Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1905-04-22
Senator Martins Services.

Senator Martins Services.
Mr. EDITOR:-The editorial COM
ment i'm your paper of the Sth inst, on
the article signed Fair Play" gives
evidence of a return to sane, safe and
conservative discussion that Is graIl-
fving to your friends. we trahkly
admit we had never entirely lost nope
of YOU, yet your rawlings agalnst the
object of your wrath, Senator MarIih,
had continued so long and of late mad
become so accumulated, we were be-
ginning to feel quite alarmed. BE-
lieving as we do in your innate homes
ty. we had always thought you would
do right in the end and when given
time to reflect, would see your error
and be manly enough to confess IL:
This YOU have in substance done. All
the wicked and evil things you have
published against Senator Martin Ill
the past have now lost their force
since YOU candidly intimate they were
but the idle offspring of sore and de-
feated partisans that have valnly
sought a responsible parent for many
wears. We dare say some well mean
| ING person, in a weak moment, might
have given credence to those vague
and vicious rumors. Recognizing, as
we are sure you do, your very re-
sponsible position as editor of an IN
| fuential and Justly valuednewspaper,
| further pursuance of the course you
| had so unwisely begun, would nave
been an error too serious in its ulti-
mate consequences to contemplate.
Serious we say in all candor. News
papers are, or should be, great educa-
tors and moulders of popular OPINION,
therefore, to give such wide publicity
TO irresponsible and vicious attacks
on a mans character is no light or
| trifling matter. Reports current IN
| the Commonwealth, " and what some
| people say we submit does not point
with sufficient clearness to the orlgl-
nator of a charge. A sane man would
hardly seek in language of tins klnd
to trace the name of his defamer:
The Commonwealth is composed OF
all sorts of people that daily commit
all sorts of follies when they are sure
they will never be found out and call
ed to account That you did not
] understand how Senator Martin was
elected over the man of your choice
was surely no reflection on that gen.
| tleman and we can well believe your
| ignorance continues or you would
| know by this time how to get down
TO the plain people that think and
vote and impress them with the sim
cerity of your purpose and )ustlce
of your cause. And again that ne
was unknown to many on the Eastern
Shore was not, you will admit, suffl-
Gent proof of his great obscurlty.
| We believe, however, if he was called
from this obscurity in which you de-
llipht in placing him, no better evl-
Idence could be given of his eminent
fitness for the place he has since sc
lablv filled; it is an illustration of the
office seeking the man that was SC
prevalent in the good old days. But
as an actual fact we do not suppose
| there was a man in the State so well
known to the body that elected him,
the Legislature. OF the three repre-
sentatives at that time from AccomaC
and Northampton in the Legislature
two of them supported him. How
lever, this matter has all been thresh'
| ed over and cast aside with other
political calumny and rubbish ano
| few indeed have any desire to disturb
| its diving slumbers. Of all the men in
the State of Virginia, and probably
1.-The one who knows him best, his col
League. Senator Daniel, bears this
Testimony to his worth in recent in
terview in the Times-Dispatch. When
asked by a reporter, if he had seer
the statement in the Index Appeal
in which great claims were made fol
Senator Martin.
"Its statements" he answered
"are undoubtedly substantially cor
rect. They accord with my recollec'
i ton of the proceedings of the Senate
and they certainly do not overrate
| Senator Martins services. A man Ii
entitled to his record, and Senator Mar,
| tin has, without question, been one OF
1.-THE most active, alert and efficient
representative in the Senate, with
reference to measures in which his
State was interested, as well as tC
general legislation, and to the multi
tude of affairs which come, of neces
sity, before the departments"
When asked if he had seen the ac'
count of Gov. Montague's speech al
i Yorktown, his reply was as follows
II appreciate his kind and generous
reference to me. Justice to my col
league and to our long relations Of
friendship, however, require me tC
say that he has never appeared to me
the man to try to ride another's horse
and that l have always found him
ready and glad to accord credit anc
Honor where they were due"
| Now having, we infer, abandoned
all these various and silly charges
against Senator Martin you come
down to a practical question. We
| ioin issue with you here and agree t.
stand or fall by the verdict.
1t was charged in the letter "Fail
Play" that you had never published
ANYTHING in the interest of Senato
Martin. You did not deny it. In thi
same editorial you asked as you haC
often done before, "What had Senate
: Martin done"? In the Richmond
papers that go daily to your desk an'
other Virginia papers, the list tina
, follows showing in part Senator Mar
- L llIl RICdO OuO1 70 III OOlAe%Ah ~ tA@S
stituents, was printed in good, bold
clear type. Yet you did not copy it
but continued to ask "What has Sen
ator Martin done" We now cal
your attention specifically to it AM
= invite successful contradiction. Afte
! this if you fail to appreciate the grea
VALUE of your Junior Senator we cal
only class you with those who ar
said to be so blind they will not see
4 He secured 5000, 900 for the improve
r ment of the Appomattox river; TO
o improvement of James river at Rich
mond, $3.50, 900; for a turning basin a
Richmond, 100000; for publi
: building lot in Richmond, $500, 600
/, for Richmond College, 1000; for
+ % foot depth of water to NorfolB
$3.50, 900; for land at the Navy-Yar
T near Norfolk, S75O,OOO; for publ
= building at Charlottesville, 500, 900
n saved by him to Virginia in her sci