The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1900-10-04
How is Thisp

The Register yesterday morning
printed special dispatch from Wash
!ington purporting to give the gist of an
interview with Hon. Romeo H. Freer.
which appeared in the Star OF that city.
The headlines over the article state that
Mr.. Freer Claims West Virginia by H.
0Oo." and that he admits recent i'm
,portations ofvoters. The text on which
this was built is as follows. '.
Judge Romeo II. Freer has a two-coumn
Interview with himself In the Star to-
night. giving the most glowing account
OF Republican prospects In West Virginia.
He INDUCES in the usual prosperity urgd-
ment, among Other things saying that
there will be 1900 more voters In the
state than In 1898. threc-fourths Of whom.
he thinks. Will vote for Mckinley. These
votes, Sof course, Include recent importa-
lions, = -4ll.f25-l
In the first place Mr.. Freer said moth
ing OF the kind. And, secondly, Mr.
Freer made exactly the opposite con-
tentlon. that recruits for the Republic
can party have mainly been evolved
from the native population, and "ARE
NOT IMPORTED" to quote from the
language Of the printed interview be.
fore us. To correct the misapprehen-
sion conveyed by the Register, the In
telllgencer gives In full what Mr.. Freer
did say In this connection and his
statement cannot be disputed:
Now let me give you an illustration OF
the way things are going in West Vir-
sinla, which Is official. authentic and con-
vinclng. In Preston county In n new vot-
Ing precinct established this year the poll
showed 16S Republicans to Democrats.
In four precincts In Grant county the poll
stood III to ., lbs to 2. III to 4. and 10l to ,,
Republicans and Democrats respectively.
The county Is Republican now by 1000
majority. whereas twelve years ago 1t had
n large Democratic majority.
Another Important point. In some Of
the counties where there are no mines
or Industrial enterprises and into which
no outside population mas flowed. and
where twelve years ago. three fourths OF
the voters were Democrats. the scnti-
ment has .veered around to the Republic
cans. proving that these Republican votes
hnve been evolved from the native nopc-
lation and are not imported. The drift
among the young men In these counties
Is toward the Republican party
Now for the other end. or the 'oil
vote" three-fourths OF the operators and
iitDOTcES COine from western PennSylVa-
mia. and are solldly Republican. cstl-
mate this vote at from 5000 to 5000. There
are 1900 more voters In the state than
In 1898. according to the report OF the labor
commissioner. and of these three-fourths
are for the Republican ticket. The COL
ored vote, too, Is with us this year, and
II Is n very important factor.
As for the Democrats locally, they are
all split up In Il bitter fight over the legis-
laiive ticket. the warning factions being
led by Ex-Governor MacCorklc and John
T. McGraw. respectively Each man
wants to be senator In the event OF the
legislature being Democratic. and 1t Is n
fight TO the death, with the knife going
In to the limit ut every. jab. In the Re-
publican camp all Is harmony and con-
certed action.
II the Register means by Imported
voters" the people who have come into
this state since 1896. or any subsequent
period. and now have legal residence
and are qualified voters. well and good
But II 1t seeks TO impress upon its read
ers n story that the Republican party
Is importing men into this sta'te-white
or black--for the purpose Of having
them cast an Illegal vote In November,
1t is guilty of 4 deliberate falsehood. 1t
is simply repeating one Of Miller and
McGraw's flreside ghost stories to
alarm the credulous. The "gobllns will
ketch them. II they don't watch out"