Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1880-07-24
A Letter from Charleston n.

Friend Zittle-The gentlemen who have
been managing our elections met WIN
very sad and sorrowful defeat on last Sat
urday. Three of our village politicians
formed plan 10 force on us as delegates
list of ten names. These gentlemen were
holding secret caucuses for week aud
finally agreed OH the ten men, to cast our
vote at the Democratic State Convention.
They arranged 10 concentrate on their
caucus ticket sufficient votes 10 be plu-
rality Of the meeting. Every delegate
was expected to rally three Of his friends,
so that the ticket Of ten would have
combined support Of at least thirty votes.
This was a deep laid scheme aud the effect
would have been, that thirty combined
votes would govern our five hundred aud
fifty democrats. You see the consequence
ut q glance, three men control the pri-
mary and the primary controls the entire
democracy Of the district. Or what Is the
same thing, three men In secret caucus,
govern 800.
This plan would have been successful.
for this reason, every man In the meeting
would vote for ten delegates at random.
aud no two men would vote for the same
set of delegates. But the caucus clique
working In secret would have had 80 or 10
votes concentrated OH their printed let.
So Ii Is plain, 30 votes IL concentrated will
be 4 plurality over 80 votes II divided
among 20 different men. i should hero
remark that our meeting was about lOOor
$50, and that Il was small as the farmers
being engaged were not In town. ! should
also state, that they kept their list con-
cealed and no one knew who were on IL,
except the clique, until the meeting had
assembled, when for the first time, the
runners OF the clique began to hand out
tickets.
When the meeting was called to order,
j. NJ. Mason, Esq, exposed the whole
scheme and denounced the clique n Sc
cret star chamber tribunal Of sef-coDsti-
tutcd managers. lie said the meeting bad
sufficient wisdom to select it. own set 81
delegates and that nobody had asked these
machine politicians TO fix upa list. He
declared he was sick OF these three or four
tricksters neither Of whom were remark
able for either their brains, or education,
or respectability or money. This sent-
ment was heartily applauded.
Mr.. Bushrod Washington moved thar
we elect 20 delegates instead Of 10. VII len
was done and the plans Of the clique be-
ing completely broken down; the Hon.
Mr.. Trayers was unanimously added,
making Il. As n fnalteT Ot tOUTre th'
railroad interest joined the clique to pre-
vent Mr.. Mason from being a delegate, for
IL Is plain TO every one they are very muci,
afraid Of him and so long as he IL kept ous
Of the convention and such places he can
not do them much harm.
The next move on the carpet Is for the
clique to engineer the nomination for the
House Of Delegates two gentlemen who
will vote for Mr.. Camden, the Parkers-
burg millionaire, whose pensioners arc
even now laying the ropes to secure his
election to the Senate ftbe United staies.
As Mr.. Mason was the cause Of bis defeat
in 1875, the first effort will be 10 destroy
bis influence In this county. We there
fore predict that the CharlestowD papers
will refuse to publish any more OF Nj.
Ms articles and that he will be the fafge'
of mahy sly insinuations tending 10 OF
minish his hold on the public ear. Ihs
place Is the hot bed OF the clique, but a.
things now stand vast majority are os-
tsrmined to vote for the best men regsro-
less Of the caucus aud 30 colicd part Gus
fnrnz