The semi-weekly messenger., 1906-11-13
The SMessenger.
EIGHTH AND TENTH DISTRICTS.


The Industrial News says it is not
sore, and does not regret the
political fight it has made. If that be
true it must not have had any faith in
the election predictions it was
making as to republican gains i'll the
state. We can well believe that it is
not sore over defeat of the only con-
gressional candidate Of its party who
had the ghost of a chance of success.
Mr.. Blackburn was defeated by his
friends. The attitude toward him Of
The Industrial News and its faction Of
the republican party had more to DO
with the defeat of the republican can
dfdate than anything else. Had rhe
party been united we do not believe
Mr.. Hackett would have been elected
This was one time when the republi-
cans violated their usual rule of toeing
the mark on election day, no matter
what their differences on all other
days in the year. Because of this rni-
versal rule among members Of that
party to come together when the time
to vote came around, we were uneasy
about Mr.. Hackett's chances; but it
seems that In this instance the animos-
ity of one faction of the republicans
against the other was 50 great that
they could not reconcile their differ
ences to the extent Of giving their NOM
inee the full vote of the party. Mr..
Blackburn will not miss the mark far
when he attributes his defeat to the at
titude toward himself of The Industrial
News gang of the republican party in
his district. We do not suppose The
Industrial News is at all sore over that
state Why should it be? It's party
still has a majority in the house of rep
resentatives and it has helped kill off
a disagreeabie and Objectionable poll
tician in it's party who was constantly
standing in it's way and in the way of
it's partisan friends. We reckon if the
truth were known, The Industrial News
had received a tip from headquarters
that Mr.. Blackburn was persona non
grata to the administration and that
it would like to get rid of him as a pO-
litical factor in this state. There IS no
doubt that he has been the cause of
much worry and trouble to the admin
istration 1t has not known what to do
with him. His defeat will relieve the
administration of very embarrassing
situation in party matters in this state.
Now that he has been relegated to tie
rear the party may be able to heal it's
differences and show a united front two
years hence, and at the same time
his being supplanted by a democrat
does not endanger the republican con-
troll of the next house of representa-.
tives.
The contest in the Tenth district
was of a different nature from, that il
the Eighth. There it was republican
against democrat. The members of
the latter party did not have the aid
Of disgruntled republicans to help them.
There it was a square fight between
the two parties, though the outcome
was less in doubt because there was
no uncertainty as to what some of the
republicans would do, as was the case
in the Eighth district.
No matter what the cause of victory,
the democrats have great reason for
congratulations over the results in
these two districts. That the results
were in doubt up to the day of election
cannot be denied by any man at all
acquainted with the conditions and
who is willing to admit the truth
They were both victories against odds;
that cannot be denied.