Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1901-08-09
A FEW SOLITARY EXAMPLES.

on State and Northern Neck
Politics.
The Danville Register, in comment
ing upon the action of the Swan
son Democrats Of Northumberland
county in moving to make the in
structions for Montague unanimous,
has this to say:
"We are 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 Northumber-
land are, We take it, Democrats first,
partisans afterwards. Presumably
they have the same passions that
other men have. but they also appear
to have some judgment. They SEEM
ingly regard the welfare of their
party as paramount to the interests
OF any man or set of men. They
fought for principle, and when
that principle went down in defeat
they submitted with the best possi-
bic grace to the inevitable. We
CLEAN that they had no leaders with
political aspirations; in fact, no
leaders of experience at all. The
names of those mentioned in the
papers as leaders of the Swanson
forces are not familiar names i'm the
world of politics. j. L. Chambers,
who offered the Swanson resolution.
is son of the Hon. Ben. Chambers.
1t is said to have been his first ap-
pearance on the political stage. The
elder Chambers, by the way. we see
is a Montague delegate, but at the
time of the mass-meeting was sick.
DR.. Loren Cockrell and Thomas
Cockrell are sons of Lyttleton Cock
rell, well 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 organization
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 organisa-
tion, and the fact of massrmeeting
being held in the heart of Monta-
que district, while the Swanson
strength lay along the water courses
and the remote parts of the county,
appear to be the causes of the defeat
of the Swanson forces.
In view of the claim that the Mon
tague movement is of the people, by
the people, and for the people, it is
rather remarkable that where ever
mass-meeting offered the better
chance of getting Montague delegates
the Montague managers have in all
cases (where they have 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 at least endeavor to
show their sincerity by allowing the
selection of Gubernatorial delegates
by precinct primaries. But it APP
pears 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 to
the result in Northumberland county
so much so that a special repre-
sentative of Mr.. Montague made a
careful canvass and reported the
county as doubtful, unless heroic
measures were promptly taken. Then
there We're scurryings to and fro.
Runners were sent out and secret
conclayes convened at convenient
points. 1t was urged that it would
never do to allow the acknowledged
leaders to be discredited by permit
ting the sending of Swanson dele
gates to the State convention. Hon.
W. A. Jones, it is alleged, spent
considerable time in parts of Nor
thumberland stirring up the minds
of the people by way of remembrance
that he would take it as a personal
favor if they would turn out and
send . solid Montague delegation.
Then the rumor was started that
Montague was the regular Demo-
cratic candidate and Swanson was
an interloper, and it found some ad-
herents-more's the pity that such
ignorance could be found. 1t was
also stated that Mr.. w. Med. 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