Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1900-08-02
EMERY AND SIBLEY.

publican leaders at Washington, a
small majority. but Venango county
gave Sibley 5000 majority and that
elected him.
Sibley went to. Washington and short
ly after appeared at Harrisburg, where
he was accused Of trying to induce
Democratic members of the Legislature
to vote for NJ. S. Quay for Q. S. Sena-
tor, and after that on the floor OF the
| House at Washington he stripped him
self of Democratic garments and an
nounced complete change of heart
but he did not resign his office, as he
was in honor bound to do, and now by
the grace of Quay and the Standard Oil
Co. he is the regular Republican noml-
nee of that district for Congress.
The Independent Republicans OF the
district have nominated Lewis Emery,
Jr. of Bradford, the Democrats Will
| make no regular nomination, and bat
| tie royal will follow between Sibley and
Emery; both of whom are millionaires,
| popular in their home counties and
shrewd politicians.
Mr.. Bion H Butler, the versatile cor
| respondent of the Pittsburg Times gives
some idea of the situation there, as fol-
| lows
The Twenty Congressional
district has entered upon one OF the
| most interesting campaigns that will be
made anywhere in the United States
| this year. and one Of the most unique
| that has ever been known any place.
| The district is peculiar in its construction
which gives it prominence, IN that
respect, because, except for the small
| county of Cameron, it is composed or
| counties on the oil belt. That makes
| the local wants of the district peculiar
| to it alone, no other Congressional dis
| trict in the United States finding, in the
production of petroleum, such a single
and predominating industry. Then
| arrayed against each other two we'll
known oil men, Lewis Emery, Jr.,
| formerly State senator from this DIS
| trict, and Joseph c. Sibley, at present
| the representative of the Congressional
| district The parallel between the
| careers of the two candidates is surprls-
| ing. Sibley was boy in New YORK
| village not far from the oil country
| frontier Emery comes from country
| village not far from Sibleys home, ana
| likewise in New York State. Each came
| into the oil district in Venango county,
Emery along Oil creek, Sibley to
| Franklin, few miles below. Each has
risen to prominence as producer ana
manufacturer Of oil, and as n citizen,
politician and business man.
Both have gained great wealth. Each
is representative man in his community
Each is identified with the many things
that go to advance the prospects OF his
community Both enjoy the regulations
of being public spirited. Both have
thrived from their own efforts Each
man has been pioneer along certain
lines of the oil trade But the parallel
does not end there. Mr.. Sibley is a man
of peculiar political experiences. he las
stood for various doctrines, and while he
is running as a Republican now, he is
serving a term for which he was elected
as Democrat Mr.. Emery has been a
Republican in the past, but he, to has
some new affiliations, and he is now the
candidate of the Democrats. The
Republicans are now shouting for Sibley,
| the late Democrat, and the Democrats
are Offering their praises on behalf OF
Emery. the Republican. Sibleys varie-
gated career includes being elected to
Congress at on time, in district not his
own. While he lived in Franklin he
was sent to Congress from Crawford
county He was chosen as compound
of Prohibitionist, Greenbacker, Popullst
and all the other factors that make up
kicker While in Congress he was
referred to by G. W. Stone the repre-
senting the Twenty seventh district, as
my constituent, which he was, for he
lived in Stones district. 1t is com
plicated tangle. If Sibley is elected this
Fall he will succeed as Republican by
defeating Republican who runs as
Democrat In the same district he ran
as Democrat and defeated Republl-
can, after serving in the house from
another district, elected as fusion1st.
The 'mix-up" is interesting, but 1t is
only the beginning of the complications
that arise, and which would be a comedy,
were it not that the element of war
which it foreshadowed, has nothing
about it so humorous as it is serous.
Emery is politician who has had exper-
ience of the most exciting kind, for in
his whole career as member of the
Legislature and the State Senate, his
campaigns have been made on far
more intense basis than mere political
division Of opinion. Whatever the
Standard Oil company may appear to
the rest of the world, in the oil region
it is the octopus that the political orator
of one kind loves to talk about. From
the New York state line to the extreme
southern end of Venango county, the
Standard has been. held up as the heredi-
tary foe of the children in the oil country
nurseries, and they are bred to spit out
the taste of the word every time they.
utter it. This field was the home OF the
Independent producer, and the indepen
dent producer breathes hatred of the
Standard everytime he initiates his lungs
While demonstrations have not been
emphatic in recent years, the ancient
inhabitants of Bradford tell weird tales
of the days when the ghosts us to walk
the streets threatening the pipe line
offices, the oil tanks and the Era"
| printing Office, which paper was reputed
to be the organ of the oil company.
The ghosts were men clad in long
white disguises, and would suggest to
the spectator the Kuklus of reconstruc-
tion days, except that being in more
ullSlItucu b6CtlOu VI bhC SOuhulJ '0iO
! ghosts contented themselves with ap-
pearing at night, making threatening
bluffs, recommending the use Of forty
quarts" meaning 40 quarts of nitro
glycerin to demolish the Objectionable
| institution. Those days are past, but
| the feeling towards the Standard in the
oil country is revived, if it ever slept, by
/ the announcement Of Emerys candid
acy In all OF his other campaigns Mr..
| Emery stood for the Independent, as
opposed to the Standard, which was
| accused of taking a hand in politics.
| The fights between Emery and hrs
! opponents were very bitter, and
| as Emery is an excellent fight
| involved the community politically
| socially, in business way, and in all
conceivable manners This promises to
be revived in the Sibley-Emery cam
| paign Already Mr.. Emery is hailed
| throughout the district as the bearer of
the banner of independence, and his fling
at trusts, in his speech of acceptance, is
taken by the people of the district to
mean war upon the Standard, and his
| friends are enthused accordingly.
Beyond that Emery is, by the logic of
events. accepted by the anti-Quay ele-
ment as rallying force for the Republi-
cans who refuse to be Unidentified with
what they term Quay effort, and to
add to the tangles of the situation that
will come up.
1t il plain that there are plenty of
causes for general declaration of war
| in the district and for fha rallvinor of