A Smear, a Denial, and the Sheriff's Race
Stevens County Republicans disavowed a circular attacking the Democratic sheriff candidate—and insisted their own man, T. J. Turk, had nothing to do with it.
The following resolution speaks for itself:
Republican Central Committee of Stevens County, Colville, Wash., Oct. 29, 1908.
We, the executive committee of the Republican party of Stevens County, Washington, having been apprised that a circular containing matter of a detrimental nature to the Democratic candidate for sheriff has been circulated over the county, do hereby state that we find that the opening statement of said circular is false and misleading. That the complaint following said opening statement was filed, but substituted by an amended complaint, upon which the case was disposed of. We, the executive committee for the Republican party, and for every candidate of said party, do unanimously disclaim the issuance of said circular, and inasmuch as the impression may exist that the Republican candidate for sheriff, T. J. Turk, was instrumental in the circulation of said circular, we disclaim for him in particular any action in or responsibility for the issuance of said circular. The Republican candidate for sheriff is a clean, able man, and would not stoop to such means to secure an election.
F. Leo Grinstead, A. W. Anderson, W. F. Diffenbacher, W. R. Baker, W. S. Case, Osee W. Noble, S. J. Appleman, Executive Committee of Republican Central Committee.
F. A. Savage, Chairman. Buss Phillips, Secretary.
“The Republican candidate for sheriff is a clean, able man, and would not stoop to such means to secure an election.”
The 1908 circular was a county-level dirty trick, met by a formal party disavowal—a pattern familiar in the age of viral political mailers and last-minute smears. What changed is the speed; what stayed is the difficulty of putting a genie back in the bottle once an accusation is loose in an election.
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