The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1901-07-18
A FEW SOLITARY
EXAMPLES.
"The Tattler" Comes Out
From His Retreat
AND DIscoURsEs ON STATE POLITICS
Communicatcd)


The Danville Register in commenting
upon the action Of the Swanson Demo
Gratis Of Northumberland county in moy-
ing to make the instructions for Monta-
que unanimous has this To say:
I'VE arr glad to chronicle this solitary
example during the present campaign OF
how Democrats should act and regret
that no other such instance Of harmony
and good will between the factions has
come To our knowledge
The Swanson men Of Northumberland
arr. we take il, Democrats first, partisans
afterwards. Presumably they have the
samc passions that other men have hut
they also appear to have some Judgment.
They seemingly regard the welfare OF
their party as paramount To the interests
of any man or set of men. They fought
for a principle. and when that principle
went down in defeat they submitted with
the best possible grace to the inevitable.
We CLEAN that they had no lenders with
political aspirations in fact. no leaders oi
experience at ALL The names OF those
mentioned in the papers ~ leaders oi the
swanson forces are not familiar names
in the world of politics. j. +. .Chambers,
who offered the Swanson resolution. n
son of the Hon Ben Chambers. II is said
10 have been his first appearance on the
pnlitical stage. The elder Chambers. by
the way. we see is a Montague delegate.
hut at the time Of the mass-meeting was
sick. Dr. Loren Cockrell and Thomas
Cockrell are sons of lyttleton COckrell,
we'll known throughout the Northern
Neck. All of the expert politicians and
all of the LAWYERS seemed To have been on
the Montague side. Neither does there
appear To have been any sort Of organi-
zntion among the Swanson men. They
seem to have been acting independently,
and gathered with the expectation that
some leader would be found To take
charge This lack of organization ana
the fact Of mass-meeting being held IN
the heart Of a Montague district, while
the swanson strength lay along the
water courses and the remote parts OF
the county appear to be the causes oi
the defeat of the Swanson forces.
I'm view of the claim that the Montague
movement is of the people. by the people,
and for the people, it II rather remark
able that wherever a mass-meeting Of
fpred the better chance OF getting Monta-
que delegates the Montague managers
have in all cases (where they had power)
chosen them in such manner and only
favored precinct meetings when they
could not get ALL 1t would seem that
the apostles of Senatorial primaries
would mt least endeavOr to show their
sincerity by allowing the selection OF
Gubernatorial delegates by precinct prl-
maries. But it appears that the medicine
is for the other fellow. These apostles OF
altruistic politics are like those doctors
who prescribe for Others. but rarely take
their own medicine
There was great uneasiness as tn the
result in Northumberland county-so
much 10 that n special representative OF
Mr.. Montague made n careful canvass
and reporfed the county as doubtful, I'M
less heroic measures were promptly taken.
Then there were scurryings to and fro.
Runners were sent out and secret con
claves convened at convenient points. II
was urged that it would never do to
allow the acknowledged leaders to he
discredited by permitting the sending OF
Swanson delegates to the state conven-
ton. Hon. W. A. Jones, it is alleged,
spent considerable time in parts OF Nor
thnmberland stirringup the minds OF the
people by way of remembrance that he
would take it az n personal favor If they
would turn out and send solid MOnta-
que delegation. Then the rumor was
started that Montague was the regular
Democratic candidate and Swanson was
an ninterloper, and it found some adherents
-more's the pity that such ignorance
could be found. 1t was also stated that
Mr.. W. McD. Lee, of Lancaster was trying
TO run the county in order to secure favors
should Swanson come out on top, and
more of the same sort of political rot
This was playing it low down on Lee
especially so when he had not been in the
county for more than six months. When
in spite of all this, the defeated Swanson
men moved to make the instructions foI
Montague unanimous, 1t showed a com
mendable spirit of harmony.
The action of Lancaster county affords
a solitary example in the First District
but whether her political isolation and
it's causes are commendable or not may
depend upon the point of view from
which It is considered. That Lancaster
should be out of political sympathy will
the other counties may seem surprising
TO some who look no deeper than thu
surface. but it is all the result OF ill-con
sidered intermeddling. When Mcdonald
Lee was first chosen chairman OF th'
Democratic committee of thatcounty th'
elections usually went Republican, bu
under his management there was
change, and it soon became reliably Dem
ocratic. This is conceded by the antago
nistic faction. There is in all sections
certain element addicted to the habit o
Il ..,ho hanponad 4,