Middletown transcript., 1895-05-11

declaration that man can destroy the
reputation of a life time in an hour.
Many man of good name has rea-
lized that one false step in weak
moment has cost him more than all
the combined mistakes of years. In
our opinion William T. Watson took
such step last Thursday to the graft
fication and delight of the ofice-seek-
ing and rooster element of his party,
and to the disappointment and morti-
fication of the men and women of the
State who are Democrats from princi-
pie. To one of the latter class, who,
it is said, went to him and protested
against his action, Mr.. Watson ac-
knowledged it to be against his better
judgment, but said that this one single
b onorable voice of all the men of his
party who surrounded him, was the
only protest raised-that all the other
members of his party were urging him
to assume the position, which to us,
appears to be the triple role of Sena-
Tor, Governor, and Dictator.
The step taken by Mr.. Watson was
to enter the Senate Chamber as a
State Senator after he has taken the
oath as Governor, to assume the
double office of Governor and Senator,
without a precedent in the history of
the State, to preside as Speaker Of that
body, to enter the joint session as
presiding officer and to cast his vote as
a Senator of that body after an under
standing and presumably a deal had
been made with four renegade Republi-
cans aided and abetted by Addicks to
defeat the election of a United States
Senator. Mr.. Watson did this notwith-
standing the delicacy of his promotion
as Governor of this State and in the
face Of the trust and confidence reposed
in him by all the people Of the State.
He holds the Governorship by the
theft Of Kent county last November,
and as he had nothing to do with that
steal, Republicans have not desired to
hold him personally responsible for it,,
but since he has joined hands with the
men who accomplished that disrepta-
BILE and indefensible job he has made
their acts his own, and henceforth he
must be known as one of "de gang"
What is his reward? 1t must be a
troubled conscience, unless he has con-
cluded to stif1e that unnecessary part of
politicians life, and the assurance
of no less able a lawyer than Hon.
George V. Massey that Mr.. Watson is
not State Senator, that he had no
legal right to preside OF cast vote in
the Joint session, that of the twenty
nine legal votes of the General Assem-
bly,, Col. Henry A. du Pont received
fifteen, and he is the junior senator
elect to-day for this State.
Mr.. Watson has the approval of the
rings and roosters in his party, and on
Thursday the editor of EUery Evening
congratulated Secretary of State
Whiteman on "the back bone of the Ad-
ministration" the promise Of atwo-
column endorsement, ,and turnedaround
to "let me congratulate you, Bob
old boy /; put it there'', and those two
worthless clasped hands, Rooster Han
by and Rooster Handy. What sight
to the people of Delaware to witness
such scene upon the floor of the
House of Representatives during the
balloting for the election of United
States Senator, to see those worthy
roosters figuratively to fall upon each
others necks and to rejoice. 1t was a
suitable union. Let them eat, drink
and be merry together for they nave
the fatted calf (Addicks), but great
must be the regret of the rank and file
of the Democracy that these two
worthless are upon the same low plain
and elbow to elbow, and near them,
stands the accidental" Governor. Let
the curtain be drawn"