The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1908-11-09
HE BLACK BELT AND GLASS

Tha "blsck belt tslk in e.nnecton
Win the success Of W. p. G!asscock
tsonce untrue and nonsenslcal and
agors Of an inability to take a square
sieteat gracefully sas>s the Wheeling
elligences.
IN the first place the Democrats
could hardly expect the negroes to
y6te against Mr. G1asscock after they
had ofHciaiiy declared their opinion
mat the negro had Jagged behind the
d5g in civilization, and, in the second
Sjiace, outside OF Ohio Marion, Harri-
ron and Wood countiss wAere the
liquor interests had united against
An Glasscock he polled larger per
sse1tage 81 the Republican vote than
e did in the so.ca1led black belt
the only county in the black belt
@liIeh gave Mr.. Glasscock near the
nsTmaT majority was Mcdowell and
there he was 1000 behind Mr.. Taft.
His majority was twice that given
Governor Dawson in Mcdowell coun. !
u four years ago but the gain can
be very properly explained through
fact that the Republican organi-
zatioh In Mcdowell was bitterly an
tsgontstic TO Governor Dawson's car-
iidscy, but was favorable T.. Mr.. |
sIasseoclt'a. In Mercer, which prob !
ably stands next to Mcdowell In the
humber Of negro residents, Mr.. Glass
cock got a bare 800, while Mr.. TAFT
got 300. Fayette county gave Mr,I
sscock less than it gave Mr.. Daw- i
4 sph and his vote in Kanawha was
steFially lower than Mr.. Taft's but
still on an average with the rest Of
lie ticket. AS in Mcdowell, his gain
In Kanawha is explained by t1e fact
that he was not opposed by power
fui Republican faction as was Gov.
efnor Dawson. the party. on the con
tFasy, being united.
The plain truth is that If Mr.. Glass
cock had been cut in the other coun'
ties In the State in the same proper
ton he was cut in the black belt he
syonld have beer defeated. There Is
no black belt about Preston. M"rgar,
Mineral. Grant and Republican coun.
il ties, of that class and they gave him
RE normal, vote. There is no black
bell Nj the old Democratic counties
81 Hampshire and Jefferson and their
neighbors. yet Mr.. Glasscock polled
Z The average Republican vote anil
many Democratic votes besides |
There's Greenbrier, rich in c-mbin-
alton of agriculture and mental cul-
sstarei There Mr.. Benefits majority
was so far reduced beyond thc oil
Democratic normal as to be almost at
The vanishing point. Pocahontas,
seaTs ago rock-ribbed Democratic,
rave Mr.. GtasscoclS fine majority. |
We're negroes responsible for this
change among the Bourbons? Lin
colin reversed itself too, while the
Democratic- controlled county Of
EaSn e, came within an ace OF giving |
MI elasscock majority. Clay CAV"
Glasscock a majority Of 700 votes,
md Mason a gain of GOO, while the
Democratic counties of Summers, Nj.
cholas. Mingo. Monroe and Randolph |
furnished him with heavy gains The
bulk OF Mr. Glasscock's vote came /
from counties wehre the negro Is
not factor. ~
The Democrats complain that the
Z usually Democratic counties did not
hold up as they should That is true.
These counties ARE mostly agrlcul
taral ard the farmers are well sat.
y isied with the tax laws. 1t was the
,spubHc service corporations and the
1iduor Interests which object to pny
in 4 their share OF taxes. that cut Mr.
lssscnck, while 1t was all the peo-
ME andsnot the black belt that elect
ed him.
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