Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1910-09-23


G4zAg almost every town the local
newspaper not only refused to re-
port a line of Standishs speeches,
but would not accept his advertise
ments Nor in most places, could he
find job office willing to print hand
bills for him. His agent had nearly
everywhere been able to engage a
hall; but as no adequate preliminary
notice of the meeting had been pub
lished, audiences We're pitiably slim.
In one or two towns, where the papers
did not belong to the Machine" 1t
was discovered that every hall, lodge
room or other available meeting place
had been engaged in advance by some
mysterious competitor. Give, at such
settlements, was forced to speak In
oren air. Even then the police at
one town dispersed the gathering
under excuse of fearing a riot; at two
others the mayor refused license to
hold an outdoor meeting, and at a
fourth, gang of toughs, at long
range, pelted the audience with stones
and elderly eggs, the police refusing
to interfere.
AT length Gives advance agent re-
turned to the candidate in abject des-
pair.
i've been doing this sort of work
eight years" the man reported, but
this time I'm cleaned stumped.
can't make any headway. The papers,
the city authorities, the opera-house.
and -hall-proprietors and the police are
all under Conover's thumb. It's got
80 that as soon as | reach town
who isn't In the Machines pay.
Where the papers aren't muzzled -
and there are precious few such places
the halls are closed to us, and either
the mayor or the police will stop the
meeting. Where the papers are work
ing for Conover, We can get all the
halls we want. because the Boss
knows the news of your speech can't
circulate except by word of mouth.
"Oh, they've got us whipsawed in
grand shape! Pm wondering what'll
happen at Grafton Monday night.
That's the biggest city next to Gran
ite, and there's always been more or
less of kick there against Conover
rule. They've got a square man for
mayor, and one Of their three news
papers Is strong for you. l was able
to get the opera house, too. It's your
big chance of the campaign, and your
last chance on this tour The rest
of the towns on your route l can't do
anything with. I'm waiting to see
what dirty game Conover will play at
Grafton, now that he can't work his
usual tricks there. He'll be sure to
try something"
Billy Shevlin, who had also acted
unexpectedly as unotficially) as ad-
vance agent of Give Standish's tour,
had in three respects excelled the au-
thorized agent: In the first place, he
had been as successful as the other
had been a failure. In the second, he
he was not in the very least discour'
aged. Nor had he need to be.
Yet even to him Grafton presented
the first serious problem. And to 1t
he devoted much of his time and
more of his cleverness. At last he
formed plan and saw that his plan
was good.
Give reached Grafton at noon Of
the day he was scheduled to speak.
This was the second largest city in
the Mountain State. Here, next to
Granite, must the chief battle Of the
campaign be waged. On the effect of
his speech here hung a great per-
centage Of Gives hopes for the COM
ing State convention as Grafton
went, so would Matawan County,
whose contre 1t was. And Grafton,
wavering in fealty to Conover. might
yet be won to the Standish ranks by
the right sort OF speech. So with the
glow of approaching struggle upon
him Give awaited the night. All he
asked was fair hearing This. pre-