Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1910-04-21
PHONE No. 66
SHIFTING AND SIDE-STEPPING,

Recently The Roanoke Times has
been repeatedly charging that the Re-
pubhcans Of the Ninth district have
been appealing to the prejudices and
ignorance of the white voters of the
district. From the way The Times IS
making its fight for Mr.. Stuart. it is
plain that it considers the electorate of
the district stepped in ignorance and
prejudice. -Tazewell Republican.
No we don't. We don't Judge the Re-
publican electorate by its leaders-nor
by the newspapers which undertake to
represent it. Furthermore, we know
Cne electorate is not stepped in ignor-
ance or prejudice because we know most
OF it will vindicate itself this wear bv
voting for Stuart and helping to make a
Democratic house of representatives
IL would not be fair, in any case, to
Judge the electorate by the Republican
methods of campaigning among it. For
these the electorate is not responsible.
Roanoke Times.
We are pleased to note that the edi-
tor of the Roanoke Times has at last
formed favorable estimate of the char
acter and intelligence of the electorate
of the Ninth district. Has his radical
change of opinion been effected bv his
being brought more closely in contact
with the people of the district. or is it
caused by his intense desire to wean the
Republicans to the support of Mr.. Stu
art? But it strikes us that this very
plain effort to shift position will be dis
cernible both to Republicans and Demo
Gratis In the district. To say that the
electorate can be led and controlled by
ignorant and insincere leaders is eouiva-
lent to saying that when such leaders
and newspapers can, by appeals to ig-
norance and prejudice, control the cleo
torate, that the electorate is ignorant
and prejudiced.
This side-stepping of the Roanoke
Times, however, is only an endeavor to
make escape from the miscellaneous blum
der 1t has made in trying to inject the
negro question or race issue into the
present campaign; and especially in that
Tekel' editorial recently published in
its columns.
In an effort to depreciate the leader
ship of Mr.. Slemp, the Times tries To
hold him and the Republican party re-
sponsible for the political fusion in Nor
folk county. 1t is known of all men.
who know anything about the conditions
In that county, that this fusion is be-
tween the State Democratic Machine
and few local Republican leaders. in
an editorial last week we made this
charge, and said:
The Roanoke Times knows full we'll
tector of the rotten political fusion in
Norfolk county is the Virginia Demo-
cratic Machine. The Times has been
and IS now in full fellowship with this
Machine, and Mr.. Stuart is its candi-
date for Congress in the Ninth district.
Inc Times had better ask itself and the
Machine Democrats how it and they rel
lsh the utilization and association before
It puts the question again to the white
of the Ninth"
The Times made no response to this
specific charge, but rested its case.
when charged with presuming that the
electorate of this district is ignorant
with the publication of the brief para
graph quoted above. And it is well
that the Times has not undertaken to
dispute our charge, for here comes the
Norfolk Virginian-Pnot, remarking on
this same ''Tekel" editorial, and saws:
1T is perfectly proper for our con-
to ask the white RenuhI- |
cans of the mountain districts what thew
think of party leadership which boasts |
Of victory so obtained as was that in |
Norfolk county; but they will be hard |
put 10 ~ Tor sur-rejoinder if asked |
Wnat they themselves thought of a |
democratic State organization which |
mad once and again thrown its voice in
70 the scale to rescue Fusion and the |
tusionists from slaughter by the real A.,
and regular Democrats of Norfolk coun-
The Virginian-Pilot is staunch Dem
ocratlc paper, and the Roanoke Times
would do well to give a sur-rejoinder to
the above question before it undertakes
TO further assail the leadership of MIR
Slemp, which has been entirely accent
able to the Republicans of Virginia. In
stead OF only securing his own election
10 Congress, the winning Of Norfolk
county for Mr.. Kent being outside the
question, he has made the Republican
party a strong and aggressive party. if
not a victorious one. 1t was through
MS energetic management of the party
that the Ninth district was
from the disgrace of Rheaism,
or which Mr.. Stuart and the Roanoke
Times stood and supported, and with
which they are beginning again to asso-
late. He has so organized the party
D the Fifth istrict as to win it back
or the Republicans, though the dis
riot was dismembered and outraged by
he Democratic Machine through a Grim
lal political operation. Even in the
ity of Roanoke, your town, Mr.. Times,