Bluefield evening leader. [volume] (Bluefield, W. Va.) 1906-1911, 1908-10-14
NTHUS|AST|C
MEETING
a THOUSAND PEOPLE HEAR THE
iSSUES DISCuSSI0D At DEMO
oCRATiC MEETING--GoVEH-
NOR BENNETT AND HON. y. L.,
NUCkELl.S.

The Democrats held an enthusi.
astic meeting at tae skating rink
last night. The crowd was est,mat.
ed to be more than one thousand
There were present many ladies
who had come out to hear the next
governor or West Virginia and MIR.
Nuckolls, The audience was en-
thuslastlc, and cheered the candl-
dates to tho echo
After being introduced by Mr.. ID.
Il. French. Mr.. Bennett expressed
his qualification at the magnificent
audience which greeted him. He
said that he was proud hat his
audience was composed OF white
men and white women. He then
declared In most emphatic terms
that he stood squarely on the Dem
ocratic platform and II elected he
the people in this portion OF the
state a Jim Crow law: also a
franchise law which would prohib-
1t the ignorant. vicious and crimi-
nal negro who had been iisfran-
chised in other states from using
the ballot
In referring to the ladies he said
that when we take into considera-
tion the fact that under our laws
the shiftless ana ignorant negro was
allowed the use OF the ballot. that
1t seemed pity that the ladies' who
We're so lovely, so pure and so deep
ly Interested in good government
should be deprived OF the ballot
while those who abuse It are allow
ed It's full exercise.
He made frequent reference to
the extravagance OF the Republican
administration Of West Virginia cit
ing instance after instance where
money had been thrown away. lie
said that In his younger days he
had been committee clerk in the
state senate. and at that time four
clerks did the work, while now f.
requires about thirty, that some of
the CLERKS diI not stay I'm Charles
ton at all, but went home after the
first few days and remained away
until they came back to draw their
salary. He showed that the eXpens-
es OF the government had increased
from little over two millions un-
der McCorkle TO mort than six mill
ions under Dawson.
He then proceeded to deal with
the Republican machine at length,
declaring that the people did not
name the candidates OF the Repub-
lican party, giving instance after in
stance how the Will or the Repub-
llcf had been stiGed by the bosses
ana asserted that it was not Glass
cock that he was running against,
but that q was steve Elkins."
Mr. Bennett was followed by Mr.
r. J.. NucKells, Of Faycttc. Mr..
Nuckells made a masterfuI speech.
He was applaudcd TO the echo.
He took up Mr. Glasscocks re-
ru2al TO state his position on the
Jim Grow" law and the franchise
plank o. The Democratic platform.
In referring TO the questions pro-
pounded TO Mr.. Glasscock by the
Leader, he cried. ASK your Dem
ocratic candidate. Hon. Louis Ben
nett. how he stands, he'll tell you.
HE'S not afraid 10 tcll you. He will
tell you that 81 he Is elected COVER
nor he viii use every effort 10 pro-
tect the white women al1 children
Of this state from the insults Of
the coke oven negrOc5 who run
them out OF their seats o1 the trains
in the coal mining districts"
He then referred 10 J.o statement
that the Republican leaders had
made an effort 90 deceive the peo-
Pile by telling ,hom that the fran
chise law would disfranchise the
whites; that it never had and never
would that no southern state had
ever disfranchised the white voters
lie discussed the guaranteed bank
deposits plank and compared 81 with
the proposed postal savings banK in
the Republican platform He said
that the law would require the
banks 10 insure one another by
paying a email tax which would
amount only 20 fraction Of a frac-
ton. that the government required
TO be guaranteed when So deposit
ed money 10 banks. and that the
postal savings bank system would
divert the money r,MsD street in-
stead of leaving it in local banks
where it could be loaned to local
parties for the help Of the comma.
nifty.
His spcech was a masfcrfuI one.