West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1905-05-25
THE RAMBLER
And The Governor Not at All Pleased
With Work Of Keyser Convention
IGNORING OF ADMINISTRATION
AND NEW TAX LAWS THE CAUSE
Assessor Wolfe confscated Ground
Hog Johnny uphold's Ground
Hog for the capitation Tax.

Ii pains me TO have to write back
TO Preston that after the Governor
and myself thoroughly digested the
keyser convention that we are not
at all pleased with its work. The
nomination of our countyman, Hon.
Jas. s. Lakin, is highly satisfactory
to us, bat the report of the Com.
mittee on Resolutions CHATS what
we were mostly interested in) leaves
doubt in our minds that the char.
mony" which they adopted at the
keYser convention is not the same
kind of definition that old Noah
Webster gives it, When Noah Web
ster defined the word ''harmony" he
was not losing any sleep over pies
or the distribution of pies. So he
placed it in his book with but one
Interpretation to it. But the char
mony" which the Keyser convention
adopted can be interpreted in many
languages. 1t depends upon the
humor you are in when the pie is
passed around.
In the resolutions which they
adopted at the Keyser convention
we find that it simply indorses Pres
ident Roosevelt's administration and
eulogizes him for elevating Gordon
Dayton from a Congressman TO a
Judge. To this all file no objections,
although Gordon was no friend of
ours when our new tax laws were
threatened with quarantine, for the
elevation of Gordon adds one more
pie to our distributing station. Had
1t not been for this additional pie
there would have been no conven-
ton IN Keyser to increase the wealth
of the town to meet the expenses of
the internal revenue which some
gentlemen have to pay to support
the government and escape the coop.
In the town of Grafton where Bros.
Bolden and Letzinger are looking
after the morals Of the town the gen
tlemen in Grafton cannot display
their goods and keep outside the
coop.
But the Governor and myself had
conhdentally expected that the
Keyser convention would in its res
Olutions heartily indorse the Cover
nor's administration and call special
attention to the fact that in the short
space of one month and half that
our new tax laws had revolutionized
the taxing of old speck and the
farm. We sent our special repre-
sentative, Assistant State Tax Com.
missioner Darst, to the Keyser con-
vention to explain the laws to those
who had not heard of the reVolut-
ioniEing merits. In his report,
which we have just received, Com
missioner Darst states that he was
rudely told by certain gentlemen of
the convention that he would not
be accorded a hearing before the
convention to explain our tax laws,
and that il he had not already com
pleted his list of old specks that he
had better return TO the hennery.
We cannot find fault with the Ian.
guage adopted by the gentlemen of
the convention, as 1t is strictly in
accordance with diplomatic custom,
but to us it meant that a portion Of
the people did not realize what a
good thing they had in our new tax
laws.
Since my fiddle arrived ] have
been giving the Governor lessons on
it. Down here they call it a violin,
but back in Preston they would not
recognize it by that name, so use
the language of the ruralists when /
speak of the fiddle. 1t is wonderful
how the Governor is adapting him.
self to lingering the bow and the
strings. He says Il comes natural
to him as he had a great many years
of experience in lingering and ma
nipulating political conventions.
But he is a born fddlist. Some day
/ hope TO see him excel my old
friend Paderewiski as a fngerist in
the musical world.
/ am real sorry to see Deacon
Brown trying to drive Bro. Whetsell,
Of the Family Journal, back to the
farm. have in years gone by ob
served Bro. Whetsell in his boyhood
days on the farm with a stone bruise
on his heel where he would have to
tip-toe, and again / have watched
him when he would stump hrs toe
and drop the nail and be compelled
TO rear back on the heel to get over
the farm. This may account for
him dancing first upon the toe and
then upon the heel since he engaged
in politics and newspaper work. In
his youthful days Bro. Whetsell
would come to me in his boyhood
innocence and tell me that he had a
vision that he was born politician
and Journalist. ! was struck with
the earnestness Of the youth and en-.
couraged him in the cultivation and
enlargement Of his vision. felt
sure that il he could shake the sod
from his feet and get out Of the
ploughed ground that Buck and Ber
~ and the hill side plough would
never more appeal to his rural ha.
bits. / am indeed pleased to know
that my prophecy has come true.
and that today ] behold him as the
leading politician and journalist oi
the State. He is only keeping pace
with his generation. All great men