The islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1891-1899, 1896-07-02


local politics" in speaking of judy
Hackers and Mr.. Blair's candidac
for representative, you say "that it is t
be regretted that the friends of MI
Blair uterfered in such a thorough,
friendly and honorable contest, witt
the apparent purpose of prejudicing tin
interests of Judge Thacker in his owl
precinct by securing signatures to a pc
tltion in support of his competitor. 1
doesn't matter with whom the petitio,
originated. 1t was ilnpolitic, unwise
and unfair" AS you were aware thai
the writer was one of MIR. Blairs
friends who originated this petition, il
would have been more honorable AND
less cOwardly TO have mentioned my
lame as one who was doing something
"impolitic, unwise and unfair" as every
| Republican in this precinct and almost
every one in the county knows that ]
helped to circulate this petition. Now
What is this petition which is so sim.
polite, unwise and unfair" Common
decency and fairness and the Ameri-
cams love of fair play would seem to
the writer that the petition itself is the
best evidence and that you should have
printed it and stated facts and left it to
your readers to judge as to its nature
without cOndemning a man before Civ
ing him a hearing. So that your read
ers may know what a bold, bad mar,
the writer is, according to your esti-
mate, L will give you n copy of the Pc
| tition and some facts. The petition
reads as follows:
Friday Harbor, Wash, June, 1885,
To John l.. Blair.-We the undersign-
ed Republicans of Friday Harl,Or pre-
cinct, San Juan County, hereby ask
and request you 10 be candidate for
representative before the County Re
publican Convention, and if you will
consent to be a candidate we hereby
pledge you our support at the primary
and if nominated agree to both vote
and work for your election in Novem-
ber."
This petition was circulated first
some three weeks ago and only after
Judge Thacker had stated i'm our club
meeting June 1st that the Republican
party had hOnOred him, and he had no
claim to be put on the ticket and would
not ask and neither expected to be Oh
the ticket, and Judge TllacISer had also
told several that he would not be cam
didate for the position, and he had pre-
viously solicited Mr.. Blair to run. In
view of these facts Mr.. Blair consented
to run, if his own precinct would en-
dOrse him by giving him a unanimous
delegation, and the writer and several
others circulated this petition, that you
i'm your wisdom term as "impolitic, uiI-
wise and unfair" to see if the Republic
cans of this precinct wished to support
Mr.. Blair. After some eight or ten had
signed it Judge Thacker called on Mr..
Blair to see if he knew the petition was
out, stating that he was going to be a
candidate himself and suggesting that
Mr.. Blair run for treasurer, and when
Mr.. Blair refused to run for. treasurer,
he suggested that they both announce
themselves through your valuable col
umns which Mr. Blair consented to do.
That same day he came again to
Mr.. Blair and told him that he under
stood that we were going to both pub
lish the petition and the names of the
signers, and objected to us printing it
claiming that if we did so that it would
hurt his cause in other precincts, and
at his earnest solicitation and also at
Mr.. Blair's request we refrained from
publishing either the petition or list of
names. The petition now contains a
large majority of the names of the Re-
publicans of this precinct, several Of
whom have signed it since you issued
your edict that we are ''impolitic, un-
wise and unfair" Ever since we con-
sented not to publish the petition or
list of names, the writer with some
others have been called all kinds of
names, some to vile to be printed, by
Judge Thacker's friends, in fact during
the heated campaign of two years ago
III which the writer took an active part
as chairman of the Republican Central
Committee, the POpulists and Demo-
Gratis did not use me as discourteously
and as vile as some of the Republicans
have the past four weeks, and Repub-
licans too that expect to be on the tick
ct this fall. You no doubt have observed
that there has been formed Nc
Graw club in King county with cast
iron pledge to support McGraw for US.
Senator and 900 Republicans signed it.
You no doubt have also seen published
i'm the P.-I. petition to R. B. Albert
sOn signed by some Of the leading men
in Seattle asking him to run for Su-
perior Judge. Both Of these were done,
however, before they knew that your
valuable paper had decided that such
a course "was impolitic unwise and
unfair" Of course you are also aware
that before this petition was started
and since, that letters had been sent
cOnfidentially and otherwise asking
support for Judge Thacker which in
your wisdom you no doubt would pro-
Claim elninently wise and fair, while
our open petition is "unfair" etc. AS
the writer has seen some very honor
able men brought out for office in Seat
tie and other places by petition he
never knew before that it was "iInpO-
| little, unwise and unfair" In fact / am
confident that the Republicans at the
primary i'm this precinct will give a
sufficient answer to the gratuitous un-
called for insult that you have given
them in your editorial and will speak
| with no uncertain sound and there
will be no straddle on the representa-
tive question. When was it a part OF
the Republican creed that editors
should be given entire control of the
actions of the members Of the party,
and when did it become a part of the
Republican creed that an open, manly
course to aid candidate should be
stigmatized by vile names, when was
this Kuklux method Incorporated Into
our party? Mr.. Blair's friends have
pursued an open, fair method in hi.
candidacy, and have kept all other
questions out, have not tried to either
bring out candidates for other offices
and have treated candidates for all
offices in fair and upright manner
A d what hav, we got for it? Why, we
have been villified, abused and called
names that even your paper would moi