The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1896-07-09

saw fit to criticize was simply scheme
to virtually take the nomination foi
representative out of the hands of the
convention by pledging the Repuoii
can electors of this precinct in advance
of the primaries to support for delegates
gentlemen favorable to Mr.. Blair, a.
then use this "solid delegation" to trace
with in the convention III such a man
ner as to insure his nomination Win
out permitting a fair test OF strength
between him and his competitor, {
they had themselves agreed there
sh nc be. If this j. the sort of polit'c'
that Republicans of this county want Il
lndorse they can do it when the con
vpntion assemblies In any event we
wish them to IN Ter. tan0 that this pap
j. rot published i'm the inter- 81 OF any
| t l. c0terie of politicians i'll this pre-
cinct, or any other, and that whatever
action the convention may take in the
matter of nomination we shall do our Ut
most to secure the election OF the ell
tire ticket.
1t is not very many weeks since MI.
Gould was quite favorable 10 the can
didacy of Mr. Thacher for the legisla-
ture, and he even suggested it himself
i'm a conversation in his office with the
publishers of this paper. But it APP
pears that a change has come over the
spirit of his dream since then, owing
to some disagreement of Il personal ma
ture, with which we have no concern,
and he has so far forgotten or ignored
the obligations of neutrality imposed
upon him by his official position as
chairman of the central committee as
to write letters to other members of the
committee soliciting their support for
Mr.. Blair.
We pass over the nOnsensical stuff
about "gratutous insults" "vlllain-
Gus methods" etc. which he says
we apparently endorse" and come to
his plaintive wall about being treated
better by THE ISLANDER "while it was
run by Populist editor" than he has
been ''since it became a Republican
organ" That makes us smile anG
leads us to imagine that we see the
glinmer of a ray of hope that Mr..
Gould may ultimately appear in a hap
e No ~
away back in the recesses of his intel
lect, quite distinct from the chamber
devoted to calculations of interest and
discount, there is a vein of humor
which only needs careful working to
develop into a mine Of funny things
of the Bill Nye sort. 1t hardly seems
possible that he is really signing serl-
ously for Populst paper, for they are
not generally partial to bankers, but if
he is he might buy THE ISLANDER and
make personal organ out of it, hiring
a Pop editor for figure head and turn
ing the crank himself. He could have
more fun though, at much less expense,
and perhaps WELD just as much in
fiuence with an ordinary hand organ
and a monkey.
The charge that he has been "singled
out for abuse" by this paper is so puer-
lie as to hardly merit notice. Copies
of every issue under its present man
agement are on file in our office and
we challenge him to find in any one
of them a single line or word that the
most sensitive and discriminating
critic could regard as "abuse." On the
contrary he knows that he has been
repeatedly referred to in as courteous a
manner as any reasonable man could
ask. We have sought no quarrel with
him and desire none, but when he sees
fit to make a virulent attack upon us
simply because in the discharge of our
duty as we understand it we have run
counter to his views and wishes, he
leaves US no honorable alternative but
to subject him to the censure expressed
and implied in this reply to his I'M
warranted reflections. We appreciate
his many good qualities as a friend and
neighbor-his enterprise and public
spirit, his party zeal and capacity for
business management. We would
much rather aid him than oppose him
in every fair and honest way but we
give no man aid in any cause at the
price of our own independence and
self respect.