Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1901-01-30
TcoMNUNIcATEDl

II
psulous of Mr. A. Moore, Jr., 10 tore
stall aud commit tue people 10 me
csudIdscy tos delegate ~ the constI-
tuuoual convention 10y n kind OF
half secret petition, may entirely
mIscarry, AMI that some other man
more suited To nil the place may De
chosen for it. l have talked 10 u
great many men who slgued tbs PEE
tItlon. Several told nie that they
thoughtlessly sigued the paper Ms
they often dad petitions anu regret
ted afterwards they dId not give ths
matter more consideration; others
said they were Influenced ~ slgu by
the men who carried the paper
around, not dreaming there could Oe
anything wrong or risky IN At. One
said be generally signed all the peu-
tlons that come 10 hIm If it was forty
n day. Another said he did 1t to
cheap Goals OF tire on the head of his
enimles." l heard of Que man who
signed it to bring Mr.. Moore out rs
n candidate III order that he might
have the pleasure of voung against
him. Nearly everyone that | spoke
to said they did not think that their
signing the paper committed them to
Mir. Moore as they did not even
know his position on the important
questions involved In the conveu-
ton. Only one man that | met was
willing to follow Mr.. Moore bhndly.
1t is true that large number of
those / approached on the subject
were men whose names was sur
prised 10 find on the petition. One
of the signers of 1t began big game
of bluff rs soon as / asked him
aboutIt He said Warren county
was solid for Moore aud this county
would 60 two thirds for him ami
that it was useless TO try to stop 1t
| told him that | did not believe one
word of IL and that | knew this
county would not even come any
where near giving him majority
and that | was sorry to see such a
case of political jobbery going on.
Since then l received u letter from
q prominent man in Warren county,
who told NE that Mr Moore's
friends would come up there aud
try to make it appear that Clarke
county was solid tor Moore, then come
here aud try TO make US believe that
Warren was solid tor him, trick
worthy OF Old political heads, but
one that teel sure that the people
Of Warren aud Clarke Will not per
unit 10 stand. Que Or two men who
refused ~ sigu the paper told me
that they were Requested 10y the men
who carried the petition around not
to say anything about II If they
could not sIgn IL. y KIND or speak
easy peuLIUu-sO muCn 50 that u
large ulaJOrity Or the people around
here uIu not even KNOW anything
about It until Lucy saw 10 in the
county paper. Mould II not have
Oeeu more cOmmeuua0Ie on tue part
VI MIR. Moore Oyer-ZeaIUuS friends
10 nave cOme out taIrIy and squarely,
aud given sumo VI his
views Oh tue prominent questions In
vOlyed and sOme gVDd reasons II they
n=d any, why Lncy thought Mr..
Moore VI ali others Was tue proper
nau Tor the place aud not take adVAu-
tage or the people oy trying
10 commit them III advance: Iue
people nave u right 10 KNOW soue-
LnIng Ut the views Of the Candidates
that are seeking their suffrage tor
sucn al important position anu they
ought 10 demand It, aud are not
bound IN the least by JnOugniessly
signing u petition To bring u man
out Tor sucn d place when mat man
has not Committed himself 10 Auy
definite policy. 1t takes two 10 make
bargain. Ia my mind there are
many reasons why MIR. A. Moore, Jr
should not be elected TO such an
Important place at present.
LIST. understand he voted
agaiust(!) a constitutional convention
AMI II Is very Inconsistent III hun or
his friends 10 expect the people to
vote for mAn to make proper
changes In anything that he voted to
let stand as IL is.
2nd. he has been approached sew
eral times to find his views OH the
leading questions aud SO far as | am
told he has failed to express
himself definitely on any of them,
and what little be did express | am
Informed by one who signed his petit
ton was very unsatisfactory.
3rd. lie is lawyer aud think
the people ough: to demand layman
to fill the place, not that / am wag-
ing a light against the legal profess
sion as u class. | rather like them.
Among them | count some of my
best friends and some of the noblesI
meu 1t is my privilege TO know, but
in this particular instance think q
layman best for the place as the enor
nous expenses of our State Govern
ment-as large as the States of North
Carolina, South Carolina and Geor.