The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1912-09-12
real CAMPAIGN ISSUE is
BASED ON THAT BRIBERY

NASAN ONSS VINO oCb Out " uSdI IlLLA
Mitchelrs first victory oyer them
was when he secured county pr1.
mary sherlR Charles Bumgartner
]. F. Haverty, another county off.
cial. and Delegate Owens were In
charge of the Watson side of the ar.
gument. They were plentifully sup.
piled with ammunition and they
went about it to beat the fighting
McGraw editor with the usual Wat.
son methods. To weaken Mitchel1's
strength, they figured it, the tn ne
for them to do was to bring out
other candidates. This they did,
The result was that there were six
men in the race on the day of the
primary. and the result of the pri-
mary was that Mitchell beat all
five of them. receiving more votes
than they all had punched together.
ut was one os the prettiest little
fights against the big, rich and pow
erful Watson organization that has
been pulled OFF in the state, for the
issue was clean-cut. Mitchell, the
poverty-stricken but militant anti
Watson fighter. beat Doodle, organ
ziation, county officials and every
thing else they pitted aga him
and he did 1T crIshingly. Now what
followed? Do we find the Watson
lientenants. Bumgartner, the sheriff,
Haverty the county clerk and ow-
ems, the legislator who voted for
Watson and others, DR.. Mitchell, of
Burning Springs For instance work
ing for the election Editor Mitch
ell? Not bit of 1t according TO
that gentleman and his friends.
They say these men are opposing
him. and they have called on-ln-
deed the have cal ed on-the state
comm ttee-"the Watson commit
tee" as one of them termed it, to
call of" this opposition to prove
that ut is on the square. that 1t
holds the success of the Democratic
party above the success of any ono
man When this matter was
brought to the attention of Char
man Walker that astute politicians
observation and remark was Mitch
ell ought to get off the ticket" To
say that bit OF political erudition
was received with enthusiastic ac-
claims by the friends of the anti
Watson candidate for the legislature
in Writ county, would be putting
1t all too mildly. They howled and
ragged. Get off the ticket, indeed,
and Mitchell nominated at fair
and square primary, receiving more
votes than all his five competitors
put together This is the Watson
idea of "letting the people rule" as
expressed by the Watson chairman,
Walker. "Get off the ticket" My
how that riled them. They made
the air culver blue with their say
ngs.
This case is merely one of several
but is / typical of what brought
about the protest above referred to,
and. the charge that the headquar-
tiers here are being run by men who
are centered upon merely one thing,
and that is electing the Watson can
didates for the leg stature. Where
there aren't Watson candidates, like
in Writ county, they are to be beaten
at the polls it seems from the
charges the Democratic politicians
are making. NJ 'tchelrs nomination
was a blow to the bituminous boss,
but his election would be a veritable
thorn in his flesh. For Mitchell
is a whirlwind against the Wat
son organizat on and fights vi
ciously and continue ly. He never
takes a day OF, and If would be a
happy day for Watson could he be
put out Of tht way and s.lenced.
From this and other cases like it
the dissatisfaction arose from which
sprung the call for the meeting OF
the candidates with the committee
in a few days. 1t is going to be
suavely explained to the protest.
ing candidates that their interests
are being looked after and the party
as whole is being boosted. The
cand dates will probably demand
that they be shown. In the mean
time, those not interested but who
know politics from pumpkin pie,
will adhere to the opinion that they
have already formed when the COM
mittee was organized and the per-
sonnet of the working fIrce at
headquarters was announced, that
Watson is going to run the cam
palgn for Watson and nobody else,
and that all the working and finan-
cial strength of the party organiza-
tinn mffnh to XyoEeo, - ~