Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-01-11
NO GREAT ENTHUSIASM
1hown w the Republicans Over Col.
Icctor whites Announcement o.
his Candidacy.

1hown by the Republicans 0ver Col
lector whites Announcement OF
HIS Candidacy.
Special to the Register
CHARLESTON, w. Va, January 10.
THE announcement made by Collector
A. B. White recently of his candidacy
for the Republican nomination for Gov
ernor did not meet with that widespread
enthusiasm and joy in the ranks of the
party that Mr.. White and his friends so
fondly anticipated. Whites announce
ment was received with Misses and
groans, so to speak, and the leaders OF
the opposition began to look about for
a candidate. Congressman Romeo H.
Freef had gone about through the
State announcing to friends and ac-
quaintances everywhere that he would
be candidate no matter who else
might be, and that he would stay in the
race till the end. But Freer had not
made this announcement in published
letter over his own signature as White
had done. The opposition was restless.
Was 1t possible that Freer was going
to show the white feather? If he was,
mis- friends and supporters wanted to
know it. Judge Freer must announce
himself one way or the other. He must
define his position. His friends in
various parts of the State had gone to
work for him in good faith and had
spent considerable time and money in
working up boom for him. Ii he
should withdraw after all this work
had been done for him he must forfeit
their friendship and confidence. They
would never again trust him.
Then if Freer could not be candi-
date for the gubernatorial nomination
against A. B. White, the opposition to
the ring would bring out another can
didate. The ring candidate must be
beaten. 1t was with a feeling some
thing like this that number of lead
ing Republicans here joined in letter
to Freer last Saturday asking him to
declare himself one way or the other.
A letter containing Freer's reply is ex-
pected this week. If Freer should with
draw then the opposition will put an
other man forward.
In the meantime Freer is kept in
hot water. A Republican official just
returned from Washington says the
Congressman is being flooded with let
tiers from his Constituent" in the
Fourth district urging him to become
a candidate for reelection to Congress.
The similarity of these letters indi-
Gates that they are all inspired by the
same man and written for the sole pur-
pose of inducing Freer to withdraw
from the gubernatorial race. They are
all typewriter, about the same length,
on the same kind of paper, and all bear
about the same burden, viz: the great
distress of the Congressmans friends
at the thought of his not being can
didate for reelection to Congress.
The great desire of the machine is
to secure the nomination of White by
reclamation. They are afraid that a
contest before and in the convention
between the machine influence on one
side and the Republican masses on
the other would endanger the success
of the Republican ticket, and might
even result in the loss to them of the
Legislature when it is so important to
re-elect Mr. Elkins to the United States
Senate Mr.. Elkins says, and his
friends say for him, that he is not in
terfering and will not interfere in the
contest for the nomination for Cover
nor. This is the year when he could
least afford it, since he has such a big
job on his hands in securing his own
election. But Mr.. Elkins is having
some difficulty in convincing the Re-
publican masses of his neutrality in
the gubernatorial contest. While he
iterates and reiterates his neutrality,
the fact that every federal office
holder in West Virginia who has Sc
cured his position through the influ-
ence, directly or indirectly, of Mr.. Ell
kins, is working for Mr.. White, is
regarded as proof positive that Elkins
is behind Whites candidacy. The
masses are so firm in this belief, not
withstanding Mr. Elkins' assertions to
the contrary, that he is said to be con-
templating the necessity of calling off
his federal appointees. This would,
The debility of David Duggins has