Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1911-09-07
TICKET,
A REFORMED VIRGINIA DEMOCRACY.

A REFORMED VIRGINIA DEMOCRACY.
The errstic editor of the Roanoke
Times, who is doing double duty for the
Democracy and the corporate
interests, has frequently in recent years
that the Virginia Democ.
-acy has been truly reformed and is now
strictly honest He is now engaged ir
the undertaking of demonstrating that
politics is clean and patriotic
The editor of the Roanoke Times only {
few years ago, in March, 1908, held
different view. He was then editor Of
the Richmond News Leader and mad,
q wonderful confession as to the corrup
practices that had prevailed in Virgini.
prior to the making of the new constitu
ton. Here is part of that confession
Even in these conditions the
great body of the respectable men
among us shuddered and shrank at
the idea of committing perjury per-
sonally. WE knew dirty work had
to be done. but our instincts re-
belled at doing it ourselves. WE
did not care about putting our own
personal fingers into a very nasty
rn0oG Tbnraf0ra WI
cited what the Farmville Herald so
gleefully calls the boys WE took
reckless young country fellows, or
broken down men with no charac-
ter to lose, or coarse ward and pre-
cinct workers eager for jobs and let
them do the perjury, the stealing
and the smuggling for US. WE Gre
ated and hired our rascals.
Every election WE developed a
new stock of perjurers and BULLDOG
ers. WE took ignorant or reckless
men and trained them to perjury,
made them our employed thugs. WE
taught them how to steal ballots.
to obstruct voters, to forge poll
lists, to alter returns, to play tricks
OF low cunning. WE laughed and
and applauded secretly and Joined
our miserable tools in their lies by
lying for them in the courts, cover
ing up their offences, accepting the
results of their work.
The thugs WE employed and
developed, or who volunteered, to
smash ballot boxes, to break up
lines at the polls, to shoot and hit;
and the tricksters whom WE taught
and encouraged to commit frauds.
claimed increasing rewards. They
not only demanded offices and
consideration but in many parts of
the State they took charge and con-
troll of the Democratic party. Citi-
zens who recOled at the idea of personal per-
jury and robbery we're regarded as moIycoddles
in politics and thrust to one side.
Frequently it happened that good
men were put into Office but they
were little more than figure heads,
the real power beng held by the
gang the boys the organiza-
tion,' the machine or whatever it
might be called. These conditions
were regarded by the great mass of
the people as unwholesome and
dangerous. Graft follows the track
of election stealing as naturally
and surely as buzzards gather to
feed where carton reeks.
cit is for the local newspapers
which have 80 much to do with the
cleansing or fouling, the elevation or
degradation of public sentiment to
consider soberly whether it is good
for Virginia to bring up her young
men and the children of the coming
generations in this atmosphere of
loose morality, of holding perjury
and theft as matters to be regarded
indulgently, laughed at as trifes
and rewarded as patriotic service"
Thus spoke three years ago the pres
1t editor-in-chief of the Roanoke
mes. Now he is holding up as mod
3 of virtue and patriotism 1.-THE gang,
he boys" 1.-THE organization, ''the
achine," OF whatever it is called.
Recently there was very much discus
N rs to the meaning of ''Us" that APP
AIRED 20 frequently In the celebrated