Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1916-05-23
Hon. John ]. CoTnWeIl Replies.
(From the Hampshire Review

(From the Hampshire Review
In recent issue of the Review, the
editor in signed statement, referred
to the garbled, anonymous type-writ-
ten matter purporting to be extracts
from editorials which had appeared in
these columns, which had been first
handed around over the state qnietly
and later mailed to Democratic voters
generally. He pointed out the unfair
ness of thus garbling newspaper arti-
cles and that the circulation of such
garbled matter was not only undemc-
cratic and reprehensible, as evidenced
by the fact that those guilty of it were
unwilling their identy should be known
but that the circulation of it anony-
mously was plain violation of the
Corrupt Practices Act, the penylty for
which was disfranchisement and dis
qualification to hold office for a period
of five years. Having thus violated the
law and the amenities of decent politics
the authors of these anonymouo circu
lars could not come out openly and re-
veal their identity by undertaking to
elaborate on them, consequently they
procured the publication of long edi-
torial in The Weston Democrat.
With it, in the same issue appeared
number of articles purporting to have
been copied from the Review in an at
tempt to establish the anonymous
charge that this paper and its editor
have been hostile to President Wilson
and his Administration.
Two of the articles in question were
published in the Review prior to the
time of when President Wilson was
even nominated, when we discussing
the relative merits of the two candi-
dates for the Democratic nomination
for President, in which we alluded to
Mr. Wilson as student, scholar and
kid-gloved gentleman. Democratic
voters are asked to construe that into
an attack on the Democratic President
and the Democratic Administration.
Another article they are asked to
conslrue as a criticism of the new
Banking and Currency Law, while,
as a matter of fact, it was a dis
cussion of the original bill in the
shape in which it was introduced into
the House of Representatives. That
bill was criticised by Democratic news
papers and business men generally, as
we'll as Democratic Senators and Con-
gressmen, with the result that it was
entirely changed by the Senate and the
joint Conference Committee of the two
houses, AS passed, we repeatedly de-
clared it to be the greatest piece of
constructive legislation placed upon the
Federal Statute Books within the las
fifty years.
Yet, many thousand copies of that
Weston newspaper are distributed over
West Virginia in an effort to convince
the Democratic voters that this paper
and its editor have criticized the Bank
ing and Currency Law as enacted. What
do Democratic voters of West Virginia
think of such methods?
This Weston newspaper, it's editor
and those responsible for the outburst.
seem grossly offended that we should
have discussed the Mexican situation
some two years ago, when our govern
ment was pining faith to Villa, and
that we should have called Villa ban
dit and Carranza cattle thief. Did we
not have Villas correct measure?
Two articles discussing the contro-
versy between the Comptroller of the
Treasury and the Riggs National Bank,
in Washington, are reproduced and the
statement circulated broadcast that the
Vice President of the Riggs National
Bank is son-in-law of the editor of
this newspaper, falsehood. The edi-
tor OF The Review has no apology to
make for anything he said in connec-
ton with that matter. He knew where
of ne spoke, and he does not believe
that the Democratic voters of this State
want to penalize independence of
thought and frank and courageous dis
cussion of acts of public officers, State
or National.
These misrepresentation and this
reprehensible method of campaigning.
new to the Democratic party in West
Virginia, have reacted and letters are