Year: 1876

Ine papers OF this District, IN regard


to the truth or untruth ofcertain spe.


cifc charges made against the above


gentleman. We have avoided this


contest because, the charges having


been made by certain newspapers, we


thought best to await, along with


the rest of the public, the substanti-


alton or refutation of these charges.


Whether or not they who made the


attempt have succeeded or not, we


leave it to those who have followed


the battle to decide. Our object in


this article is to appeal to the voters


of the seventh District, calmly and


dispassionately, and ask them, wheth-


er in their better Judgment it is a


wise and safe thing to elect to the


councils of our nation a man whose


past life has been such, that when he


comes before the people for Office, he


is obliged to promulgate q prospec-


tus promising reform, and to go


around among his neighbors solicit


ing their names to'a certificate of


moral character and business integ


rity.


Those who have known Mr.. Dick


ey for twenty years past know, that,


although socially genial, courteous


gentleman, and as we fully believe,


honest in his intentions, he is yet
subject to failing, greatly to be de-
plored, yet a fearful defect in his
moral constitution; one to which he
has yielded readily for many years,
and one which, in spite of his efforts,
will continue to injure his usefulness
and make him an unsafe adviser and
legislator which in these
trying times require clear heads,
strong wills, and morals strengthen
ed by long battling against temp
tation.


Mr.. Dickey's reform, even allow
ing that late charges against his
character are untrue, has been of too
recent inception to take on that name.
A brief respite from excess, especially
when constrained by prospects of an
office, does not constitute ''refor-
nation" Pledges do not constitute
character; promises do not consti-
tute safety. The road to perdition is
paved with good intentions; and when
those good intentions are of so late
growth as to arouse suspicious
among many that they are merely
for the purpose of securing COW
eted prize, they are doubly dubi-
GUS. The boy that is good just to
get candy is not safe boy; the man
that is good in order to get an office
is not q truly good man. Let us
look for short time at Mr.. Dick
ey's record, as known to the citizens
of this and other counties.


The writer was living in Colum-
bus during the time Mr.. D. was in
the State Senate. He well remem-
bers dropping into a physicians of
fee one morning in that city, and
hearing how the physician had been
called up, at two o'clock the night
before, and been handed q note as
follows: "For Gods sake come
quick, I've got the cholera-Dick-
ey." The physician hurried to his
room and found him lying on the
bed in q state of maudlin intoxica-
ton, surrounded by his fellow legis-
lators scarcely less drunk than he,
and empty whisky bottles and cigar
stumps and other evidences of a high
old time, scattered around the room
Mixed with the debris of the de-
bauch was the manuscript of a
speech which the distinguished Sen
ator from Ross and Highland, few
days after, made remarkable speech
"a speech for which the contents of
those bottles was responsible, not the
honorable Senator


Such scenes, if reports were true,
were a common occurrence and we
have grave reason to fear that, if
elected to the United States Con-
gress, they would occur again and
we leave it to the sober, hard work
ing farmers, business men and tax
payers of this District, if o man
whose head is filed with pain,
and nerves unstrung from a '1ast-
nights debauch, is a safe man to go
INTO the halls of our national Con-
gress and deliberate upon a nations |
needs at such time as this!


Mr.. Dickey is well known to the
citizens of Highland county as hav
ng acted for them in another official
of Civil Engineer of
DUR turnpikes. He has been freely
ind fercely charged with swindling
n the discharge of the duties of that |
ofice. Men groaning under heavy
5axation are apt to make rash attacks
lpon supposed guilty parties who
nave been instrumental in involving
hem in such taxation. For our
selves we do not believe that Mr..
Dickey was dishonest in his perform
lnce of duty, but that he scas dere
let in his duties in that position, and
that the dereliction was the direct
fleet of this great defect in his