Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1903-03-12
The Democratic Achievement
Philadelphia Press.

IHuNuClpulo AAOoS'
The conspicuous Democrat achievement
during the session of Congress which ends
today is the flibuster by which the party
has succeeded in obstructing the transac-
ton of business for week past. That II
has not entirely stopped all legislation to
the great harm of public interests is que
solely to the courage and skill OF the he
publican members of the House OF Repre-
sentatives. As the Democratic news
papers are defending the flibuster and
trying to create the impression that there
was no just cause for the unseating OF But
Ter the real facts of the case should be
spread before the public.
No contested case in Congress was ever
more thoroughly investigated and patient
ly heard than the one from the Twelfth,
Missouri, District. The inquiry began
early and both sides were given ample
time to present their case fully and fairly.
And when the decsion was reached 1t was
given strictly in accordance with the
weight of the testimony and with no
partisan bias. The Democrats, after dis
covering their inability to meet the over
whelming evidence presented by the Re-
publicahs, absented themselves from the
meetings of the committee, abandoned
any attempt to defend Butler and decided
to Try and cloud the questions by hllDus-
terlng against all legislation.
They abandoned all argument because
they discovered that it would be impos'
sible to controvert the overwhelming
proofs of fraud collected by the Republi
cans. Some of this evidence Is interesting
and shows that st. Louis Democrats have
nothing to learn in election trickery from
their party in any other city. In sixty
three precincts of the Twelfth District 20,
I79 names were on the polling books. A
few days after last November's election a
registered letter was sent % the address OF
each one of these alleged voters, but IL,
Cos of these letters were returned with the
Endorsement of the letter carriers and the
statement that the persons addressed
could not be found. Another proof of the
fraudulent character of many of these
names Is the fact that &c. 45 of the %, l79
could not be found In the city directory.
But the Democratic frauds did not stop
with false registration. They were follow
ed by intimidation, repeating and brutal
attacks on the Republican election judges
and clerks. The testimony in the case,
which covers 1900 closely typewriter
pages, is full of unrefuted testimony as to
gangs" rushing from poll to poll and
voting as often as the members cared to,
and of wanton outrages on Republican
election officials. 1t was impossible to
ignore this mass of uncontested evidence,
and the Republican members of the COM
mittee voted solidly to unseat the Demo-
cratic occupant and seat the Republican
claimant against whom these frauds had
been committed.
1t is indefense ofthese outrageous frauds
on the purity of the ballot box that the
Democrats tried to "hold up" Congress,
stop all public business and make the IN
terests of the whole country suffer to &C.
complish partisan end. They failed IN
this object, but they did succeed in max
ing the fact clear again that the Demo
cratic party is ready to sacrifice the good
of the country in order to defend fraud at
the ballot box whenever its own interests
demand it. This is the conspicuous
achievement of the party during the pre-
sent session of Congress.