The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1904-03-13
BLACKBURN DID
BEAT A RETREAT
From His Castle in
Greensboro He Sian
ders Republicans.
LINNEY WON DISTRICT
Blackburn Was Afraid to Meet kIuttz.
"A Rooster That Will Not Fight
on His Own Dung-hi|l Should
be Made into

To the Editor:-I desire to say a few
words through your paper, concerning the
fight now on in the Eighth Congressional
district. The other Republicans have
been using your columns to some extent
to assail the friends of Mr.. Linney, or 1
would not ask space in your paper.
Mr.. Blackburn and few of his bench
men are trying to make the impression
that all of Mr.. Linney's followers in
Wilkes county are Democrats, or at least
have Democratic inclinations about them,
and that his supporters at some time
have helped the Democrats defeat some
Republican nominee. Mr.. Blackburn has
even gone so far as to charge Nh. Linney
with disloyalty to the party, especially
as to Mr.. Blackburn's candidacy.
want to ask question in a general
way: Who is it that is always finding
fault with others? Is it not he that is full
OF faults HIMSELF" OF all the charges ever
made against Mr.. Linney, Mr.. Blackburn
is the first to charge him with disloyalty
to the Republican party. If Mr.. Black
burn will look back over his own past
record, both private and public. l think
he would have enough to do explaining
his own record, without finding fault with
that grand old giant, Hon. R. T. Linney.
For number OF years the Republicans
never knew what victory was in the
Eighth Congressional district, and up to
1894. they were as a beardless boy before
the giant seasoned warriors of Democracy
--kneelipg, bleeding, defeated In 1894,
defeat and dispair were written on every
Republican face. Democratic victory
naA rfofr pItf ut limo uyp
were told that mighty warrior had ten
dered his services. All eyes were anx-
iously turned toward him, and when the
convention met at Wilkesboro, Little Alec
presented the warrior and then it was
Hon. r. z. Linney, ''thc Bull of the
Brushes" received his first Congressional
nomination. You know the result. He
boldly went into the field and contended
with the most gigantic warrior the Demo
Gratis could name Hon. W. H. Bower, and
SO successfully met and yanquished him
on the stump that the Republicans were
victorious and Mr.. Bower has not since
then received single nomination. Later
on Mr.. Llnney vanquished Lieutenant
Governor Doughton, and later Captain
Lovill, of Watauga, and yet E. Spencer
Blackburn says he is disloyal to the Re-
publican party. My! my. when will
wonders cease?
There it was that Blackburn received
his first nomination. and of course was
elected, as Mr.. Lnney had put the dis
trict in good Republican shape. But in
two short years Mr.. Blackburn had let
SO many Democratic weeds grow up he
became SO tangled in his second
race that he was ingloriously defeated.
From some unknown reason Mr.. Black
burn would not meet his opponent, Mr..
Kluttz, not even on his own native heath,
the county of Ashe, where Mr.. Kuttz
stood up and asked where is Mr. Black
burn, the Republican standard bearer?"
declaring that "a rooster that won't fight
On his own dung hill should be made into
gravy" Mr.. Blackburn was then per-
forming behind some mountain pass and
telling the people how he had sent them
some bean seed which, to his surprise,
had turned out to be tough, many of
them. which was very fine argument for
an old man to hear who had bad teeth.
Later on he became very handsome and
large, and even threatened to have some
of the high officials of the United States
impeached because they did not exactly
agree with him in everything. And final
ly getting too large for the Eighth Dis
trlct that gave him birth. he ensconced
himself in Greensboro. N. c., and from