This was a less than fortuitous development for Duke’s Southern Power Company.
Clark was preeminent among North Carolina’s reformist politicians. Moreover,
Clark and Duke had been involved in numerous personal and political conflicts
over the last two decades. It was Clark who attempted to prevent Trinity
College (later Duke University) from becoming increasingly entangled with financial
contributions from the Duke family in the 1890s. In addition, Clark was a frequent
and vocal critic of plutocracy and trusts. As such, Duke’s American Tobacco
Company was a regular target of Clark’s criticism. Clark took great pride in his
reputation as a “tribune of the people” and relished any and all attacks made upon
him by corporate interests as confirmation of that title.