The
Cortland Democrat, March
2, 1888.
“A
WATERLOO FOR TRUXTON”
WAS
IT A WATERLOO OR A BULL RUN?
Editor of the Cortland Democrat:—Having seen a
copy of last week's Cortland Standard, I was surprised to see that some crank had seen fit to
cause to be printed, so article headed as above [sic].
I say I was surprised for the
reason that since Town meeting, I have not met a single republican who could
mention the subject without dropping his eyes and sneaking off apparently as
proud of the performance as a dog, when he has succeeded in killing a large flock
of sheep. The crank who signs himself "One who was there" says that "the
Democratic ticket was crammed down the throats of the Democratic party at their
caucus."
Let me inform that individual
that the honest republicans reserved their cramming time and cramming ammunition
until the end of Town meeting, and instead of cramming tickets down a party's
throat, as asserted by the "crank," they tried it on the ballot box
and a shamefully awkward job they made of it. 1st, because they overdone the job,
and 2nd, because they failed to shake the box after the job was done, for they
left 36 straight republican votes on the top of the box, and this I suppose is
the "nauseating morsel" mentioned by the "crank," as having
been thrown up on the eve of Town meeting.
Is this what
constitutes your "Waterloo?" In my opinion you might have improved
the name by calling it a Bullrun. The run was made with the ballot box before
the votes were counted, and the bull was made by the unsuspecting democrats, by
letting you take it. "A Waterloo for Truxton." O, you poor silly ass!
Why do you thus exhibit your long ears and bray in this foolish manner? Don't
you know that every decent republican in this vicinity is crying shame upon you
and upon the performance throughout? Ninety-six straight republican votes and
over forty splits. You poor ignoramous! Are you not aware of the fact that if
each republican in this town should take from his [cornfield] a scarecrow and pawn
him off upon your credulous, solid republican board, as a straight republican and
add to their list the infant you shipped from Cortland, and the two Cuyler boys
that you voted, and you will fail to swell your army to more than half the
number you claim.
And by the
way, while you were talking of cheap democratic whiskey, and cheap beer, you
forget to mention "the little brown jug" which was down street, under
the control of your solid republican board. Perhaps the reason you omitted to mention
this was, that you were finding fault only with cheap stuff and that having a
contribution toward the price, or sampled at, you know it to be "good",
and should say, judging from your language that you must have taken a
"smile" about the time you made your delivery. Now hadn't you better
crowd into a little hole and if the hole is large enough, take in the little
brown jug with you and forever hold your peace.
A DEMOCRAT.
TRUXTON, Feb. 26th, 1888.
Editor of the Cortland Democrat:
DEAR SIR:—I hope you will
pardon one who differs from you politically, when he makes so bold as to
request that you will give him a little space in the columns of your paper to
reply to an article which appeared in last week’s issue of the Cortland Standard
entitled "a Waterloo for Truxton "
Having for 40 years voted the
republican ticket and done some hard work at the polls, I feel that I am
competent to express an opinion as to what constitutes fair dealing and fair
representation and to distinguish between this and chicanery and fraud, and
having been present most of the day at the town meeting held at Truxton on the 2lst
inst., I regret to say that the less my republican brethren have to say
relative to our so called victory the better it is for the party.
Never having attended a democratic
caucus, I am incompetent to say what may have transpired there, but I will say
that in my opinion the candidates nominated on both tickets were, with but few
exceptions, men well worthy of the support of the respective parties, and men,
who, if elected, (and I have good reason to believe most of the candidates on
the democratic ticket were) they would have honestly and ably discharged their
respective duties.
The article above referred to
states that "the town has been democratic for years." If this be true
how comes it that there was a solid republican board? Now, that there was not a
single democrat on the board is a fact which cannot be denied, and this being
the case, I feel that it was the plain duty of my republican brethren to
exercise every precaution that our democratic opponents might have no chance to
criticize their acts, and this my republican friends, you failed to do.
I know not what may have been the
custom in the town of Truxton for years past (as I have not lived with you many
years) but in my native town the members of a board did not spend half of their
time in the street coaxing or bribing voters. In my native town I never knew
the members of a town board to keep ballots on the table or in their pockets,
and when voters came in to vote try to induce them to exchange for a different
kind, and became so interested in the business as to leave but two out of the 5
members sitting at the table for a large part of the time. Neither have 1 ever known
of a member of a board so far forgetting the position he was occupying, as to go
about the room like a boy canvassing for a dime song book, canvassing for votes
with the town book under his arm. Neither did I ever in my native town, see a
member of a town board take home with him the ballot box and all the votes
before they were counted.
All these things may be right
and may seem strange to me because I have never seen them before, yet I feel
that I can never become reconciled to that mode of procedure on the part of a
board, especially when the ballot box turns out 96 straight republican votes
out of a town that never had 60 republican voters. It this is necessary to make
a Waterloo, or a republican victory, may God grant that I may never be one of
the parties to it.
AN HONEST
REPUBLICAN.
TAYLOR.
Town meeting is over and we
have met the enemy and we are theirs. The cause which led to our defeat is due
in part to several things. In the first place we had a republican majority of
from 80 to 40 to overcome, notwithstanding this fact their triumph is due
almost entirely to democrats, of whom about 30 staid at home and about half as
many more voted the straight republican ticket.
There are many things we do not
like to see in professed democrats in this town, viz: to stay away from the
caucus and then find fault with the nominations; to attend the caucus, but
because they can’t rule it, either stay at home or come to town meeting and vote
the whole or a part of the republican ticket. All these things, and many more tricks
of democrats took place to our personal knowledge.
Philander Kingsbury, who has
been sick for several months, died at an early hour Tuesday morning, aged 74
years. For many years Mr. K has been a resident of Union Valley, and was known by nearly every one for miles around, and it
goes without saying that he will be missed by his neighbors and friends, who
respected him. He was a lifelong democrat. He leaves a wife and several
children to mourn his loss. The funeral was held Thursday.
Miss Nina Jordan came near
being severely injured by a cow belonging to Amanzo Allen. As she was walking
along the road the cow took after her and hooked her into the snow, but
fortunately Harris Allen saw her and came to her rescue before any very serious
injuries were inflicted.
No comments:
Post a Comment