The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1896-09-14
KNOCK.ABOuT NOTES.

. .
Kannwhn, Faycttc, Raleigh. Monroe.
Grecnbrler, POcAhohtns and Randolph
countles-on the railroad and mostly
or tho. misunderstanding, numbering.
8took.rnlSing and general farming. and
the Incidental business that goes along
with II all. several hundred miles by
rail- and nbout one hundred and sixty
miles OF driving over good roads and
bad: catching freight trains, moving
late at night and early In the morning
to keep appointments to tuik to the
people on tho questions OF the day;
speaking IN the valley anl on the
mountain top. day and night: this Is an
epitomo OF two weeks tour Just COM
pleteu through u most Interesting pnrt
or West virginia. | had for travelling
companion 9, =. DOrr, Republican
nominee for Congress In the Third dis
trlct. We found It imprucllcablc 10
keep the appointment for Grecnbunk.
Pocahontns county, which had been
included In the Itinerary without duo
regard TO other appointments. Green
bank meant round trip OF fifty miles
out OF the way, where miles are not
made ut the rate OF sixty to the hour.
Last Friday we made the nineteen
miles from Mlngo TO pckcns IN seven
hours. A well posted farmer told M
that II we tried TO, make It quicker the
probability WIS that we would not
make Il at al. With the exception OF
Grecnbank, we were able to keep every
appointment, and only twice were we
late. In each OF these cases the people
waited patiently and good.naturcdiy
and gave us Il cordial reception when
We arrived. te
Before going further wish to take
by the hand ngait--evcn at this long
ranGe-everybody I'VE met, and to say
once more that back the West Vir-
ginia heart against the world. Wheth-
er we were In Republican strohgholds
or where Republican speakers are not
no thick ~ blackberrleS In harvest
there was the same polite, kindly West
virginia greeting, Democratic hands,
rs well as Republican hands were
ready with the warm West Virginia
"howdy." Nowhere was the greeting
more cordial than where the old Con-
tederates and their sons were thlckpst.
One feature OF the cordial reception
that touched me was the cordial hand
shake OF old friends OF the Intelligent
Ger. II Is n great and good thing 10
find warm hearts and good friends ev-
erywhere. isn't It? The mOuntaineers
OF West Virginia are good enough for
me.
The attendance at the meetings was
surprising. | have never seen so great
desire to be Informed. Men must be
deeply Interested TO ride twenty-five
miles over mountain roads to a night
meeting and then start home after the
meeting. In one or two places some
young fellows who CAME shouting for
Bryan had Il In their heads to make
trouble, but the atmosphere OF the
meetings was hostile to that sort OF
performance, and things went as
smoothly as though It had been Il
church service. After one meeting In
n Democratic stronghold, Democrat
introduced himself and said TO me that
II the young fellows had not Quleted
down they would have been taken care
Of by strong Democratic hands. The
interest was intense, beyond anything
In my experience. The responses were
Just as satisfactory.
Democrats OF the Bryan persuasion
told me OF many Republicans who are
going 10 vote with them. but did not
come up with those Republicans. Where
the names were given | sought the
men, and In every such case found the
men standing up straight and strong
for Mckinley and sound money. In the
seven counties in which We, did mis-
sionary labor l am satisfied that the
Bryan men Will lose much more than
the Republicans will: In other words,
that there viii be Il considerable Re-
publican gain. | met sound money
Democrats who will vote for Palmer,
and others who will vote for McKin-
ley because they know that to be the
way to make their votes count.
Tho general assault on the national
government and the attempt to array
the people on class lines. are influence
ing some Democrats even more than
the. money question has stirred them.
A solk old Democratic farmer told me
that. although he had never voted any
thing but Democratic tlcket.he would
not vote for anybody who would stand
on the Chicago ticket. He had carried
gun In the Confederate army from
the beginning of the war TO the close.
The Republican caIse Will make sub
stantIal gains all through the interior
OF the state.
\ Democrat said TO me: MY SYM
pathies are against the Republican
party. bu, noticed that its speakers
are dealing with facts. while all the
Bryan takers have heard devote
themselves to trying TO stir up preJu-
dice" 1t occurred TO me that this
brother was seeing tho light and was
not very likely to give the Bryan ticket
any comfort. This nuggets one of the
distinguishing features OF this cam
pa!Sn. The people do not go to meet
InGs to be trlncd with They want SOL
Id food and do not take kindly TO any
thing else Ifsa speaker does not get
down to business. quickly and give
them what they want they are very
likely 10 ask him for 1t. There are. of
course, interruptions for the mere sake
OF breaking the thread of the discourse,
but there are others that come from
the hunger for Information. The speak
er who knows what he Is talking about
does not object to Interruptions.
At WinnIfrele. in Kanawha county,
typical West Virginia mining ham
let, ESQ persons assembled In the beau
tiful little opera house built by the
company for the pleasure Of its en-
pIoyes and their families. So large
turnout to n day meeting was surpris-