Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1920-06-11
THE UNPARALLELED SCANDAL0US AND
CORRUPT USE OF MONEY IN
The PRIMARY.
Charleston Mail. (Repubiicdn)

lht PklMAkI.
Charleston Mail. Republican,
Four days after the primary
election in this State is seems at
| least fairly certain that the nomi-
nee of The Republicans for the Gov
crnorship is Mr.. Morgan and of the
Democrats Mr.. KoontZ. That the
! returns arc so far from complete
at this late day would be absurd if
, ii were not ScandalouS. 1t would
appear, however, that nothing is
now 10 be gained or lost by politi-
cal crooks in further withholding
the returns from several districts
since no amount of "doctoring" is
now likely to change the general
! result; 50 We may expect soon TO
see the score complete.
No more .disSraceful campaign or
election has been held in West Vir-
ginia' than the primary campaign
and election of 1920. The offenseS
in this case seem to have been
chiefly on the Republican side.
That, however, merely happened:
there were three candidates of that
party for the governorShip, while
there were only two on the Demo
cratic side; and it is safe to assert
that the prodigal, unlawful and
scandalous expenditure of money
| never reached such hugh and reck-
less proportions in any prior cleo
ton. Votes were bought by the
thousands; hundreds of them in
the city Of Charleston, the states
capital, were bought and paid for
in he plain view of passersby in
the streets. Far and wide through
out the State the bribery of cleo
ton officers was undertaken, with
or without success, as the case
might be.
Before election day it was as
serted widely, and the assertion
was unchallenged, that upwards of
half million dollars had been eX-
pended or subscribed on behalf of
the Republican candidates for the
governorship alone. 1t is now be-
ing freely circulated that, on the
very eve of primary day, Mr.. Nor
gan's candidacy, which had been
carried on for months at a hugh
! expense, was reinforced by new
slush funds amounting'to stipend
Gus total. Vast sums of money also
| were expended to win the noIni
nation for Morgan's opponents.
But it was Mr.. Morgan whose
! monied campaign was successful.
Let Mr.. Morgan answer the ugly re-
ports and rumors which scandalize
decent people! If it is untrue that
his campaign, up to the week be-
fore primary day, involved an cx-
penditure of from S125, 900 to $780,
| 600, let him say so! If ii is untrue
that at least as much more, and (ac
| cording to reporD twice as much
more, was expended for him in the
last three days of the campaign in
Guiding the hours when the polls
We're open last Tuesday, let him
speak out; he cannot afford to re-
main silent! He is yet to be elected!
No easy-going theory that, ,the
public rumors and private whisper
ings about staggering expenditures
of this campaign are gross eXag
gerations will satisfy decent people.
1t is not at all likely that they are
gross eXaggerations. 1t is not even
| AAhSiS tliCS oNClSldtC TIC ldCtS
at all. 1t is as certain as il is out
raseous that this, States electorate
was never debauched and corrupt
ed before as it was debauched and
corrupted in the primary campaign
which ended last Tuesday. 1t is at
least a fair surmisc that no such
huge sums were ever expended in
any State for the nomination of any
candidate for political office.
This statement is made by The
Daily Mail in all soberness, with
due regard for the import of its
words.
Mr.. Morgan has yet 10 win the
election. a good way to win sup
port for his own candidacy-the
kind of support that can't be
bought with filthy lucre- is for
Morgan TO give the public the bene-
fit of his personal views regarding
the use of campaign funds, and a
statement as 10 how he expects to
restrict his managers in The use of
such funds in the period between
!