The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-09-24
Next Sunday y
ri1nes-D lisp atch.

and It Is an easy matter for any OF Us
to answer the Kind Of stuff which the
Repubicans are giving the people. q Try e y
question can discuss which pleases the
audience more than the question OF the
negro and tho Republican threat OF re-
Eduction of Southern representation! pc
cause of negro ACKNOWLEDGMENT. Since
THE issue was raised by the iRepubllcans
when they adopted a PLATFORM a Cht-
cngo declaring for the reduction OF menu
bershlp IN Congress from Southern
States because Of the disfranchsemen OF
the negro am more than willing to
discuss 1t. There Il is no stronger ground
which the Dem ocrnts of the southwest
can assume than opposition to the plank.
and to make a straightforward defence OF
sthe action OF the Southern Constitutional
Conventions which eliminated, as FAR as As
Epos,ible E5thc ignorant negro from the
electoral . St..sa II.
The Democrats Of the Ninth District
are perfecting fine organiza ton. Z NJ us
has been one OF the very weakest points
with the Democrats, but s55 Peyton 3 7,
Clair, the district chairman, has been
over nearly the entire district the past
few weeks, prodding the county chai1inen,
and bestIrrlng precinct workers, even.
Mr.. Wysor says the district has now q
better organization than ft has had In Il
long While and tina It will be much
better in the course of a. few weeks.
Democrats who have had fears for Mr..
Wysor hardly realize the weakness Of
Colonel Slenp in the district. Many DEM
ocrats have failed. utterly,to appreciate
that Mr.. slemp Is not nearly so strong
this year as he was two years a o.,
when he defeated Judge Rhea. This fact
was brought most forcibly to my mind
to-day. III i y. !.
81 81 know many prominent hardwork-
ing Republicans, who have refused flatly
to work for Colonel Slemp this year, =
said Mr. H. NV. 5Hargreaves, of Bristol
with whom I also talked on the train.
aIIe lives at Bristol, but he Is the super
Bintendcnt Of cons truction for the virginia
Iron. Coal and Coke Company, and he
travels almost constantly In Tennessee
Kentucky and Southwest Virginia. where
Z tho furnaces of the company are located.
Mr. Stomp made a great many promises
before he was elected in 1902. and he has
kept very few of them.' continued Mr.
Hargreaves. 1T was impossible for him
to keep them, but he should not have
made them. I never realized be extent
Of the Republican opposition to him until
about a month ngo, when he came to
Bristol, and spent three or four days
trying to got UP an organization there
for work this fall. He failed almost
entirely. and happen to know that he
went away very much depressed.
MANY men who nre In the employ
OF our company and who worked for the
election OF Colonel slemp two years 90.
will do nothing for him this year, and
nearly all OF this class Will vote Tor MI,
yVysor, at least, and some Of them will
20 out and work for him. There isn't
any doubt In my mind that Wysor viii
be elected by as large majority as
slemp received over Rhea two years
ago.
Judge Rhea received 1916 votes. while
Colonel Slen,p polled 10 ,694--a majority Of
2ls. A change OF less than lea votes
would elect the Democratic candidate,
DRIFT IS TO WYsOR.
am about at the point OF believing
that the election Of Mr., Wysor is one
of tho strong probabilities There Is
bound to DO n large Increase ~ the
Democratic majorities In some Of the
Ninth District counties. have It on the
best possible authority that Giles county
Will give Wysor between 800 and 4un
majority this year-Rheas majority IN
1909 was 1853. Estimating tho Democratic
majority ut 800, and assuming that none
Of the other counties Of the district VIII
change the figures of 1909, this change
In Giles alone would elect Wysor. s
seems perfectly safe to promise that
Giles will mako the change.
Pulaski, Mr.. Wysor's county, gavd
Colonel slemp 7os votes In 1909 to Judge
Rhea's TOT. There Is not the slightest
doubt that Mr.. Wysor will carry his
county by a substantial majority. possl-
bly, by enough votes to elect nm, even
gif Giles does not increase her majority
to 300, or at all,
There is strong probability shat the
Democrats viii carry Biz Stone Gap.
Colonel slemp's home town, which went
Republican two years ago, and IT Is
likely that Scott county will gye-ra
Democratic majority this year,
The Democrats will make large gains
In razewell which gave Il Republican
majority of several hundred IN 1902
Some of the best informed Democrats
Of Wythe county insist that the county
will give Mr., Wysor majority which
would DO n gain OF 30 votes over the