Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1908-03-26
HONEST ELECTIONS.


new Constitution was made to get rid
of election frauds in Virginia. The dis
cussion of the Rhea case by some of
the Democratic papers of the State has
disclosed the fact that very many
of the Democratic party have not
taken the said announced purpose of
the new Constitution very seriously.
The Danville Register belongs to this
class. 1t is disposed to criticise the
Richmond News Leader and the other
Democratic papers that have objected to
the Scott County Ballot" and the many
questionable methods that were en-
ployed in the Ninth District by the
trusted friends and supporters of w.
f. Rhea to secure the returns for him
in the three elections at which he was
a candidate for Congress. A contro-
versy arose between the News Leader
and the Danville Register over these
matters, and the latter wrote two arti-
cles which it dared the News Leader to
reproduce and answer. Our Richmond
contemporary accepted the dare, and, in
commenting on these articles, said:
Referring to the election frauds of the
past in the State generally, the Regis
ter the other day said, editorially:"
<"Oh, but they tell us: we were fac
ing an emergency then; we were strug-
CLING for Anglo-Saxon rule We were
facing conditions analogous to those
which confront the Ninth District to-
day, which confronted it when William
F. Rhea was Democracy's candidate for
Congress in 1898, in 1900 and in 1902.
1t is vain to say that we only retarded
negroes in voting, for with every negro
vote thrown out we cancelled a white
Republican ballot in Floyd, in Grayson,
IN Patrick, in Henry and in Pittsylva-
MIA. We were fighting Republicans.
There was never any danger of negro
control of Congress or of the State Leg
islature, even though negro representa-
tives might have been elected here.
We did those things to elect our party's
candidate. And they did the same
thing in self-righteous Richmond and in
honest, humane Henrico-to elect Dem
ocratic candidates. 1t is useless to
squirm and to twist and to evade the
issue. Let US face it squarely. That
is what we did"
The News Leader then quotes the
following from another editorial of the
Danville Register:
"Why was the Walton ballot devised
and adopted? To secure Democratic con-
troll, not alone in the black belt, but all
over theState. Yet, now the benefciaries
of all these articles and tricks in the
past are denouncing the means of their
salvation from Republican misrule in
local affairs. They burn their bridges
behind them after they are safely
crossed We must realize the condi-
tons in the Ninth District and ask our
selves whether we would do the same
thing they are accused of doing, if nee
essary to insure Democratic rule.
Truly, it makes all the difference
whose OK is gored. Our pure and lofty
Democracy is afflicted with loss of
memory, or possess the fortunate art
of forgetting when it suits its purpose
to do So"
This is, truly, bitter taunt hurled
at those Democrats who sincerely
thought that the new Constitution was
made to secure honest elections in Vir-
ginia. They may have previously con-
doned the bold frauds committed to
elect Democratic candidates under the
specious plea that it was necessary to
uphold Anglo-Saxon rule. But, now
they must realize that the plea was as
flagrantly false as were the frauds it in
duced violent and degrading. The
language of the Danville Register
must remove any impression that the
large and controlling element of the
Virginia Democracy, known as the
"tribe," have ever thought that the
new Constitution was intended to give !
honest politics in Virginia. Upon the
contrary they held that the Constitu-