convention. Will our neigh
bor make the same promise?
Whatever part we may take
in political matters previous
to the nominations for office,
we'll vote the ticket nomi
nated.
Just horo, our noighbor
charges that the Headligh|
(1 suppose he means the’ed^
tor) with being s candidate
for office, does not say what.
Wei', this is amusing indeed.
We don’t have any idea that
any office will run after us,
and it is a olear case we will
not seek any nomination
Now listen to the Anglo
Saxon :
“No one connected with
its editorial or business man
agement has ever held, or
now holds, or is a candidate,
or expects to become s candi
date for any office at the
hands of the Democracy of
the connty—of the county?
This was well said, but say,
Bro. Editor, how about that
little job you had as secretary
of the senate, during the ses
sions of the last legislature,
that paid you five dollars a
day? Of course you don’t
want any office frAn the
county—no indeed.
But, we have overlooked
our “sore toe”—really, is it
“our toe” that is sore? If
so we have not made the dis
covery. Possibly you may
find yourself in the condition
of a darky, who waa quietly
sleeping with his feet to the
fire. He arose suddenly, ex
claiming, “sum nigger foot
burning—golly, its mins”
Watch your own tosa neigh
boT. Again we say, it won't
do my friend, to turn on all
the light now, as a more pro
pitious opportunity will be
presented later.
The result of township pri
maries will regulate every
thing. Will the Anglo-Saxon
which assumes to be the
mouth-piece of “the powers
that be,” guarantee the adop
tion of the primary sytara
9
by the executive committee
of the county.
We have valued friends,
good Democrats, who do not
agree exactly, with us in some
matters. For these we have
the highest personal regard
and beet wishes, and we do
not intend that anything we
may have said, or may say,
■hall apply to . them. We
know exactly who are fight
ing the Headlight, and how
they are doing it, but it will
not deter ua from er\joying
the fullest liborty of speech
consistent with law, propri
ety, and true Democratic
principles. Nor will the
double oolumn acaro-hoad of
the'Anglo-Saxon, in any de
gree disturb our peace, or
barricade our progress in the
course wo intend to pursue.
W’e have advocated free
speech, primaries, et cetera,
ad infinitum. Doesn’t the
Anglo-Saxon advocate the
same? If. so where is the
tronble and why should he
Buffer from a “wrenched leg
kicking at nothing.”
1 there » a spirit of unrest
throughout the county, but
if the people KNEW they
would have primaries, all
would be calm and serene.
Now if the Anglo-Saxon is so
conoerned about the multi-;
plioity of the Headlight’s
“insinuations” let it say posi-1
lively, lhat the primary sys
tem WILL be adopted and
the mists will clear away.
And now, contemporary,
let me inform you that this
editor’s record in the grand
battle for white supremacy is
jp^Aill known in Richmond
B^otrWUhy of your eon
neetions, to make any un
favorable impressions upon
the people in reference to
him. They know full well,
that he staked everything he
had, whioh though little, was
his all, and even his life, in
hiB effort* to secure white
government to the people.
These matters are too fresh
in the minds of his county
men to allow any doubt of
his willingness to secure for
them, any favors they may
desire of him, all “without
hope of reward, or dread of
punishment. But if the
Anglo-Saxon thinks it can
turn.tho tido, wo arc free to
exclaim with the immortal
bard, “Lay on McDuff.”
UNUSUAL FORBEARANCE.
11 the Headlight hu been “Io
kineating and word-mincing for
nine months, u the Anglo cays,
it oommenoed the beeineoe a
month before ite birth. If it hu
been doing thin for even eight
months, against the “peace and
dignity” uf good government, and
the Anglo Saxon is liie “watch
man noon the wall" clothsd with
tbs power uf n censor, why hu
it not long sgo raised its voice
againet it. If there was no found
ation for theu so-called insinua
tion*, why should they disturb
anybody? The very fact that
they have raised a row in tbs I
oansp, is evidence snnegh to sat
isfy any unprejudiced mind that
something is wrung somewhere.
Farther, if the Headlight boasts
of its "disinterestedness and nn
slloyed devotion to the people,
always enpitallsing the word peo
ple," it did H becauu it felt that
it was pleading the cause of au
the fsoru, and to them we are
willing to I save the iwealt.
Bat, neighbor, ia all kindnaac,
we oak, do yon represent the mo
rtsf if not, then pray, who do
Jfd ftpfftwiiT
*' * — ■ ' ■■■ ill is m m
HOT TIMES AT
STEELE’S MILLS.
A Rousing Mooting of
Citizens. Tlioy DIs
Ctiss Tlielr Griev
auccn, ami Indorse
The Headlight.
Publishers Headlight,
Gentlemen:
Inasmuch aa we, the citizens el
Steele's Mill, are loyal people and
are true Auglo-Saxous aud tax
ilaying Democrats, and have fol
lowed the flag of White Suprem
acy from the darkest days of ne
gro domination, ontil victory had
perched upon our banner, and are
yet true mid loyal Democrats,
ready and willing at all times to
respond to duty's call. Now, un
der all these facts, we feel that s
great injustice hat beeu done ui
by the present Board of County
Commiasioners, whom we have
thought, until recently, to be oui
friends. Now we purpose, before
entering a discussion of thia mat
ter, to let the people of Richmond
county know the facts, aud why
we complain. Wo have a public
read from here to Rockingham
This road was suggested oa th«
route laid out by the late ll-ibt.
L. Btiele, the father of the coitus
mill industry sr->uiid Rockingham.
