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

UHEnC lnC DlAmE hcSlS.
The Democratic primary held in Vir-
ginia last Thursday resulted as was ex-
pected by all persons who are acquaint-
ed with machine methods in the State.
How the anti-machine forces and candi-
dates could have anticipated any other
termination of the struggle than crush
ing defeat is passing strange. In the
political history of the United States no
machine has ever been as completely
entrenched in power as has the one
which has dominated this State for the
past twenty years. And those who are
now assailing it are largely responsible
for its creation and its seeming perpet-
uation. They have lent assistance to
the INSCRIPTIONS politicians and fur
nished means and opportunity to them
to blend. harmonic and utilize all the
corrupt and corrupting influences and
elements that make and sustain a dan
gerous political machine. Too late the
spirit of reform has begun to manifest
itself in the ranks and leadership of the
Virginia Democracy. The so-called re-
formers helped to sow the wind and
they have reaped the whirlwind. The
approval given by Messrs. Glass, Jones.
Tucker, Montague and the host of re-
form Democrats to the machine. and
their hearty acceptance of its unholy
methods of the past twenty years as
against the Republicans, to say nothing
of their hearty willingness to be made
beneficiaries of the crooked methods of
the machine organization when directed
against Republicans, made them power
less against the machine when at last
they became the advocates of civic
virtue.
The Virginia Democratic LEAGUE.
which is now crying aloud for honest
politics and an honest administration of
the affairs of the Commonwealth, ought
to have been organized twenty years
years ago. A powerful, ringing voice
should then have been raised against
the men who controlled the Democratic
party and organization in the State.
Instead of acquiescing and accepting
the results, honest Democrats should
then have begun to hurl their indignant
shafts at the party leaders and mana
gers who took reckless young country
fellows, or broken down men of no
character to lose, or coarse ward and
precinct workers eager for jobs and let
them do the perjury, the stealing and
the smuggling for u.s.
Yes, Messrs. Glass, Jones, Tucker
Montague, and all you Democrats who
are now so eager to travel an honest
political highway, you ought to have be-
gun your fight for the honor of Virginia
when that training school for Fraud
was first established, when: 1--WE took
ignorant or reckless men and trained
them to perjury, taught them how to
steal ballots, to obstruct voters, to forge
poll lists, to alter returns, to pIav tricks
of low cunning, laughed and applauded
secretly and joined our miserable tools in
their lies by lying for them in the courts.
covering up their offences, accepting the re- |
.uits of their work."
Yes, you ought to have shouted for
honesty when the organized machine
forces used their miserable tools to play
ali these tricks of low cunning, supple
nented with the most dishonest ballots
hat were ever devised, to twice steal
ne Ninth Congressional district for
Judge Rhea, instead of lauding him "a
he only man that could beat that noble
Id hero, General James A. Walker.
les. and you should have entered a vio-