Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1897-06-10

employed toshow that his charges were not
true by using the individual political record
of the editor of the REPUBLICAN. What
has our record or even that of the News
man (which latter is OF doubtful character)
to do with the question at issue?
1t is true that the editor of the REPUB-
L1cAY in the last fifteen years has voted
for several Democratic candidates, and
even worked for their election, being I'M
PEELED to do so by hostility to Malone and
Mahoneism. Under similar circumstances
he would do the same thing again. The
News man, however, has failed to learn
our record as an editor. For ten or more
years we edited the PATRIOT ERALD, at
Marion, which Was intensely Republican.
So we are no aeophyte in Republican jour-
nalism.
The News, as a further defense Of lis
course charges the REPUBLICAN with hay
ing slandered the Democrats of the State in
discussing the constitutional convention
question. This shows to what desperate
straits the News man is driven. For there
is not one particle of truth in the charge
made against the REPUBLICAN. In dis
cussing the constitutional convention
question we never intimated that 1t was
being supported by the Democratic party
in Virginia, because we knew that the most
influential Democratic papers in the State
and the most of the thinking men of the
party were opposed to convention. The
advocates of convention we always refer
red to as men who called themselves Dem
ocrats. We knew that vast number of
the members Of the Democratic party were
opposed to a convention because of the
announced purpose Of its advocate to re-
strict suffrage by imposing an educational
and property qualification. Democratic
papers said harsher things about the
political tricksters than we did. We knew
the people of Virginia we're opposed to
such an undemocratic scheme; and the
result>at the late election proves that the
measure was supported only by tricksters,
bitter partisans and few shallow thinkers
like the News man. The News in the very
issue in which it charges us with slandering
the Democratic party has the brazen i'm
pudence to suggest, under the head Of
''The Constitution Amendments" an
amendment providing for an educational
qualification for voting. Those who read
our articles about the constitutional con-
vention can say whether we have slandered
such Democracy as the News represents.
The Democrats of Tazewell are to be
pitied for having defender like the News,
who in trying to fasten what it terms sin
on the Republicans, says, "neither did we
assert that the democrats were free from
sin. We deprecate the unlawful Use of
money in the elections in our own as well
as otte r political parties. But it has so
happenedin Tazewell, that the Republicans
have had more of it than the Democrats
or knew better how to use it." There is
an old saving that "it is filthy bird which
befouls its own nest" This the News
man has succeeded in doing, by admitting
that the degree of its party in SHINING has
been measured by it's financial ability to do
So Ought We to congratulate the Demo
Gratis of Tazewell upon having an editor
who is SO much better ~ than
his own party? So far as We are concerned
we do not know of the unlawful use of
money by either party, and when, referring
to the editor of the REPUBLICAN, the News
says;"Two years and better ago, our
statement that the Republicans used
money in the Ninth District and Tazewell
County to help things along, would have
been cheered by him with mighty voice"
it utters an untruth, by whomsoever con-
ceived or suggested.
We have already devoted too much
space to the utter lnces of the News, but
feel that we ought to say something about
its figures on the colored vote. In one
article it places the negro vote in the en-
tire county at ,09S, and in the other one,
in which it assails us, it asserts with all
positiveness that there are about LOO
colored votes in this and the Clear Fork
districts. This shows how reckless and
haphazard the News is in its statements.
From the best information we can gather
there were not over 500 colored votes
pplled in this and Clear Fork districts
last year. We have only been able to as
certain the negro vote cast at three precincts
in these two districts, land from them make
an approximate calculation of the entire
colored vote in the two districts. While