Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-12-10

Intelligencer of December 9Th, pur-
porting to have been copied from the
Argus and to have been written
over your personal signature.
The statements contained In that
, article are so at variance with the facts
/ in the case that / am loath to believe
| that the chairman of the Democratic
| Committee of Preston county ever
wrote it.
But assuming that acting in your Of
| fetal capacity as chairman you did see
fit to write the article as alleged, |
should like to call your attention to a
few of the inaccuracies it contains,
viz:
After few preliminary remarks you
are quoted as saying: 1T has been
| heralded broadcast that gross frauds
were committed in this county by the
Republicans, when there was no evil
dence whatever for the assertion. You
will recall to mind a conversation l
| had with you on my first visit to King
wood in the latter part of October, in
! which you expressed great fear lest the
Republicans should avail themselves
of the advantage that their possession
| of the machinery of election and a
large corruption fund gave them to
swell their majority.
AMONGST OTHER CAUSES
for the fear you thus expressed, you
stated that they, the Republicans, had
succeeded in getting an old man APP
pointed Democratic judge at one of the
precincts who could hardly read and
write. AS an offset to that l suggested
that you see to it that the Democratic
clerk and challenger at that precinct
be chosen from men above the average
in point of education and general in
telligence. Your reply was: Tell
McGraw l will take this matter up at
once" l so reported on my return to
Grafton.
Again you are quoted as saying: III
there had been any frauds we would
have known it as soon as the Register
or any of it's correspondents, and would
nave been the first to call attention to
il and demand and have an investiga-
ton"
But a little farther on in your article
you are quoted as saying:
"a NUMBER OF IRREGULARITIES
and some illegal voting was reported
to us and promptly exposed in this
paper, and the attention of the public
|. and the canvassing board called to II.
However, we do not believe that there
was any more of this kind of work done
than in other counties of the State
controlled entirely by one party
Now, which of these two statements
is the public to accept as being cor
rect? In the one you deny absolutely
the existence of any fraud; and in the
other you not only admit its existence
but the magnitude of it is only to be
gagged by the extent to which the
dominant party has control of the ma
chinery election. 1t is to be regretted
that you did not sec fit to state moro
explicitly te just what extent cohtrol
of the machinery of election IN west
Virginia assisted in the perpetuation OF
fraud. 1t would have been of value to
both of the great parties in the cleo
tions of the future, to say nothing OF
the Prohibitionist. Again you are
quoted as saying:
1--WE made a careful poll of the vote
in this county two months before the
election. and our estimate then was
/ 900 majority for Dayton, and we SO
informed our committee and reported
it to Mr.. McGraw and the Congress
sional Committee. Now we submit IN
all honesty and fairness that we either
know what we were talking about or
else we were good at guessing, one or
the other since Dayton's majority was
1905"
AS an answer to the above, l beg to
call to your remembrance copversa>
ton that took place between us at the
time of my first visit to kingwood IN
October. In that conversation l
brought to your attention some figures
furnished from
A REPUBLICAN SOURCE
that put the Republican disaffectlon at
800 in the county, making change OF
600 as based on the vote OF 1896, when
would have made Mr.. Dayton's MAJOR
ity in the county 1000. l stated to you
that nv informant had said to me that
| if | succeeded in getting out the full
Democratic vote, Mr.. Dayton could not,
to save his life, with the conditions
then existing in the county, carry 1t
bv more than 1900. | then and there
asked you the point blank question:
rs that information to be relied on?'
Your reply was: ut is, but to be safely
within limits, tell Mr.. McGraw TO put it
at 1900" At this point | called your
a++aptiop tn on estimate furnished me