West Virginia Democrat. [volume] (Charles Town, W. Va.) 1885-1890, 1888-08-31

Clarksburg, Mr.. Bastable, and not
John j. Davis, should meet them.
There is vital question involved
in our State election. Those active
in party politics are split upon q
fundamental proposition. Our Fed
eral offlee-holders and the newspa-
pers which echo them have said that
caucus decree oyerrides pledge
to voters. In other words, if can
didate promises that when elected
he will not cast a particular vote; If
he is elected on the faith Of his
promise; if he is entrusted with a
place in the Legislature because, and
only because, he has made pledge as
to what he will do or IS to what he
will not do in particular matter,
yet he must break his promise,must
violate bis pledge, must betray his
trust when u caucus so DEGREES.
We cannot subscribe to this doc
trine. 1t Is an invention to cheat
the people. 1t is contrary to every
article in the Democratic creed. 1t
destroys the fundamentals OF repre-
sentative government.
This is a matter on which we
have pondered long and well. Our
mind is made up. We will not vote
for any man who condemns the
course Of the Kickers. We cannot
vote for Republican, but we can
scratch off our State ticket the name
of any candidate who says that the
Kickers did wrong.
While the last Legislature was in
session 315 of the truest Democrats
in this State, as intelligent as any
and as much respected and trusted
by neighbOrs, signed paper en-
dorsing the Kickers and approving
the stand they had taken. The
writer signed that paper, and be can
conceive of no act more despicable,
he can think of no conduct more
bastard, be can imagine no act less
worthy of a man than to now run
with tucked tail" before the sense
less clamor raised by hand full Of
pensioners upon the public treasury.
We presume others feel as we do.
Those who managed the Hunting
ton Convention have said as plain
as actions can speak,-and actions
speak louder than words,-that no
man who endorsed the Kickers will
be recognized so long as they, the
present managers, are in control of
the party. The present managers,
with an arrogance as unprecedented
and as truculent as it was audacious,
refused to give any place however
humble to any one who had publicly
declared that member of the Leg
islature should keep promise made
to voters, and these managers struck
down Johnson and Woods simply to
show their power and to exhibit
their disregard of the wishes of the
rank and Gle. r
Ii the act of these managers at
Huntington be the voice of the peo-
Pile; if the rank and file in the party
ratify what has been done, then
these who think as we do, then the
3l5 men who publicly and in the
most solemn manner endorsed the
Kickers, are oStracised we are to
have no voice in the councils of the
party and no influence in the gov
eminent under which we live!
There were 315 Democrats scat
tered over seventeen counties who
took the trouble to sign written
endorsement Of the Kickers, and we
are perfectly sure that. when he un-
derstands the matter, every Demo
erat will sign it except sneaks and
those who truekle to the money
power. Our new managers have
undertaken to ostracise all this large
element in the party; we will be
graciously permitted to vote for such
candidates as our masters select,
but none of us can have any voice or
hope for any of the hOnors or re-
wards in the gift of the party.
1t has come to us that Judge