Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1906-12-06
A Letter From Judge Dent.

The following letter of thanks to
those who so nobly stood by him and
supported him with their influence
and their votes, has been issued by
Judge NJ. Il. Dent, late candidate for
Congress in the Second district:
To My Supporters in the Late Elec.
ton.
Gentlemen You have my indy
ing gratitude for having SO unfinch-
ingly stood by me without money and
without price when you could have so
easily disposed of your votes and SER
vices for a valuable consideration.
When l was nominated l announced
publicly that had neither money nor
the inclination to buy the Office.
Throughout the whole campaign l
faithfully adhered to this declarations
although continually informed by
members of both parties that without
money there was no possible show of
my election.
The echoes of the convention had
hardly died away until demands for
money began to roll in upon me from
all parts of the district and did not
cease until the poll closed. Nor were
they confined to election expenses, but
christian people wanted money to
build churches, erect memorial win
dows, pay preachers, purchase flowers
for decoration purposes and suite of
clothes for themselves. My expenses
were too heavy for me to answer all
of these requests favorably as | would
like to have done. Everywhere l
went the same cry for money, money
money" rang in my ears. Up in the
beautiful Mooreield valley, where all
things seemed to be so peaceful and so
near to natures God, a wealthy dwell
Ter thereof stopped me by the road
side and said
II am for you. But no man can
now be elected on your platform Of
honest and pure politics. The people
are generally corrupt. They have
become worshippers of Mammon and
will not go to the polls unless paid for
their trouble. The offices are fast be-
coming the property of rich men and
their hirelings. Many ministers of
the Gospel are mere parasitic syco-
plants of the rascally and instead of
advancing the Kingdom of God are
engaged in promoting the works Of
Mammon. Church members spend
the Sabbath trying to deceive the
Lord and the rest of the week de-
ceiving their neighbors. They are
Mammon mad. Through whiskeY,
prejudice and money the voters are
binding themselves to the iron car of
plutocracy engaged in bribing them
with one hand with small portion of
the plumber it takes from them with
the other. Therefore, listen to what
say, you cannot be elected. Whisky,
prejudice and money are arrayed
against you, and whisky, prejudice
and money are nothing for the Ten
Commandments and the Golden Rule.
Nor was I long in the field until l
learned that my real contest was not
with it's Morgantown dependency, but
was with the moneybund which CEN
tiers at Elkins and has it's habitation
along the West Virginia Central and
Coal and Coke railroads, that a bar
gain had been made with the railroad
authorities, and that the district was
being flooded with corporate money
and other influences. Against such
odds 1 had nothing upon which to rely
but an abiding confidence in the in.
tegrity of the people.
The result is with you.
My expenditures during the cam
paign were much less than 81 900 90,
which went to newspapers, bands,
halls and travelling expenses. Some
few of the wealthy Democrats Of the
district, for the purpose of keeping
themselves apparently in line. made
small contributions to the campaign,
all told amounting to less than 81 ,000.-
loo, which was used in sending out
letters and campaign documents in an
endeavor to get the voter to go to the
polls. So the whole expense Of my
campaign was less than the amount of
money sent by the opposition into the
county of Taylor alone and l have the
satisfaction of knowing that | neither
involved myself or any Of my friends.
While on the other hand the Honor
able S. B. Elkins furnished no less
than $50, 900. 90 directly or indirectly
to nominate candidate of bis choice
and carry the district. Of course,
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