The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-11-20
No Justification for Con-
testing the Election.
CANNOT SHOW FRAUD
Lost votes in Mountain Counties
Where His Supporters Were i'll
Control-IcdcraI Appoint
mcnt4 Failed To Help
Hin in IrcdclI county.
BIZ ANDREW

generally from the Eighth
district. who are heard TO express
themselves here on the subject Of
.BIuckburn's contest of Hackett's cleo
tlon. deprecate this action Of Black
burn. one of his heretofore warm
supporters. who was here last night.
declared that it would be worse than
folly for Blackburn to contest. He
might get thereby an allowance i'll the
shape OF wages for himself, he SAID,
but il would greatly weaken the party
ia the eighth district in the next
campaign and make Hackett's second
victory assured in the district, over
Price or any other Republican candI-
date.
Another blackburn supporter from
the eighth. in speaking of n useless
ness Of the contest, said that Black
burn had Won where he expected to
fail. and failed whore he should have
been strongest. In Rowan county,
where Blackburn q predicted great
frauds would be praCticcd against
nfm, and the home Of Price, the Re
publicdns gained nearly 500 over the
vote Of 1904, while i'll Black burns
home counties Of Wilkes. Ashe. Surry,
Alexander and Watauga, all Republi-
can counties. he had lost more than
tho gain in Rowan. Continuing. this
Republican said hat it would ne i'm
possible for Blackburn to gain SYM
pathy from Republican colleagues in
Congress by pleading chat the Itepuh-
liCan organization secretly fought him.
IN answer to this, he said, the fact
stood out boldly that although the
eighth district had been given the APP
pOintmeut of collector of the western
North Carolina district. an assistant
district attorney, yet in the very Il
ty UIedelD IN which they lived and
operated. the Democrats gained ear
ly 500 votes over that of 1904, when
the collectors office was in the tenth
district and the assistant district at
tornCy lived in Rowan. Besides
these two powerful officials aid and
influence in Iredell, he said, a former
chief justice of the Supreme Court,
supporter, ran for the legislature to
aid Blackburn. Again he cited the
fact, that not only Price, in Rowan,
Linncy in Alexander and Linncy in
Watauga. who openly fought Black
burn two years ago, as openly fought
for him this time.
Concluding, the visiting Blackburn
Republican statesman said that under
this state of facts it would not hold
water to charge Republican STATE
committee with treachery, persccu-
ton from the department at Washing
ton or Democratic frauds in Rowan
for the activity of the Republican
State committee, the revenue office
and general Federal official influence
in his behalf was all hat could be
expected within the bounds of civil
service regulations. And to charge
that frauds were committed in Re
publican counties, where Black burr
was really defeated, would not do al
all.
Mould DO His Cause Harm.
This Republican also expressed the
opinion. that in cOntcsting the cleo
ton, Blackburn would not only
cstrange his present ardent support
crs. but would make the district un-
deniably Democratic two ear hence
no matter Wh<n the Republicans ran
for Congress. lie thought this would
be the result. even shoul Blackburn
win in the contest. 1t is pretty Ger
tain therefore hat in the contest
Blackburn will have no moral sup
| port from the leading Republicans in
his district, who have been his con
sistent supporters heretofore.
\ facctious gentleman in the group
| who heard this conversation last night
| gave h following problem, which is
passed along for some one, more
handy with figures tnan his CORE
~Spondcnt, to solve:
eff Blackburn lost five hundred
votes in IredoIl. where the collector
and the assistant district attorney
lives, how much majority would
Hackett have had if Black burns de-
mand for the marshalShip. the district
attorneyship, and every other Federal
office for the eighth district. had beer
aCCcedCd to. n one of these been
located IN each county Of the eighth?"