Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1911-10-26

I
towards sunset compelled to vote
unb0ught like an honest man. for
once in his life, or trudgiag home
ward disappointed, his pocket as
empty of money as his breast is of
principle This fellow will curse
Judge Skeen heartily: but maybe
will change his mild when he has
enjoyed a few times the luxury of
voting like freeman and as q gen
tleman and being able to look his
neighbors in the face like white
man instead of having the hang-dog
feeling of having been bought and
sold as negro slaves were before
the war
If Judge Skeen can help Danish
the ''fOater" he will relieve Vir-
ginia of one of the foulest disgraces
and most serious dangers that af-
hict her and do as much real good
as any judge we ever have had ever
! accomplished. Roanoke Times.
Chasing the fioater. are you? Chas-
ing how? To keep him from voting
this time? How did you chase him last
year? Are you really nov in earnest in
your desire to Danish the ''6oater" from
the polls? Why were you not anxious
to do so last year? Stuart needed the
tioater last year, and he is not running
now. The managers in the Ninth dis
trict began to chase the ''floaters" as
soon as MIR. Stuart was nominated for
Congress; and they continued to chase
them until they got about five or six
thousand to deposit their ballots for
Stuart. Then Judge Skeen made pub
lie announcement of what he was going
to do to the ''floater" if he sold his
vote any more. Past, recent transac-
tons were to go UNPUBLISHED. Just sup
pose Judge Skeen had ordered an in
vestigstiOn at his first term after the
election last Fall. Wouldn't the reve-
lations have been startling? Now let
US see what might have been brought to
light
That circular letter sent out on March
IL, 1910, by MIR. R. Tate Irvine, calling
a meeting at Bristol on the 18th of
March, of the special campaign COM
mittee, of which he was chairman. could
have been produced. This circular let
ter was the first announcing the intend
ed character of the campaign that was
to be waged, and it was to be venal.
The circular said:
"Our work for the present, of
course, will be confined strictly to
, poll tax matters. Please
f come prepared to make a close esti-
mate of the funds that will be need
ed to complete the organization. "
The meeting was held at Bristol. and
as q result, then and subsequently, more
, than twenty-five thousand dollars was
raised and used to pay the poll taxes of
J delinquents and ''fioaters"-reports
! stating that the delinquent poll taxes of
! s, 700 voters were paid from this Demo
cratic fund.
r Then, early in the campaign Mr.. j.
f. Wysor, secretary of the Democratic
: committee for the district, sent out
, from the Stuart headquarters at Pu-
laski that notorious ''floater" circular
letter. This letter was sent to precinct
, committeeman with the request that
they make complete lists of the quail
fled voters and persons entitled to reg
lister at their several precincts. Mr..
Wysor said:
''It is of the utmost Importance
that we know just how many DEM
ocrats there are at each precinct.
how many Republicans and how
many tloaters. and, above all, know
exactly who they are"
After the reports were received from
the precincts the Stuart managers sent
checkers to the various counties, and
we heard one of these checkers say that
they found six thousand ''fioaters"-
men who would sell their votes. This
accounts for the large increase in the
Democratic vote received by Mr.. Stu
art, for it will not be disputed that the
local Democratic workers took charge
of the floating vote and herded it care
fully until every possible purchasable
ballot was deposited.
No more venal and debauching cam
paign was ever conducted in this coun-
try than the one directed by the Demo-