Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1911-09-14

was given his first seat in Congress- bv
means of the most outrageous frauds
prscticed in the Fifth district. But
instead you let the training school for
fraud continue to turn out its pupils
until the political morality of the State
became debauched.
Then, something more than ten wears
ago MIR. Glass announced that the State
was in the hands of political brigands''
or dishonest ''office-holder's trust -
and others chimed in with him in that
cry. This was made by some of the re-
formers pretext for holding a consti-
tutional convention and the making of a
new constitution. To this was added
the claim that new constitution would
give us pure electorate and a less ex-
pensive State government. Mr.. Glass
became member of the convention;
and his desire for a pure electorate.
honest politics and a more economical
government was entirely effsced by
his intense desire to completely destroy
the Republican party in Virginia. And
he was the most Jealous worker in that
convention for the most disgraceful suf
frsge laws that have ever been written
into any constitution. He helped with
untiring zeal to construct the suffrage
clauses that have given to the machine
faction full opportunity to employ with
out let or hindrance unlimited frauds in
both primary and general elections. The
political brigands," the "merciless
machine" the "office-holder's trust"
had absolute control of the election ma
chinery when Mr.. Glass committed the
great folly of strengthening their hold
by helping put ill-advised provisions in
the organic law of the State. He not
only did this, but he urged the conven-
ton to perfidiously violate a solemn
pledge of his party, written by himself
in his party platform, to submit the con-
stitution to the people for ratification or
rejection.
Then, after the new constitution was
fastened upon the people by proclama-
ton, the machine Immediately began to
develop new power and to enlarge its
field of operations through use of the
various enabling provisions that had
been written in the constitution. The
machine has owned each Legislature
that has assembled since the new con-
stitution went into force. Is anyone
more to blame than Mr.. Glass if the
"otfice-holder's trust" has greatly en-
larged its numbers by the creation of
new departments in the State govern
ment, and providing for its members
hundreds of new offices? Is any person
more to blame than Mr.. Glass, if the
machine has so directed legislation as
to raid and bankrupt the State treas
ury? Is anyone more to blame than Mr..
Glass, if machine Legislatures have
passed Acts that violated the constitu-
ton and were approved by the Cover
nor to help the machine elect its candi-
dates?
The mistake Mr.. Glass and his asso-
ciate reformers have made, was in not
crying out their disapproval when the
machine was looting the treasury BY
various and sundry enactments and DO
ing violence to the constitution. Meth
er Mr.. Glass nor any of his associate re-
formers raised any objection when acts
were passed increasing the salaries of
officers during their term of office.
None of them made objection when the
constitution was outraged by the redis-
tricting of the Fifth and Sixth Con-
gresslonal districts, though Mr.. Glass
at that time represented the Sixth dis
trict in Congress.
No, gentlemen, by your acquiescence
and acceptance you have helped to
fasten upon the State the dishonorable
conditions you now decry. By pursuing
such course you enabled the machine
to gather behind it thousands of true
ulent office-holders, to hold as its
friends all the corporations and trusts
by preventing any legislation adverse
to their interests. This is why YOU
were crushed last Thursday by a fusion
of the railroads, the office-holders trust.
the insurance trust, the fertilizer trust.
the tobacco trust, the whiskey trust.
H..