Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1870-09-21
REFUSING TO BE cOMFORTED


seems to be attended with considerable
dissatisfaction on the part of many of
our Republican friends IN Rock county.
Scarcely an issue of the Janesville
Gazette has been published since the
adjournment of the conve ntion, in
which there has not appeared more or
less of fault finding at the action Of
the convention, in its failure to place
in nomination its favorite candidate,
Hon. Charles G.. Williams. Savage,
and in our judgment, unwarranted
and uncalled for attacks are likewi Sc
made upon Hon. E. w. Reyes, who is
charged with all sorts of chicanery and
treachery, giving him prominence in
the control and managem mt of the con
vention which We apprehend that gentle
man himself will not claim thar he is en-
titled to. All this has been folio wed
by the display of similar spirit in the
Rock county republican convention,
which met last week, and passed a reso-
luton denouncing Mr.. Reyes for what
it was pleased to call his "per6dy,"
and demanding that he be disposed
from his position as chairman of the
state central committee. This may be
very digni6ed and high toned action on
the part of the friends of defeated
candidate but at present We fail to see
it; nor can we concede that there is
any justice or reason in the claim Of the
Gazette that Rock county was un-
fairly dealt by. There are other count
res in this congressional district, and
other men than Mr.. Williams and his
friends, who have far greater cause for
complaint, as can be easily shown.
Eight years ago, Rock county was
honored with the nomination of its
candidate for congress, Hon. I. G..
Sloan, after protracted contest, as is
we'll known, and it is equally well under
stood that reciprocal pledges were then
made by the Rock county delegation:
to Jefferson and Columbia counties
(without whose votes Mr.. Sloan could
not be nominated), ,ohich pledges haze
nerer get to this day been redeemed
Two years later, Mr.. Sloan, in violation
of the agreement made by himself and
his friends, was again a candidate. We
all remember the vigor of the contest,
and the strife in the convention which
at one time threatened an open rupture
and break up. The Columbia county
delegation with Hon. G. w. Hazelton
at its head) were here unit for Hon.
. I. Holmes and insisted that Rock
! county should then and there redeem
its pledge,and support Mr.. Holmes, but
as already stated, Mr.. Sloan was re
nominated by means of certain manip-
ulations and fresh promises, which
Rock county politicians so we'll under
stand how to manage; yet with the
distinct understanding that at the next
convention all old scores should be bal
anced, and Rock county would present
no candidate. Now, what did Rock
county do? :
Another Congressional convention
met in 1866, and Rock county came
here again asking the nomination of
Mr.. Sloan for the third time, and the
tenacity with which his friends stood
by him is shown by the fact that up to
the l22d ballot he received 8 of the
IL votes of Rock county, but finally
dropped out on the 132d ballot with
one vote, the late Hon. B. F. Hopkins
being nominated on the 136th ballot.
1t must be borne in mind that both
times when Mr.. Sloan was nominated
he was supported by the delegates from
the Watertown district, aud that he
and his friends never failed to acknowl.
edge. and will now admit, their obliga-
tions for the aid thus rendered them,
and we're unequivocally pledged to recip-
rocate the favor whenever the opportu-
nifty was presented for doing it. Now,
let US see how well this promise was
kept.
Last springs conycntion was held at
Janesville to nominate candidate for
Circuit Judge. Jefferson county gent
to that conyention delegation Of good
and strong men, united and earnest in
their support of Hon. j. j. Enos.
Some Of its members, who were famil-
Jar with the inside history of our Con-
gressional conventions fog the past
eight years, supposed that they had
some little cia;m npon the Republican
politicians of Rock county, and that
they would fayor. MIR. Enos' nomina-
ton, not ONLY because it was one emf
nently fit to be made, but because JEFF
ferson county asked it, and Rock coun-
ty was our debtor. How futile all their
hopes and calculations for aid from that
quarter were, we need not stop to de-
tail here. 1t is enough to know that
true to the traditions of the past, Rock
county ignored all her pledges before