The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1905-08-07
A. |. HEFFNER
Makes It Plain That He Is a eoff Man
and Wants to See the Distin-
suished Jurist In the Uni
ted States Senate.
Falrmont, WI. va, s, 5. l9Ol

Dear Sirs:-I just returned from a
trip through Illinois and find an arti.
Gle copied from the State Journal in
your valuable paper under date of
August list, 1905, and your comment
on the advisability and possibility of
Judge N. Golf entering the race for
U. s. Senator.
We are surprised at the State Jour
nails u~tterances. Can that paper
the time when Judge Goff ever
asked the people of the State for an
Office? We are not so old yet but we
a point out a great many times
that the General was picked upon
when the State was hopelessly Demo.
cratic to lead a forlorn hope. Did he
lay down? No, he buckled on his ar.
NOR and carried the banner of Repub.
licanism into every school house and
on to every hilltop in the State and at
last placed the State in the Repubil.
Tan column of States. Let's go back
about 45 years and see where we
found young Goff about 1861. Did we
find him in Missouri, with a question
as to where he was, whether with
the North OIL South, as there is with
some peoples army record? No, there
was no question about his loyalty to
his country. He entered the service
about 1861 as a mere boy. and ! think
was first in the Third Infantry, after.
wards made major of the Fourth Cav.
airy. Was captured January, 1864,
near Petersburg, W. Va, and held as a
hostage for Major Armsey, a rebel
spy. Upon conviction of Major Arm
sey. he was to have been shot. The
South, in order to save Armsey, no..
titled President Lincoln that in case
you hang Armsey off comes
COTS head" Young Con, hearing of
the fate that awaited him, like the
great and brave man he is, replied:
"1f Armsey is a spy, and deserves
hanging, hang him, and | will take my
chances"
We are surprised at a paper like
the State Journal to write an article
like that. We know that West Vir.
ginia has lots of big men, but none so
competent to be a U. S. Senator as
Judge Goff. We think him big enough
for President, and l would like to
have the picture Of a Republican who
could n support Goff for anything
unless 1t be some small Senator who
has to hire some II to do his CORE
spending to newspapers or is in some
deal with the man that was in Mis-
souri, In '61, when Goff was fighting
for his country. Golf would not lay
down even for his own father IL he
thought he was in the wrong.
want to refer to one other little
matter of history. not generally
known to the public, to show you
where Judge Golf stands with the
wage earners. If you remember when
the Baltimore and Ohio R. r. went
into the hands of a receiver,
there was a strong pressure brought
to bear on the Judge to reduce the
wages of the engineers. conductors,
fremen and brakemen.I What was
the result? A committee of railroad
men waited upon the Judge, two of
whom I can name-Geo. A. Deck, of
Grafton, and C. N. Martin, of the
Fairmont yard-to ascertain what &C.
ton the judge would take, and his re.
ply to the committee was, "if there Is
any reduction in wages we will com.
mence at the top first and get the big
fellows" What was the result? He
put the B. and o. r. R. among the,
foremost roads in the country and did
not harm a railroad boy. and do you
think there is a railroad man in the
State that could not support Golf?
One of the great troubles with the
State now is that the fellows filling
the offices are moi big enough for
them, and l want to see the next U.
S. Senator from West Virginia big and
brave enough to say I am for the 9th.
er fellow, and not to try to shift the
responsibility on the Junior Senator,
because he has about six years yet to
serve. The Lord hates a coward, you
know.
We will not agree with our friend
]. b. Fox as to n term being long
enough, but when a man has been
tried two terms and found wanting,
he should be Immediately r~elegated
to the rear, and we think the time
now ripe to lay the senior Senator on
the shelf. I hope the Republicans of
the great State Of West Virginia will
get onto themselves, as when the
Maine was blown up you could hear
the shouts go up. Remember the