Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1880-08-11
THE GREENvILLE SIDE SHOW.
THE DECEPTION DIssECTED.

Were it not that the proceedings OF
the meeting at Greenville last week, Of
Messrs. Dick and Miller with their
Congressional Conferees, has an impor-
tant bearing upon Republican success in
this Congressional district, they might
Justly be treated with the ridicule they
deserve. While it was well known
those two candidates did all they could
at the Mercer Conference to prevent
an organization of the same unless Mr.
Dick obtained an unfair advantage
over his contestant, Mr. Roberts, and
while it was known they refused to
participate in or be bound by the NOM
ination of Mr.. McJunkin then effected,
and after the same was made had
agreed with themselves to have
meeting of themselves at Greenville
on August 5, still it was not supposed
they would take the responsibility of
placing in the field another Republican
candidate for Congress in this district,
And. while at the Mercer Conference,
July 9th, it might be granted, for the
sake of argument, that they represented
as matters then stood, the half of the
district, one whole county, Mercer,
and half of another, Crawford, con-
tested by Messrs. Dick and Roberts,
vet matters stood very differently by
the time the Greenville meeting had
arrived, August 5th, inasmuch as the
Republicans of Crawford county had
in their meeting, August End, through
their County Committee, met and dis
posed of the contest between Dick and
Roberts, just as the Republicans of
Butler county had on the previous
Saturday, July 81, met and put to
rest all cavil and question as to who
was tho rightful candidate of this
county. Let it be noted that this set
tlement of the Crawford county con-
test was brought about, purposely so no
doubt by the Republicans of that
county, before the time for the Green
vile meeting had arrived. and the
Roberts party having prevailed, and
he Roberts declared and ratified as the
only true and regular nominee OF that
county, Mr. Dicks claim was ended
and his right to have conferees any
where consequently was ended. Yet
we find Mr.. Dick at Greenville with
conferees. But we do not find MIR.
Roberts there, nor was he and his
conferees invited, expected or Wanted
there. Mr.. McJunkin, claiming to al
ready be the regular candidate of the
district for Congress, by the Mercer
conference, of course could not 60 there
or do anything to impair or put in
question the validity of his nomina-
tion without first consulting all par
ties interested and assisting to make
it. And this the more especially since
the recent action of the county COM
mitties of the two counties of Craw-
ford and Butler had ratified and
affirmed his nomination, and thus
cured any defect that was alleged to
exist in the same by reason of it be-
ing at first made by Butler and only
the half, the Roberts side, of Craw-
ford county.
Under the above statement of facts,
as they took place and existed before
and up to the date of the Greenville
meeting, we will now proceed to show
the want of sincerity in the telegram
sent by Mr.. Miller. to Mr.. McJunkin
from Greenville on the evening OF
Aug. 5, inst, by which it will be seen
it was nothing more that another trick
and plan to entrap Mr.. McJunkin.
After saying in his telegram that he
and his conferees were at Greenville
"for the purpose of organizing Con-
gressional Conference for the 26th dis
trict," thing he well knew had been
done at Mercer last July, he proceeds
to say as follows:
"They are desirous of meeting the
conferees of your selection who will
represent the party in Butler county,
and with them alone organize con-
ference, hear and decide the contest IN
Crawford county, and then proceed to
the further business of the conference" !"
Now laying aside, for the present,
the fact that the hearing and deciding
of the Crawford contest was the iden-
tical thing he stubbornly refused to
do at Mercer, on July 6, thus break
ing his agreement with Butler county,
and thus making all this trouble, and
in charity giving him the benefit of re-
pentance, and of an acknowledgment
of his then error and wrong doing, still
therear one or two questions that it will
be hard for Mr.. Miller to answer. And,
first, it was we'll known that neither
DR.. Roberts or his conferees were at
Greenville last week, nor had been in
vited to be present there. How then,
we would like to know, could the Mer-
Ger and Butler conferees, even if there
proceed to "hear and decide the con-
test in Crawford county,? How could
they "hear and decide" with one of the
parties not present there What sense
or propriety was there in getting up
the sham of a telegram to Mr.. McJun-