Martinsburg statesman-democrat. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1906-1921, 1908-05-08
The Senatorial Question
Charlestown, w. Va, May 6, 1908.
. STATEMENT FROM SENATOR CAMP

On my return home after a week :
absence in Virginia, / note there hs'
been no little comment in the District
Press as to the senatorial situation
In refutation of Mr.. McIntire's a..
sartion that he has sixteen delegates
ont of twenty-five in Jefferson coun'y y,
leaving me nine by inference, pro
nose that if he will name the sixteen
delegates he has, will name sixteen
delegates out of my delegation that he
has NOT.
In reply TO bis disclaimer that ne Is
not being supported by the liquor inter
ests, l suggest that he publicly IN :
week. over his signature, define his
nosition on legislation affecting these
people, explicitly. viii he ote for a
county LEGAL option law? VIII he vote
To submit a Prohibition amendment
He further makes the claim that he
will carry Berkeley, Hampshire aud
Morgan solid, but the Democratic vot-
ers % these counties will have some
thing different to say about that, when
the opportunity offers.
The Berkeley County Executive Com
mittee has called MASS Meeting 10
select Senatorial delegates on May 10th
at the Court House in Martinsburg,
plan suspiciously like the notorious
.tpink ticket" meeting, which disfran-
chised half the county when another
jefferson county man was cand'date
few years ago. a 'rsng protest from
Democrats who stand for fair play
having been made 10 the County Com
mittee against this procedure ana de,
mand made hat the election oi Sena
t3rial delegates be postponed uAtn
they can be voted Tor AZ the precincts
at the county primaries, the same m
fuenees which are iEsiduouely at wofa
in the District to stifle the voice OF the
people, has spurred the Senatorial
Committee into action. 1t was sudden
Nv convened in Martinsburg on yesler-
day. to fix tine and place for holding
the convention. Learning accidentally
of,the movement decided to be present
and to be heard, which, however, was
net on the program. A friendly mem
her Mr.. Logan b. Shut, OF jefferson
County, sent his proxy to berkeley
Democrat, who stood for square deal,
but he was promptly excluded on the
.,,,,a +bat II .a committee would rec
ognize no proxies. | am, therefore, un-
able to state what the committee did
in secret sessi ,n. After asking to be
heard and nearly an hours wait, l
was allowed ten minutes In which to
address the committee and protest
against any unusual action being tax
en- this year, stating that all asked
was that the convention be held at
about the same time as in the past,
generally in September, stating that
there was no reason nor excuse for
doing otherwise, and that any depart
ure from this time bonored Democrat
lc custom would be unjust to the peo-
pie and some of the candidates, and,
therefore, undemocratic and indefensi-
BILE. The result was that they liked the
time for holding the convention at the
nprecedentedly early date OF May 70,
two weeks from today and four days
after Berkeley and Morgan have their
meetings. The motive is self evident,
but | have sufficient faith in the anti
machine Democrats of the district TO
believe that they will OF tolerate this
deliberate attempt to trample their
rights under foot. The incentive will be
made plain, publicly, in the immediate
future.
Learning that in my absence ru-
NOR has been circulated that, in the
Legislature, / voted against taxing oil
and gas, beg to say that this is abso-
lately false. Facts are stubborn things,
and the official record, the journal of
the Senate, proves conclusively that 1
have always advocated and voted for a
tax on coal, oil and gas. During the
Extra Session of 1904 when Compro-
mise Bills, drawn at the washington
Conference" were taken up, [ moved
that in lien of considering them, the
Senate take up and consider the bills
prepared by the Tax Commission, in =
Guiding those taxing coal, oil and gas,
and also voted to pass them. In 1907 a
bill was offered proposing tax on gas
only, the amount proposed being pro-
hibitory, sndipresumably intended to
prevent expectation from the gas belt
as stated by some of the Democratic
Senators living in that section and
who voted for 1t on that account, to
less favored sections like our own, as
is now being done. Our Board of Trade
had previously taken this position, as
sta ed in the Senate at that time | OBJ