Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1912-05-16
MASS MEETING
LARGELY ATTENDED.
The "UntenifIed" Of TaleWeI Send Dele
gates 10 Norfolk In Manner Prescribed
by The MAN Higher Up."

IL mao Oeen rumOred Tor some time
there would be something doing" when
the democratic county mass meeting
convened, and there was. From the
time the acting county chairman, S. J.
Thompson, called the meeting to order
until it adjourned two hours later, there
was never a moment that it did not re-
semble Donny brook Fair. The pro-
gressives, or anti-mschine men. won
the first round in the selection of the
chairman, but the conservatives got their
second wind before the vote came up on
the resolutions, and, oiling the steam
roller flattened out the opposition until
only tine empty honor of one delegate to
Norfolk was left them.
In the absence of the county chair
man, A. s. Higginbothsm, S. ]. Thomp-
son called the meeting to order snd in
few brief words stated that the object
of the meeting was the selection of del
egates to the state convention which
meets in Norfolk on the 23rd. He had
hardly finished before representatives of
of the two factions were on their feet
to nominate a chairman. Frank Kits
nominated E. King Crockett and Colonel
j. B. Boyer did the same for R. 3. Will
hanson. After a short wrangle over
the order of procedure in placing the
names before the meeting, a vote was
taken, and Mr.. Crockett declared elect
ed. w. B. Leslie was made secretary
by acclamstion, and then the fun began,
Hon. VIM. H. Werth secured recogni-
tion from the chair and made an impas-
stoned speech in which he plead elo-
quently for the people to be allowed to
express their preference between the
four avowed candidates for the demo-
cratic presidential nomination, and in
reviewing the struggle now going on
throughout the country between the
progressive and reactionary forces of
the two great parties, made an eloquent
appeal in behalf of the progressive
element of his own party. At the close
of his address, Mr. Werth offered res
olution to the effect that the names of
the democratic presidential candidates
be placed before the meeting in alpha
betical order, viz: Clark, Harmap, Un-
derwocd and Wilson, and that the men,
bers of the party present be called up
on to express their preference as to
their choice of the four.
Judge S. C. Graham was the first to
reply to Mr.. Werth. He said his
(Werth's) appearance in the meeting
was not unexpected, and asked his op-
ponent to define a progressive demo-
crat, and assured the audience that he
was democrat with no qualifying ad-
jective, and wanted to know if the del
egates to Norfolk should be sent there
bound hand and foot. He then offered
substitute resolution to the effect that
the delegates to Norfolk go uninstruct-
ed, and called attention to the fact that
of the one hundred counties in the state
only six had instructed their delegates
two of these being in this congressional
district.
Captain A. j. Tynes then in brief
speech resented the imputation appear
ing last week in the democratic organ
of the county that the "best citizens of
this county, to be selected as delegates,
would go to Norfolk and let Senator
Thomas S. Martin get them drunk"
Judge S. NJ. B. Coulling made a logic
al presentation of the position of those
favoring the Werth resolution. starting
with the statement that the fundamen-
tel principle of government was: that
the President is but an agent of the
people, and that the basis of all power
of government is the expression of the
will of the people through their accred-
tied agents; that the delegates would be
the agents of the people of this county
in mass meeting assembled, and should
accept the service of agents. Replying
to question, he expressed frank de-
sire born in the days of his youth,
when ideals were high and manhood
warm-to see Senator Thomas S. Mar
tin wiped off the political map of Vir-
ginia.
Colonel J. B. Boyer then secured the
floor for moment to say that good
deal had been said in the meeting con-
corning Senator Martin, and that in his
behalf he wished to call attention to the
fact that for the past four months he
had been constantly at the beside of his
dying wife and unable to attend to his
duties as United States Senator. This
statement brought Mr.. Werth to his
feet with the quick retort that Senator
Martin had found time to write letters
all over this district in favor of an
uninstructed delegation, and that a
letter was then on the floor of the
convention asking if money could be
used to sway the Tazewell delegation,
and said that eight years ago, with an
uninstructed delegation from Virginia to
the Denver convention, travelling in
Thomas Ryan's' private car, they had
been controlled to vote at the behest of