Martinsburg statesman-democrat. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1906-1921, 1912-06-14
BOOM OF GOVERNOR
GLASSCOCK COLLAPSES
In Strong Contrast Is Harmony
Which Prevails In DemOcra-
tic Ranks a Factor Insur-
ing Victory.

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West Virginia and the action If the
Republican National Committee at
Chicago has brought confusion to the
Republican party In West Virginia,
which had apparently fallen into the
hands of the Dawson faction of the
party BY an overwhelming vote the
Roosevelt-Dawson faction was placed
in control of the party at the Hunt
ington Convention, May 16 Mr. Daw-
son stepped gracefully into the sad
die, selected his own state commit
tee, and started out to control the Re
publican party in West Virginia; to
name the candidates for the various
offices and to commit the party to re-
call of judges and other doctrines Of
Theodore Roosevelt
But, the rank and file OF the Repub-
iican party in West Virginia decid
ed that Gov. Dawson should not be
their leader and in order to defeat
him they chose what they seemed to
consider the lesser evil and threw
the control of the party back into the
hands of the same old gang of bosses
who have been debating to the Re
publican party in West Virginia for
many years.
For a while it looked as though the
West Virginia Republicans had
grown tired of the bossism of Ma
than B. Scott and the same old sang
of which he was the head and had
turned to the former boss, w. VI. O.
Dawson, for a change But, rs soon
as Mr. Dawson came into tenn
porary result was that when the state
wide primary election was held on
June 4 Mr.. Dawson and his crowd
were utterly repudated and the same
old bunch which has been controlling
the affairs of the party for many
years was re-instated to power. Mr.
Dawson wrote an open letter declar-
ing c. w, Dillon to be his choice fer
Governor. But DIR. Hatfield, who had
been induced to become a candidate
at a conference in Washington at
which State Chairman Highland, Far-
mer Senator Davis Elkins, II. G. Og-
den and other anti-DaWson Republi-
cans were chosen, received an over
whelming vote and won the nonlina-
ton with ease.
Even in thesmatter of the new state
committee, Mr. Dawson was badly
beaten While in full control of the
Huntington Convention, Mr. Dawson
put through a resolution increasing
| the membership of the state commit
/ tee by sixteen and naming sixteen
j Dawson followers for the places. The
old state committee held that these
additional members must be voted
for at the primary election on June
A an dalso put mp some other candi-
dates. The result of the primary cleo
ton is that out of the 80 members of
the new committee the anti-DaWGon
crow dwill have about %, insurins the
reelection of Virgil l.. Highland, as
chairman of the state committee aud
depriving Mr. Dawson of any ocnu oil
whatever over the committee.
While the Dawson and Roosevelt
| faction captured the delegates to the
/ Chicago Convention from West Nir-
ginia and announced Gov. Glass2ock
as a candidate for Vice-President,
their influence seems to have stopped
there. The action of the Republican
National Committee in deciding the
contests over delegates to the Nation
al Convention indicates very clearly
that President Taft will be renomi-
mated at the Chicago Convention
Iii Hpnply n n
day. With the State committee in the
hands of Taft men and with Taft as
the regular Republican nominee, and
with friends of Taft and the old raft
machine nominated for state Offices
In West Virginia the RooseyeltDaw-
son faction seem to have sunk again
to their former depths leaving the
state again entirely in the control al
the Taft crowd and the old Taft ma
chine. Ii was the revolt against this
old machine which defeated Senator
Scott and sent four Democrats to the
House of Representatives from West
Virginia and two Democrats to thcSen
ate. The revolution against the old
machine proved merely to be an I'M
successful rebellion and the tempo
rary overthrow of the old machine
amounted to nothing for it has come
>ack with even greater strengtt
than it had before.
While il was made apparent that
the Republicans If West Virginia
preferred Theodore Roosevelt for
President and by an overwhelming