Thia road *u« opened and hridgei
built by tbe Steele's Mill Com
pany and put in excellent con
dition, then the read was turned
over to tha County Commissioner!
and wu made a public road. Thii
road haa since that time, beer
kept up by the operative* ol
Steele's Mill, up to Midway mill.
They paid their money to kee;
the road in Rood condition. Now
iu May, of this year, the bridgei
ware washed away, as were most
of the other bridges in the coun
ty. The County Commissioner*
hove promptly rebuilt othei
bridges, but ours wore not; and
upon these facts, wo have gotten
up s petition, signed by over IOC
of. our cititona, and presented aaid
petition to said Board. They
postponed the matter until theii
next meeting, and at the nexi
meeting it was still postponed,
they claiming that the expenss
would be too heavy upon the tax
payers of the county. Now thii
was done, notwithstanding that wc
had representatives at oach meet
ing. Messrs. W. C. Webb and A. 9.
Dockery, labored hard in our be
half, bnt without avail. Now
with these facta before us: we are
loyal oitixsns; we are true Demo
crats, not kickers or sore head*;
we work for as good a company,
as good men and as large tax
payers as there are in the county;
doctor* who come here necessarily
have to charge more mileage; oui
way to the county seat is much
farther. And, inasmuch as the
Board is olaiming economy, ye!
they have built all other bridge!
in the county, and in their re
cent action have failed to save
an item in the matter of pnhlic
printing. Now. are they sincere
in their claim of economy?
Now with all these facts before
us tbe citixens of Steele’s Milli
held a large and enthusiastic mart
ing at the Academy Ilall on Fri
day night, November 8th. W. C.
Webb was made chairman and D
F. O'Brien vsi eloctcd secretary
The situation was discussed by
many present, and ths following
committee was appointed to draft
resolutions and report at a meet
ing to he held Monday night, Nov,
11th:
W. C. W*l)b, Chm.
L. A. Hall,
H J Webb,
H. O. Mattox, l r
T. L. Biown,
8. T. Monte,
R. P. Oaddy,
D. t. O'Brien, See.,
At the meeting Monday night i
Urge crowd being present, th<
committee enhmitted the follow.
Ing mentations which were eneni
■xmsly adopted:
PREAMBLE.
Whereas, Inasmuch •• we hen
been nnjaetly treated by the Boarr
of County Commissioners in tin
matter of Road Petition, therefore
he it
Resolved 1st, That we deplore
the actiou of said Board and think
; they have failed to show their sin
cerity in the matter of economy,
inasmuch as other bridges in the
1 county have been rebuilt,
j Resolved, 2nd, That we thank
I Rev. W. C. Webb for meeting
continually with thy Board in our
behalf.
Resolved 8rd, That we thank
A. 8. Dockery for his efforts fur
our cause.
Resolved 4th, That wa endorse
the views of the Richmond Head
light in the iiane of November flth,
and in its efforts to secure a Pri
mary System.
Resolved 6th, That a copy of
our proceedings and resolutions
be sent to the Richmond Headlight
for publication,
Committee.
A WORD IN SKA SOX.
In conduetiug our part of the
controversy with the Anglo-Saxon,
we desire to say thst, what we may
say to that paper, will not be in
tended to reflect upon the stock
holders, who are men we highly
esteem, nor upon the editor, per
sonally. The controversy will be
conducted in a courteous manner,
or not at all. We shall reserve
the right to flgbt in such style as
may suit us best, as it is contrary
to the rules of millitary science to
allow the enemy to chooee the bat
tle ground, or plan of battle, but
when he etrikes, to parry hie
blow*, and lunge our spear into
hit vital parts. The Angle-Saxon
lies brought on this controversy
without provocation. The Head
light has done nothing it did not
have a right to do and it has said
nothing to which anybody has a
right to object, but as the Anglo
Saxon has assumed the position
of diotator, and general interpreter
of what ie and what is not Demo
cracy, and a defender of the ruling
element of the party,—we both
love so well, and trust we shall be
able to satisfy it, that it, is what
the people well fcnow, the repre
sentative of a very small portion
of the true Democrats of Rich
mond. In nor next issue, we will
give It a little catechism lesson
which, if it recites, will show the
people how its stands on matters
that are not satisfactory to all the
people or even a large minority.
We hope the '‘council of war” will
give the Anglo-Saxon unrestricted
liberty.
T. S. Wright Decline* to Enter
Congressional Race.
To the Editor of the Headlight,
Door Sir:
I want to thank my friends
through the oolumne of your val
uable paper, for the kind express
ion* they have made in regard to
myaelf being a candidate from
this District, for Congress. I
want to say that I am perfectly
satisfied with the honor thsy have
already bestowed on me in mak
ing me Sheriff of the good old
county of Richmond, and will
want to serve the people until
they can find a pnblio servant
that will do better than I have
dona, and am doing. To b» a
candidate for Congress, I would
have to resign several churches,
composed of as good people as
any oountry can afford, that hava
stood by me and I love to eervs
them as their pastor. While they
are financially weak, I would not
quit theta for a seat tendered me
in the U. 8. Congress, at this
time. Truly.
T. 8. Wright.
Please oomo and pay your tax,
as I need mousy to run ths ooun
ty on oaefa basis.
Sheriff.
Kftlcisnjy Is ths measure o f
power. The French burs u pm»
urb which ueys that eoou or late,
the strong need ths help of ths
weak. This is merely to say that
the strong are iu some ways weak,
and the weak are la soma ways
strong. One can help the other,
and tbs helper is always u power.
—Sunday School Timea.