Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1910-05-19
PHONE No. sc
COME YE ENFRANGHISEl.

porary, The Roanoke Times, is still en-
gagged in its self-imposed task of teach
ing the Republicans of the Ninth Dis
trict their duty. Sometimes it tries to
be logical but most of the times it is alb
surdly frivolous in the performance of
its self-constituted guardianship of the
Intelligent Republicans" of the Ninth.
In recent editorial, under the caption:
Come Ye Disfranchised, our Roam
oke contemporary reached the limits of
absurdity, when it undertook to show
that the Republican leadership of the
Ninth is trying to appeal to the dis
franchised voters. After referring to
MIR. Stuart's oft repeated promise,
made while member of the Constitu-
tional Convention, that no white man,
however poor or uneducated, would be
deprived of his suffrage. our contem-
porary says:
Isn't that an appeal to intelligence.
Let the men who Henry Stuart has
basely betrayed by taking their votes
from them, when he promised he would
not, express their resentment for his
violation Of promise by going to the
polls and casting against him the votes
OF which he treacherously deprived
them. Because he took their votes
from them, therefore shall they vote
against him."
We are not astonished when our con-
temporary, after statement SO absurd.
should make the further statement.
still more absurd:
well may the average Republican
voter stop and rub his eyes and ask him
self is this the kind of stuff have been
accepting all these years? Is it posi-
BILE l have been accepting leadership so
empty and absurd?'"
If the Roanoke Times is really
earnest in these statements and oues-
lions, we are not surprised that it places
such low estimate on the intelligence
of the electorate of this district. If our
contemporary believes that the Repub-
icans, or even the Democrats. out here
will be impressed with such bosh, then.
indeed, is this people sadly deficient in
intelligence.
The Republican leadership of the
Ninth is appealing to a vitalized and
not dead electorate-to fifteen or six
teen thousand enfranchised republicans
and to ten or twelve thousand enfran-
chised Democrats, many of whom have
only with great effort escaped the
death-trap which Mr.. Stuart helped to
place between them and the ballot box.
But our contemporary, speaking of the
Republicans, further says:
'They continue to wall of the DOOR
disfranchised citizen when they them
selves have proved by word and act. by
campaign exhortation and example that
every man who wishes to vote and will
take the trouble to qualify himself can
vote"
Upon the contrary, the Republicans
know, and the Democrats by their work |
in behalf of Mr.. Stuart have shown that
they know, that the above assertion of
The Times is not true. There are
thousands of white men in this district
who were DISTINGUISHED by the under
standing clause" There are thousands
row who cannot register and qualify to
vote because of the manner in which
the educational qualification is enforced.
Most of these are good citizens and
many of them pay their poll and other
axes. And there are thousands who
ire losing their suffrage through the
Unfair power which is lodged in regis
'rars for purging the registration books.
We believe and most of the people ,
'elieve that the suffrage laws of the ,
lew constitution are ubiquitous. and E
hat they were not framed to purify the ,
decorate but to so reduce and CON-
trict it as to give permanent control r
the State to a Democratic Office 6
olders' trust. This belief has been =
by the fruits these suf- y
age laws have borne. v
Our esteemed contemporary either n
,es not see or affects not to see the es- [,
initial vice in the representative record @,