Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1889-09-19
STEALING A STATE.
Bow the BourbSus Appropriated the Gov
erBorship OF West Virginia

Bow the BOurbsns Appropriated the Gov
ernOrship OF west Virginia
The Democratic leaders in West
Virginia have at last robbed General
Golf of the Office of Governor to which
he was elected at the last election.
There is no surprise at the result 1t
is exactly what was expected 1t was
deliberately planned by Democratic
managers The plan has simply been
carried out General Golf was elected
Governor Of West Virginia by q ma
jority of over two hundred votes The
official returns showed this to be the
fact, and it was the fact There is alb
solutely no doubt as to this 1t is not
even disputed so far as the official re-
turns are concerned. General Goff
should have been installed the first
day of last January in the Office to
which he was elected. But the Demo-
Gratis managed to secure a majority of
two or three on joint ballot in the
Legislature. 1t is said that this meager
majority was secured only by frauds
in counting and certifying the vote,
but it was sufficient to accomplish the
purpose to rob General Goff of his
election. The Legislature in West
Virginia canvasses the vote for State
officers, and a contest was worked up
against General Goff. Under pretense
of the contest he was kept out of the
Office, and the previous Democratic
Governor held over. Then the can
wasting of the vote on Gov
ernor was turned over by the Legis-
lature to a commission made up
mainly of Democratic members who
could be counted on to carry out the
conspiracy. The business Of the COM
mission was simply to discover ex-
cuses for throwing out votes cast for
General Golf. The commission has
been at work for weeks 1t has at
last got ready to report the throwing
out of sufficient votes to nullify the
res ult of the election. The robbery of
votes has been carefully apportioned
among a number OF counties, so that
as to any one county the outrage will
not seem so gross But the report is
ready, proposing a canvass which re-
verses the verdict of the people and
robs Gederal Golf of his election, and
the Democratic Legislature may be
safely counted ON to adopt that report
and give final effect to the robbery.
Well, it is a fair sample of Demo-
cratic partisan methods in the South
even in the border States-where the
Democratic party is driven to despera-
ton as it is in West Virginia In the
border States the old reactionary ele-
ment, controlling and represented by
the Democratic party, has been stead
lily losing ground for series of years.
Liberal tendencies, Northern immi-
grafton, a new industrial awakening
and development have been breaking
down the reactionary oonspiracies and
tendencies embodied in the Democratic
organization. This has been especial
ly true in West Virginia For sew
eral years the parties have been al
most evenly balanced, even counting
the frauds and the results of the ar
bitrary manipulation of the Demo
cratic party. In the late election even
those things were overcome at the
polls, and General Golf was elected
Governor by the people. while the
Legislature was only held by the Dem
ocrats by hair The result terrified
the Bourbon Democracy. 1t broke the
Solid South. 1t was certain to be the
signal of an extending split of the
Solid South along the border States.
The Democratic bosses resolved to
make desperate effort to mend the
disaster. They resolved to rob Cen
eral Golf of his election. And now
they have done it But they have not,
In a broad view, helped their case.
Rather they have hurt it They have
exposed the desperation of their situa-
ton and character. They have made
official record and confession of their
unworthiness. They have supplied
palpable proof of need Of fastening
the end which the people of West
Virginia have been steadily approach
ing. They have fastened the decisive
overthrow of the party. The people
of Wost Virginia will duly take care
of the matter now. They can be
trusted effectively to rebuke the out
rage committed on them. In short,
West Virginia will now be Republic
an State. Sioux City Qa.l Journal