Martinsburg weekly independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1873-1875, 1874-11-28

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Of the State. The people of all
the counties enumerated would he
much better accommodated by .
location OF the capital at .nnp
point farther north than G oarios
ton than they are by q a nresen,
location. whilea very con1iIerahlt
proportion Of the ,,eople Of The re-
Dainlng twe.dy three counties
wolild mn It quite ~ convenient
TO reaeh Tho capital at almost any
poiat on the line Of the Baltimore
Il Ohio Railroad ar they now find
1t at Charleston. There can be no
doubt whatever in the mind Of any
person who, without preja ice or
self-interes ,contemplates these un-
dcniable facts, that the interest and
convenience of a majority of The
people of West Virginia would be
promoted by removal of the cap
ital to some point more accessible
10 the populous portion of the
State.
The thirty-one counties enumer-
Sied above lie contiguous TO each
other communication between
them is easy expeditions and cheap
they contain more than l28, 900 PEG
pie more than all the remaider of
the State and yet they are remote
from the capital and are subjected
10 great Inconvenience and serious
detriinent on that account. Ger
tainly the majority should not be
any longer compelled to sacrifice
ity.
We have spoken above only
of population and have shawn
that the location Of the
Capital 1T Charleston incOm-
modes the greater portion OF the
people of the State for the satisfac
ton of the le~>. But when we
consider the relative wealth of the
cou mites iucommoded and the
are of State b rdens they bear,
the disadvantage and injustice OF
the preseAt location will be even
more apparent. According 10
the Auditors report for the year
ending September 30. 1872, The
total tax on real and personal
property in each county in the
State amounted to SOLO, 956.7l. Of
this, the counties enumerated
above (omitting Cahoun) paid in
10 the STATE treasury 1926, 53l 20,
which is more than two-thirds OF
the whole revenue OF the State,
$243, 1926 more than is paid by
the entire section in whose bosom
the State Capital is placed. Can
this disadvantage Of the present
location be exhibited in any strOn-
ger light? Certainly no citizen who
loves Justice and desires the pro
motion of the interests of the State
can reasonably contend for the re
tention of the seat of government
at point remote from by far The
greater portion OF the wealth. Ger
tainIy those who not only cut
number the opponents of removal,
but also pay two-thiris OF 'he tax
as which support the State govern
ment, may justly regard their own
convent nee as paramount to that
of "A less number Of people paying
only one-third as much.
For the people OF Charleston and
of The portion of the State la which
il is situated we entertain none but
kindly feelings. The disadvan-
tages under which the people of
the State labor by reason of the
location of the Capital at Charles
ton have not been created by the
citizens of that place, but continue
to exist in spite of all efforts 10
overcome them. If the Capital
had been, by some Legislative
freak or bluuder located among
The mountains of Mcdowell cOun-
ty, surely the hardy jewellers in
that region would have no cause
for complaint if, when reason re-
turned, the seat of government
we've transferred to some mere
accessible place; and how absurd
it would be for dweler in Nc
Dowcll county to demonstrate by
saying to the people of the remain
der of the STATE, 1T is no more diff
ficult for you 10 come to Mcdowell
than it is for me to go to any point
you may find convenient for you?
The principal reasons why the
Capital should be at once removed
from Charleston may be briefly
summed up as follows;
1t is remote from the most pop
ulous portion of the State; the peo-
Pile who are incommoded out
numbering by more than Us, 900
those who are supposed 10 be &C.
cOmmodated thereby.
1t is remote from the wealth and
business interests of the State; the
people who are incommoded pay
ing more than two-thirds of the
State taxes, or more than twice as
much as is paid by those who are
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