The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-07-18
Willard LEADS.
|NfR0CkBR|D|:||G:G
The Temperance Sentiment Has
Been Little Worked
Upon.
MARTIN EAvORITE FOR SENATE
Accurate Forecasts for the Up
per Jan1esNRivcr and the
Southwest.

Especial From staff Corrcspondcnt.) 81
p NATURAL BRIDGE, ROckBR1DG11
COUNTY. VA, : july 17-rho favorlte
gubernutorial candidate in Rockbridgc is
Captain Willard He has a strong hold
Upon the people, Of the county lie was
educated at tho Virginia Military 1nsti-
tutc, and became acquainted with influ-
entail county families during his school
days. Interest in his alma mater. as
we'll MS the cxlgcnclea Of business and
politics, has kept him in more or less
close touch with the county. HOW'LL win
handily in Rockbrldgc, as tho sporting
writer's say when tho bay mare Or the
brown geldlng takes tho bluo. on u mar
gin SO broad the owner Of tho disap-
pointed horse lis ashamed to talk Of a
protest. SSt
Colonel Bob Catlett's home Is here.
and the fact that lie is managing Mr.
Wizards campaign, greatly strengthens
the Fairfax candidate in Roclbridge
Mr.. Swanson and Judge Mann should
each have q good following in the coun-
ty, but. 1t does not appear there has been
much attempt at organization on the part
Of either. The temperance sentiment In
the county has always been very strong,
and is said to be stronger now than ever.
Whiskey has not been sold In the county
for years. The liquor dealers Of Lynch
burg and stnunton have dropped many
thousands of dollars of Rockbrldge money
into their ftills since the last saloon In
the county was closed some years ago.
The Mann law has not operated horc TO-
close a saloon, but 1t has been ob!<!rved
that In counties where the prohih,tion
sentiment was strongest, Mann was the
favorlte, for thA guebrnatoral fnomina-,
ton. Apparently sllttle effective effort has
been made to rally this sentiment behind
Judge Mann in. Rockbridge. z
81 A fSolid Vote.
!. The politicians say, Mr.. Ellyson will
receive about tho solid vote of the county.
Hc is known to every Democrat of promi..
nence in the. county. Mr.. Cabcll Is not
generally known IN Rockbridgc.
Mr.. Anderson who is the best known,
citizen of the county, will receive prac-l
tically the whole5'of the vote OF Rock
bridge for the attorney genernlship. He
is rather more popular than Is usually the
ca so even with favorlte sons.
The people who keep their fingers on
the, political pulse up here say Senator
Martin willaatarry the county. Some of
the moreInrdent of'yhis friends sayahs
majority wills bd large Tho more ciirefhl,
IL mot more ssl1rewd.s content themselves
with saying the county will be carried by
Senator Martin. Some of them believe the
majority will be 81 small one f
81 The Governor has spoken In the county
"a number ofItmes in the; past few years,
and has deufriendsg always. Senator,
Martin, though a V. NJ. I. man. had not
visited Rockbrldge during his term in the
Senate until a few weeks ago; when he
spoke at Lexington. He made a good
impression, but prior to his speech on
the 18TH Of Junc.' he had many OF the
most influential men of the county behind
him. This county was the home Of
General FitzhuglisI,ee while he was try
Ing to build a city at Glasgow, and when
Senator Martin was first elected to the
Senate In 1898 the sentiment or, Rock
bridge was almost unanimous against
him. The change has not been Violent but
1t has been steady, and his friends appear
to be justified In claiming that the county
will vote TO keep him in tho Senate.
Botetourt Divided.
Senator Martin1is strong in Botctourt,
y
bridge as one Journeys toward
tho southwest. But the Montague
sentiment Is quite s.cong in por-
lions OF that county,. Several Bote-
tollrt men with whom ! have talked IN
the past week seemed much at sea as to
the outcome OF tho senatorial contest In
tho county. Two Montague men thought.
the county would be very close and
would not hazard q prediction as to the
result. Two Martin mon thought with
their Montague brethren that the result
in the county would be quito close. One
of them would not venture to predict.
The other thought Senator Martin
would carry Botetourt. His wish may
have beEotten the prediction.
Senator Martin will carry Roanoke
county. This Is conceded. But the
county is, n small 5ono. The great plum
Is Roanoke city. The fight for the city
has been waxing warmer for months.
The temperature Is so high now thnt
business men arc constrained to stay
on the street corners to discuss the out
look, Both the Governor and the Sena-
tor have spoken there. Governor Montn-
que received welcome which greatly
checred his supporters. Senator Martin
was not so enthusiastically received, and
the crowd which heard him was not
large one. The Senator's friends clar,
that this was dueyto the fact tina his
meeting was not we'll advertised. and the
bulk of the voters did not know he was
TO be In the city .a
spent two days In Roanoke last week
while the farmers convention was In
session there. Even tho farmers were
about as much Inclinedato talk politics
ny they were to discuss agricultural
topics, while farming matters, ms may
he readily imagined, received scant at,
at the hands NJ the Roanoke politicians.
The impression made upon my mind, af-
tor hearing many Montague and Martin
men talk, was that the result IN Roanoke
CITY would be close. with the.chances,
as tho situation now Is, that Governor
Montague will receive a g, majority or
the votes cast All OF the Montague men
claim the city while some of the Mar
tin men practically ooncede It,.
Humor Of the Campaign.
St. II was ono Of tho humorous things
of this campaign to hear each side claim
that th" employees at the Roanoke Ma
chine Works "wcre almost solid" for
their champion, One soon learns to
swallow such claims with liberol