Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1905-04-08
A Friend Speaks For Senator Martin.

-. Martln ana GON. n. u niVhV"oVN'
About the only objection that can be
urged with any force against primary
elections, which have now become the
declared policy of the democratic
party in Virginia, is that contest in
a primary tends to disrupt the party
by arousing strong and oftentimes
bitter feelings, not only between the
candidates themselves but between
the friends of the candidates land this
feeling is of course co-extensive with
the territory in which the election is
held. When a primary election is held
only in county the fact of bad feel
ing being aroused would have very
little effect upon the party at large;
but when the election is held all over
the State, as it will be this year, and
the voters of the State divided into
two great parties, one the friends and
of Senator Martin and the
other the friends and supporters OF
Gov. Montague, then the arousing OF
bitter feelings is serious question to
those who have the good of the party
at heart and not merely the success
of their favorite candidate. 1t should
therefore be the effort of every good
democrat to conduct the canvass in as
harmonious manner possible so that
there NAV be few wounds to be healed
when it is over. Now do you think,
Mr.. Editor, that such an editorial as
appeared in your issue of March 25th.
Il refer particularly to the closing
sentences), and similar ones which
have appeared from time to time III
your paper, are, to say the least, con-
ducive to harmony in the party?
Nearly every one that has heard you
express yourself, either in general
conversation or through the medium
of your paper, knows that you intense
lv dislike Senator Martin-that you
are always ready to give publicity to
that tends to discredit or in
lure him before the people, but l do
not think your most assiduous readers
can recall when you have ever pub
lished any denial or explanation made
in the public press by himself or his
friends of reports circulated to his>in-
Jury, or that you have ever said a
kind word about him, or given him
credit for single particle of the bene-
fetal legislation that he has been in
strumental in enacting for this State
at large, the cities of the State, neigh
borhood, communities and individual
citizens. Your whole aim seems to be
to poison the minds of the people OF
Accomack against Senator Martin, and
inject the poison as early in the cam
paign as possible, and as often and in
as large doses as possible. You pro-
badly have not considered the fact
that an overdose of some poisOns acts
as a kind of emetic, and that the peo-
pie may get nauseated.
Let the two candidates go before
the people of the county on their
records. Each has record; the one
as United States Senator for ten
wears, and the other as U. S. District
Attorney, Attorney-General and Gov
ernor. Senator Martin is willing to
90 before the people on his record;
and his friends believe that fair and
unprecedented electorate will approve
that record; and that the people will
be satisfied that they have never had
a more faithful, efficient and infiuen-
tial public servant in the national
legislature.
Gov. Montague's record has not
been satisfactory in many respects to
quite large proportion of the people
of the State, and doubtless later he
will be called upon to make some tex
planations.n The cause of the Cover
nor must be weak indeed when his
friends have to resort to such covert
insinuations against his opponent as
"when first elected U. S. Senator
lover ten years ago. that he did not
get the nomination unfairly as some
allege.n and keeping himself in
power by machine Methods" as you
made in your editorials. Senator
Martin was first elected Senator by
the legislature of 1S93-'94, over ten
years ago: and as to his getting the
nomination unfairly" there was in
stituted by the legislature an investi-
cation of the contest between him
and his competitor, General Fitzhugh
Lee and after thorough investiga-
ton by committee "a majority of
the same being Senator Martins
political opponents, and all being ap-
pointed by a speaker of this House
opposed to his election), they made a
report generating him in the fullest
sense from anything unworthy of a
Senator from Virginia, and not a sim
gle Democratic member of the legisla-
ture cast his vote against hin. Sena-
tor Martin then served his term of six
years in the Senate; and just prior to
the meeting of the legislature which
was to elect his successor there was
quite stir amongst his political op-
ponents as to how they could defeat
him, and as to who should be the
champion to lead their forces; but as
the election drew near it gradually
dawned upon the opposition leaders
that they did not have the people be-
hind them (they were all officers in
the army which had no privates), and
one by one the leaders gave up the
fight, with the exception of Gov