West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1907-10-03

The Preston County Journal
sets forth the claim that il is the
official organ of the Republican
party of Preston county. Is this
trueY Will its past record confirm
its claim? We think not, and be-
lieve we can prove it by the evil
dence furnished by the Journal.
The Journal has never been the
representative of the militant ele-
ment of the party since we have
been perusing its columns and ex-
posing its false claims. We have
always found it TO be the plant
organ of a coterie of office-holders
who fancy they are the party"
That they control the machinery
of the party and sit in judgment
and decide who is eligible for Office
no one can successfully deny.
Every Republican who desires
to offer himself as a candidate
must first submit his application
to the COMMITTEE" The "com-
mittee" is what the Morgantown
Post once upon a time character
lied as "a selfappointcd coterie of
office-holders." The characterize
ton at the time was credited to
Congressman George c. Sturgiss,
who at the time was receiving his
knockout drops from the commit
tee with the greatest regularity.
We accept the definition of the
congressman.
If the coterie, which sits in judg-
ment, believes the applicant to he
loyal to its interests and feel that
his candidacy will bring grist to
its mill, he is placed on the
ticket and reminded of his obi
cations to the powers that be. If
his candidacy is not looked upon
favorably a plausible excuse is
framed that he must wait, as the
office which he seeks has been
promised to an old wheel horse
who has been standing unhitched
for years awaiting the wink to
make dash for liberty and free
dom from the yoke. If the appli-
cant who has been rejected OBJ
jects, he is told in language more
forcible than elegant that he can
go to Greenland until he cools off.
If he should be seized with an I'M
comfortable impulse to rush into
print and tell his troubles to the
neighbors about the manner in
which he was turned down and
thrown out, he is denied access to
the columns of the Journal. The
Journals space is always too val
liable to print anything which re-
fleets upon the redistribution.
So the rejected applicant finds
that the Journal represents a
party" whose membership is not
quite as numerous as the renegade
Democrats who have joined the
ring and the machine for q mess
of pottage, which explains in a
measure the increase in the Re-
publican ranks. Republicans who
supported and voted for the party
when it was not in the ascendenCy
have been ordered back to the
woods with the friendly admoni-
ton to go way back and sit down
while they pass the pie to the
Democratic sinner who has been
converted before he backslides.
We are willing to submit to any
fair minded Republican in Pres
ton county-one who is not under
the baneful influence Of the ring
and the machine-if this is not a
plain statement of the facts. Still
the Journal would like TO make
it appear that it is the real repre-
sentative Of Republican principles.
If we were 50 disposed we could
cite numerous Republicans in
Preston who would be willing to
furnish afiidavits that the Journal
does not voice the political prin-
ciples Of the party Of Lincoln, Nc
Kinley, and Roosevelt, but on the
contrary it simply gives utterance
to that which is dictated by the
ring and the machine. If there
is any Republican so innocent as
TO think otherwise we invite him
to defy the wishes Of the bosses
and see how soon the pie-gorman-
IL. Il =. I-1 ~