Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1906-05-17

election machinery IN the state Dy the
opposition party, rendering Republican
effort everywhere less effective; injec-
ton of the race issue with its accom-
panying prejudices; the lack of suffi-
cient number of party journals through
which to bring home to the people the
issues of the campaign, are, at least,
some of the most potent causes Of our
defeat.
The Republicans of the State have no
grounds for being either demoralized or
disheartened. They are fighting from
conviction and even if now in the mi
nority, that minority is composed Of
true and tried men, who will fight for
the principles of their party at every
opportunity.
There is no thought of surrender, ex-
cept by Square Deal" who willingly
hands over the Fifth Congressional Dis
trict without effort and discourages eff
fort in the Ninth where we now have a
Republican Congressman. No stronger
evidence can be adduced of the unfair
spirit of Square Deal'' in his criti-
cisms of the management of the party
than his using rumors in the opposition
press as accepted facts about the meth
DDS and motives of his own party man.
ayers. He states that / recently went
to Richmond to select the assistant
postmaster. The truth is that / went
there at the time indicated at the in
stance of leading Republicans of that
city for the purpose of attending a con-
ference in regard to party matters, of
city and State, and the assistant post
mastership of the city of Richmond
was not considered or discussed in any
way.
He also quotes dispatch from Nor
folk of March 28 to the effect that /,
as State Chairman, and all the Republi-
can leaders of the State had abandoned
all hope of electing Republicans to
Congress, except in the Fifth and Ninth
Districts, and that the other districts
were to be called upon to contribute for
these two districts. The intelligence
communicated by this telegram is very
broad. can only speak for myself
and not for the Republican leaders of
the State. For my part, the statement
is wholly unfounded. l do not believe
there is any concert of action among
the leaders of the party in the State to
abandon the other districts in the State,
but every one knows that the real bat
tle-ground is in the Fifth and Ninth
Districts. In the Fifth District the
vote for Judge Lewis was only about
l 200 votes fewer than were cast for
Judge Parker the preceding year, and
against the personal popularity of Gov
ernor Swanson, in that district, Judge
Lewis received more votes than Presi-
dent Roosevelt received the year be-
fore. To make no effort in this district,
under such conditions, would indeed be
ga humiliating surrender. J." In the
Ninth District l believe that the Re-
publicans are better prepared to make
an aggressive fight this fall than they
have been at any time since the new
constitution went into effect. Work
has been done, however, in all parts OF
the State; every precinct committee
man in the State has been communi-
Gated with; circulars and information
sent out and our people urged to COM
ply with the requirements of the law
regarding poll-tax payments, and it is
expected that in every district in the
State Republican candidates for Con-
gress will be in the field in the fall cam
paign.
In regard to the contributions solic-
tied in 1904. At that time had no Off
cial connection with the party and do
not know that such inquiry is pertinent.
Contributions were rendered necessary
by the condition of affairs with the
Virginia Daily Press, the Republican
State organ then established in Roam
oke, which as State matter all Repub-
licans were anxious to support. Early
in the summer of 1904 it was seen that
its financial condition was precarious,
and it was only by great effort on the
part of the friends Of the paper per-
sonally that it managed to exist through
the fall campaign. The contributions
above referred to did not meet the out
lay necessary to carry the paper
through. Instead Of these contributions
impairing che resources of each Of the
candidates, as Square Deal' would
have us believe, they were thus Of ben
eft to each of the candidates and to the
party at large.
Now, as to the personal part Of the
communications that relating to the
transaction involving a sale of lots in the
city of Roanoke:
During the campaign last fall, while
Mr.. Hart was acting as secretary of
of the State Committee of which / was
chairman, he asked me to allow him to
use my name in business transaction.
Sharing with all his friends the utmost
confidence in him, readily consented
without knowing anything about the
nature of the proposed tranaction or