The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1910-11-17

AND WEST. VIRGINIA REPuBfI-
CANs DEMAND NEW I ONE FOR :.
-. -. :FUTUBE USE, -....-.-
only'onieS Survivor
OF the Standpatters Survives the
Big Storm, and Even He May be
Made to Walk the Plank-New
Moses Wanted. = 70

In last Sundays Cincinnati En-:
quirer, Col. Jesse v. Sullivan, local
correspondent, says of the present
political situation:
ITO Your Tents, o Israeli" sang
the warrior OF old, and today the
command lis re-eChoed by the leaders
OF the Republican partySin West Vir
sin,a, following the worst defeat The
Republicans have suffered since the
state deserted the solid South some
J.. Years ago to cast her Electoral
vote for the martyred Mckinley.
Extremely disappointing to the Re
puhlicans and surprising even to the
most sanguine Democrats was tLe
magnitude Of the Democratic vfctsfS
won on last, Tuesday in the Pan
handle State. Even that species OF
= the. unterritied in which hope .spring gs
eternal would not forecast and could
nc foresee how a State Legislature
with Republican majority Of 60
on Joint ballot, could he reversed in
10 Democratic Legislature, with q
majority Of 40 on joint ballot. but
that was one of the surprises Of the
avalanche which routed the West Vir-
ginha Republicans and sent the war
riors Of old to their tents. defeated
and crestfallen.
From Ohio County in the unner
panhandle to the mountains of Mere
ef on the Virginia line, and from the
rolling hills Of Jefferson in the east
ern panhandle to Wayne county on
the Kentucky line, the Democratic
victory was general. Counties where
Republican majorities have been In
creased for a. dozen years, regular
IN their devotion to Republican polio.
les, were swept by the, Landslide.
local tickets going down with legis-
latVe and congressional candidates.
only one member Of the standpat
congressional delegation was re-elec-
ted. Congressman James A. Hughes,
OF the Fifth District, has a majority
On the face Of the returns, but his
opponent, Rankin Wiley, threatens a
contest, which will be carried before
the House of Representatives, and
the Republican. leaders have q pre-
dilection that Hughes will be ousted
in that event.
The crushing defeat Of Republi-
cans means reorganization of the
party, the old machine, rusted and
broken, to be sent to the poIitical |
Junk pile and a new model put on
the track. Even the Democrats con-
cede that. the victory was not in
tendea. as a rebuke to the present
state. administration, which has held
10 the faith and catered to the pub
lic interests. While many reasons
are advanced the one most preya-
lent in the public mind for the cause
Of the landslide was the failure of
the last Republican Legislature to
-fedeem-thes ese pledges in tfre-1s1ty
platform which the leaders had
promised
In seclusion the Republican lead
ers are trying to fathom the reason3
FOR a Democratic victory in a state
where the administration was meet
ing with popular favor. A majority
or the leaders attribute it to the fac
tional disturbances in the partv
which have become general through
out large number of the counties
the voters refusing to submit to com-
mittee domination at home whom
there was a national revolt in the
land. =.
Lack of leadership Is also credfted
with having been responsible for the
Republican reversal. Senator Eikins
has been i'll for several months Sen
ator Scott has been a. candidate for
reelection, and former Governor
William M. o. Dawson, by far the
wisest and most astute of the Re-
publican leaders of West VIRGINIA
was no longer the directing hand be-
hind the State Committee. Nominal
~ Governor w. e. Glasscock was the
leader Of the party, but III health
and the duties Of the executive offices
prevented him from directing the
campaign.
, Probably the biggest contributine
cause to the disaster was the general
belief existing in many counties That
nominations were not rendered by
the Republican voters, but by county
district, congressional and state com.
mittets. In many counties tie e
were two local committees, and
while In some Instances one of the
committees ht8as labeled regular by
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