Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1905-09-07
EAGER FOR A FRAY.

A most remarkable cnange ndS Idheh
place in the attitude and disposition of
the Democratic press and leaders in
Virginia on the question of having joint
debates between Democratic and Re-
publican speakers. This sudden change
of sentiment is we'll calculated to amuse
and excite the suspicion of Republicans.
There was a time when such debates
were freely engaged in on every hust-
ings in Virginia. The results that fol-
lowed these discussions proved so dis
astrous 70 the Democratic cause that
the chairman of that party peremptorily
ordered his canvassers to have no joint
debates with Republican speakers.
1t was in 1888 that Mr.. John S. Bar
bour, then State chairman of the Dem
ocratic party injected, false issues into
the politics of the State, chief amongst
them the question of threatened negro
supremacy, and completely overshad-
owed the real issues by unwarranted
appeals to the passion and prejudice of
white voters. The Danville massacre
was made pretext for that cruel pol
lev, and the bugaboo of negro DONNA
ton became the stock in trade upon
which the Democratic party has since
existed, here.
But to return to the question of hav-
ing joint debates in the present cam
paign, we find our Democratic contem-
poraries showing strange anxiety for
such discussion. The Richmond News
Leader few days ago said:
"Our observation is, from reading
our Republican contemporaries, such as
the Old Dominion Sun and the Tazewell
Republican, that the Republican party
is in for a strong and vigorous fight in
this campaign. We heartily welcome
such condition and situation and pur-
pose. AS we have asserted,
iterated and reiterated time and again,
this newspaper is Democratic to the
backbone, but it believes the best inter-
ests of the State rest in bringing back
politics to the old arena of discussion
on the highest possible plane"
This is very pretty talk from our
Richmond contemporary, but we beg
leave to inform it, if, it is not already
well acquainted with the fact, that its
party is alone responsible for the low
plane to which politics fell in the arena
of discussion in Virginia. 1t is absurd
for the Democracy to cry out for re-
storation of high and honorable discus
sion upon the theory that the Repnbli-
can party has suddenly become respect
able, and that its speakers and press
are now entitled to higher considera-
ton than they were formerly. The Re-
publicans in Virginia are putting the
same class of speakers in the field that
they have used IN the past. Those
speakers are now, as they have always
been, more than a match for the best
the Virginia Democracy could furnish,
because the Republican speakers have
been armed with the sword of truth, a
weapon most terrible to the average
Virginia Democrat. The News Leader
further says:
"The Roanoke convention nominated
ticket worthy of the foeman Of their
steel. That ticket measures up to the
responsibility of the ticket that the
Democratic party has put into the
field"
We should, no doubt, feel profoundly
grateful to our contemporary for thus
admitting the respectability of the Re-
publican ticket; but we must object to
its manner of comparing our ticket
gith its own op the score of respect