Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1906-08-23
CowARDLY AND DECEPTIVE.

The Democrats of the Ninth Con-
gressional District held their conven-
ton at Bristol on the 10th inst. There
was full gathering of the hungry and
self-seeking politicians of the Demo-
cratic persuasion, but none of them had
the courage to seek or accept the party
nomination for Congress. Upon the
contrary they insisted on making a sac
rifce of one whom Mr.. Irvine said in
nominating him: ''He is not a politi-
clan; he is a gentleman. Those who
were politicians and not gentlemen,
according to the opinion of Mr..
Irvine, were ready to sacrifice Robert
p. Bruce, but were unwilling to sacri-
flee themselves. That Mr.. Bruce con-
siders himself a victim was clearly
demonstrated by his speech of accept
ance when he appeared before the con-
vention. He said in part:
81 have made and will make sacri-
fee for you, and have right to ask
you to make sacrifice for me-"
This was pitiful wall. And its per-
sonal pronouns OPP and "you" record
ed personal immolatiOn.
But the politicians, who were not
gentlemen" not only showed their
cowardice and selfsbness in the selec-
ton of their victim candidate, but that
cowardice was emphasized by the cow
ardy and insincere platform which was
reported by the resolutions COM
mittee and adopted by the conven-
ton. We publish the platform in an
other column, and request our readers
to read it carefully and decide if we are
MISTAKEN III IIS SSIliil1OS VIC Ai1NO
placed upon the pronouncement.
In the second resolution they say:
eve reaffirm and ratify the declara-
ton of principles set out in the st.
Louis platform of 1904" And, in the
fourth paragraph of the second resolu-
ton, the same convention expresses its
pleasure that William Jennings Bryan
is receiving the endorsement of the
Democrats of every section of the
country, and pledges the unqualified
support of the Democrats of the Ninth
District to Mr.. Bryan for the Presi-
dency in 1908.
The st. Louis platform was written
by Democrats who were hostile to Mr..
Bryan, and who are still opposed to the
Chicago platform on which that gentle
man has recently declared he was still
standing. This is a pretty fair sample
of the intelligent consistency of the
Democracy of this district. In 1896
they were wild with enthusiasm for
Bryan and the Chicago platform. In
1904 they were damning Bryan and up
holding ''the safe and sane Democrat"
who were the authors and expounders
of the St. Louis platform. Now they
are stradlling and trying to perform a
daring double bareback act in the po-
litical circus.
In the closing lines of the third para
graph of the second resolution of the
platform they promulgate SANDER and
a falsehood, when they charge that
money has been extorted from Federal
officeholders for the purpose of de-
bauching the voters of the Ninth Con-
gressional District. We don't know
positively what is intended by the use
of the expression, "debauching." But
we are justified in concluding that it re-
fers to the earnest and honest efforts
Republicans have made to preserve for
honest men the right to exercise the
suffrage, of which they were intended
to be deprived by the iniquitous poll tax
qualifications of the suffrage laws made
by the Democrats. If this effort has
been debauching voters, the Democrats
have IN large measure, if not to the
same extent as Republicans, been COM
hitting the same offence. That the
Republicans have been guilty ofn moral
or legal wrong on this line is proved
by the testimony Of the Hon. j. c.
Wysor. who was the candidate of the
Democrats for Congress in 1904, and
who helped to frame the suffrage laws