State

February 16, THE STATE Роде Twenty-ore Republicans of Courage 11 required real lo be я >iuccrc iH*iie\cr in and superior of Re¬ publican doctrine* in Xorth Carolina immediately after Reconstruction day*. There пах «о m nob c rooked nos under carpetbag rule that men of tlie О. О. P. failli were looked upon with sus¬ picion, and there ик a dis- I -i.il inn to bulldoae then. Hut, thin.' were some outstanding men who had the pluck to stand up and lie counted under the disagreeable condition*. Here and there nbout the state, picture *quo Republican» «ore seen and heard. One of the moM interesting eharacton of those fussy year* wa» an old line parti***, called the Iron Duke. Hi* name «a* Mott — Dr. J. J. Mott, of Iredell County, «ho had the roped of loader» of all parties. lie wa* tall, косо -eyed, and refined looking; «ore a flowing board, good clothe», and rn»le noil-bred hor«C‘. In hi* declining dav- he continued to *it a hor»o like a *ol- dicr. Dr. Mott owned a largo farm just out of Statesville, but had other hu-i- iie**. Но на» interested in the develop¬ ment of hydro -electric power. For many years he TO a dominating fig¬ ure in Republican conventions and «a* feared by all «ho knew him. While in no way a bully, he wa* al«av* ready to meet an opponent in debate or at the point of a pistol. In action ho «a* bold, daring and spunky. Ordinarily he wa* mild-mannered, <iuiet, affable, and entertaining nithout t*ing garru lou*. Scon in a crowd he «a* the type who would cause a student of human nature to stop and give him mow than the once-ovcr. He would not have been out of place, from outward appear¬ ance*, taking up a collection in a «ell- regulated church. He looked more like a Presbyterian elder than a Republi¬ can politician. Rut, according to one of the early storiei 1 heard about him, he knocked a fellow party man from a second story porch in Raleigh in a Republican squabble. Some Other Leading Republicans In the nineties of the last century Xorth Carolina developed some da*b- ing young Republican*, among them Thomas .Settle, of Greensboro and Asheville, and Kdmoinl S|ieucer lllaek- burn, of Boone. Mr. Settle served two SI C'll он! ч| ;intliii“ c-liarju’lcrs ;is Th«* Iron Hukr. Thomns Sclllc uiul IaI- moinl Klackburn wore of a pictur¬ esque and striking nature. They Itad In liuvc plenty of enurajit1 — or else* fade into tlie politieal back¬ ground of their day and time. tty II. E. C. HR YAM term* in the Hollo- of Representative* of Congress, and Mr. Blackburn, fol- lowed several year* later, al«o with two term*. Mr. Settle wa* a «on of Judge Set¬ tle of the famous Va nee- Settle cam¬ paign that Xorth Carolinian* still re¬ fer lo a* the most interesting the state ever had. He was young, hand*»mc and an attractive, forceful speaker. Blackburn was not a* polish») a* Mr. Settle but he wa* striking looking, and a most successful handshaker and hack-slnppcr. These younger Repub¬ licans let successes at the polls spoil them for hard, consistent work, ami, while they made dashes for fame, thev could not meet the endurance test. Mr. Blackburn riled many of the old time Republican*, including the Iron Duke. A Strenuous Campaign Mr. Bla«'kburn had an iinfortuiiatr way of arousing animosities. In one of hi* bnrd-fought battle* for a nomi¬ nation, the Iron Duke was picked to thwart him and hi* гоЬич cohort*. In the congressional district convention at Wilkesboro, that year, Republican dis¬ cord ran high. The Watauga leader had l«-cn ri«ling down old fellow* with whip and spur; the Motts and their like were trampled under foot. Prior to the district meeting then- had lo-n stormy county conventions. The Surry pow-wow uas about as hot as they came. Bad feeling resulted in fist fights, and hitter denunciations. It was reported all over the district that Blackburn and his lieutenants w-cie go¬ ing lo stampede the Wilkcsboro con¬ vention. an«l take the nomination re¬ gardless of the number of delegate* on hi* side. Contest* were numerous, and <4*ntrover»ies over delegate* were at white heat. The first Мгх show-down at Wilkcsboro came over a credentials committee. Anti -Black burn men demanded the ap|>oint- ment of the Iron Duke; they were afraid to trust *ome of their lenders, be¬ lieving they might run in a pinch. Dr. Mote was named, and bo ami the other members of that important commit¬ tee went into secret «colon early one afternoon, ami began a quar¬ rel that lasted all night, and the bet¬ ter part of the following day. Dele¬ gate* and onlookers mi lbs! around the court house, talking, arguing ami re- solving. Some wanted to raid the com¬ mittee, and demand speedy action. Other* opposed that. It was reported that the Iron Duke wa* preventing n vote on a report. The Blaokburuit.-s asserted that he was bullying their men. The atmosphere at that convention was threatening. Cautious men wore afraid to talk lest they stir up strife. The late A. II. Price, of Salisbury, a young and promising Republican law¬ yer, who was very timid, ventured out of hi* hotel for a brief walk. Some friend engage! him in conversation. Soon other friemb. and later, persons not of his particular circle, came up. An argument started. A wild looking youngster from a Wilke* County cove suggested that a hard “nigger head” rock would be tho рго|н-г medicine for that city fellow. Mr. Price heard it. and retired to hi* room, *aying he would not commit himself on any sub¬ ject until lie got out of that town. That was just an indication of the feeling. A Stubborn Committee Finally, unable to stand the delay any longer, a party of Blackburn sup¬ porter* appointed n committee lo call on the committee on credentials. Л large, husky, rosy-fneed mountain poli¬ tician wa. picked to head it, and to to** the Iron Duke out of the window if he fdt so disposed. Forcing their way through the barred door, tlve members of the in¬ vestigating group confronted the Iron Duke and his associates. They came out in le** time than it took lo g«4 in, and the door closed behind them. Soon it was noised about that the Iron Duke had drawn a long, dangerous weapon (Continued on page tu enlg fovr)