The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-03-29
DO NOT SEE HOW
SLEMP CAN w IN
Conditions Seem Favorable for
Great Victory at Polls in No
veinber-People Are Weary
of Republican Misrule,
and Ready to Vote
for Change.
ny ALEXANDER FORWARD,
Special Correspondent of The Times.
IN Ill,


Special Correspondent of The Times
Dispatch.
Marion, VA, March .s.-If somebody
lor something Will put wholesome fcar
into the Democrats of Snyth county
st Will he the better for Henry c. stu
nrt'x chances of election TO Congress.
The average Democrat Will not admit
the possibility Of his defent. Here,
where the Democratic nominee spent
NIL the years of his childhood and
carly manhood, where he has hnd wide
ibnsinesk Interests, where he In known
nnd admired by nearly every citizen,
there xcems to be feeling that his
personal worth, coupled with the gen
crai Republican predIcn ment md the
4 special reason why this Is not likely.
10 he good year for Mr.. SIcmp, .tiI
insure his success.
Now, personal worth and popularity
IS splendid asset in party nominee.
md tho troubles of the opposite party
mako good campaign material: but
! these thinge don't carry elections.
Some Of the best men in the world
have been defeated at the polls, and
iUnless the man who casts the ballot
Us informed of the faults and mistakes
iof the opposition, they win not iniiu
,ence him. one has but TO think of the
round 400 majority which Smyth coun-
ity gave Mr.. Slemp over Mr. Byarg only
}siSteen months ago TO realize that
nothing In the world but education.
effort and organization can turn this
into Democratic victory, and the sem
timent is for Mr.. Stuart. but Tie fig
ures are against him. The trick can
be done. but supreme effort is nee
essary.
Cost OF Living Problem.
Mr. Stuart came TO this county in
1851. Possibly he will not object II
the secret lis here revealed that he
svaB at that time five years old. He
lived here until after his graduation
from Emory and Henry College and
the completion of his law course al
the Unfversity OF Virginia He Is the
owner of large boundaries OF timber
lands here. but in his business life he
is best known as dealer in cattle
Most of the farmers have had dealings
with him and admire him Immensely.
or late years large Industrial interests
have sprung up in Smyth county, and
az necessary result the .national
problem of income and cost OF living
is more of factor than IN strictly
agricultural communities. The laborer
skilled or unskiiled. finds that while
Tho necessities of life are costing MIN
q constantly increasing amount OF
money, his earnings have not kept
4ace.
y,rous. If he is well informed he
l,ows how the combinations OF cap
ital control the food supply of the
country and that such practices are
The result OF d protective tariff. This
individual Is now being forced to do
his own thinking.
Marion Republican who earns his
daily bread with his hands, said to-
iday: II have a wife and five children.
L make s1.25 day. With the strict
est sort of economy l can barely buy
enough TO keep body and soul alive
and pay the rent. Should sickness
come, I should have TO go in debt.
iDuring Cievelands last administra-
,tion I made IS cents a day and lived
more easily than do now"
This man Will vote for Henry g.
Stuart. He is convinced that trust
control of the Republican party's poll
cies is responsible for conditions.
A Difficult Task.
County Chairman ]. D. Buchanan
has a difficult task. He Is fostering
Democratic enthusiasm as earnestly
as Chairman S. S. simmerman, in
wythc, but in addition he must guard
against the over -sanguine feeling
(which prevails.
lust now potatoes are furnishing an
object lesson to the farmer. In this
section and in Wythe. especially.
everybody seems TO have raised pota-
toes last year. The producers, being
for the most part able to hold the.
product, rcfused offers of 60 cents q
bushel. holding them instead for q
high midwinler market. Now they arc
a glut on the market at Wytheville at
40 cents. TIE average man is living
fon them.
The moral is this: there is no work
Ing potato trust. Just why the mon
eyed interests have not seized ..yoon
this last shred of food is a mystery.
Perhaps the farmers all over the
country boarded the supply and
the magnates forgot. At any rate
they see now that 1t is not the pro-
ducer who gets the money which the
consumer pays. and the business man
and the professional man, the railroad
man and tho laborer in the Ninth Dis
trict arc paying 20 and % cents a
pound for meat which their farmer
friend. a few miles away, got less
than cents for a few months ago,
People Are Thinking.
II any one believes tho people arc
not thinking about these things, let
him talk to them, It may be true
that the average voter does not trou-
hle his mind about foreign policies or
DraadnoughtsF or Pinchot investiEa-
ticns, but he troubles his mind cons
siderahly when he puts up his money
at the store for goods which are sold
at three or four times the cost of ma
terial and manufacture. is
These uhings are appealing to the
voters of SnaNth. They know H2nry
Stuart and believe in him, They be-
Ieve he is going to be elected, But
4hey arc mistaken in thinking it can
lbr done without effort