The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1901-12-05
THURSDAY... DECEMBER >, 1901
Weather forecast for FTed-
erickSburg ana Vicinity;
Clear and colder Thu S6dy.
TOM MARTIN At 1T AGAIN.

We are so accustomed 10 hearing
charges against Senator Tom Martin al
SHINING against all the rules of the pOlltl
cal decalogue that We were not surprised
20 read the charge that he controls the
Special committee of the State Democratic
Executive Committee. having in charge
the preparation Of a State primary law
for the party. and that he viii defeat the
primary. We should, in fact. have been
greatly surprised il. by any sort oi Jekyl
Hyding. he had teen enabled 10 escape
the commission of this crime. and We are
ready to accept his guilt OF this, or on
anv other political crime, even though
we suspect that the fellow who started
the report lust assumed II was so. aud
stated il in order 20 get ahead OF the
man who later would stumble on II and
find il a fact. IL was 10 be- a TACT later.
and why not announce 10 and get IL out
OF the way So rs TO turn MS iulhd 10
other things looming in the distant poit
zeal horizon? We are ready 10 dispute
with the philosophers the statement tnst
a fact out of place is a lie. Ii might be Il
lie in theology. though we have seen evi-
dences of increduhty even in those quar-
tiers. but in politics it Is the foundation
stone on which 20 build those wonderful!
character.shadows that follow men in
political liz. from which they cannot
escape this side of the grave. the penalty
they pay for being c0lsficuous.-Staun-
ton Daily News
This little piece of iacetiou~neN~. or
sarcasm. or whatever it may be-
STYLED, Is too good to keep. Tue
esteemed News has no love for Tom
Martin. but its editor Is too sensible
and fair a man to believe more than
small portion OF all the sins which
are laid Mt our Junior Senator door.
The Democrats are equal 10 the Amer
lean navy for fighting. They fight
an enemy like the old scratch when
underneath. but when victory is won
they begin scrapping among them
selves. 1t is very much like "a court
dav fight: when one fellow gets on
TOD his friends Immediately begin to
pull him of. and before they know
what they are doing two friends are
AT it tooth and tOe-nail. Theenemy,
in the meantime. has recovered sui
ficiently 20 get away, or TO pitch in
and give his now winded opponent
the worst of it, When there was
breath in the body OF one William
Malone the Democratic partym this
State did not want for other cam
paign cry. Their stumpers beat the
air and lambasted (the name) VIII
liam. or Billy" Malone all over the
rostrum. They accused him OF every
thing under the sun but any honest
purpose. word or act. When be
departed this life sighs were deep and
long because there was nO more whet-
stone for their knives or target Tor
their tomahawks. \ state OF pacit-
cation could not last long, however,
andlike Kilkenny eats the party was
soon at it among themselves. The
outs" took theposition oimoralists,
as "outs" generally do when they
want to get their desires; like when-
The devil was sick, the devil a saint
would be;
The devil got we'll the devil a saint
was he
And ever since Billy - demise
these purists have been firing their
pop-guns at the men who have
saved" the party in the past and
who were once extolled as high as
heaven by these same preachers for
doing it.