The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1877-02-03
ESTABLISHED AUGUST "a, 1852 WHEF

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and convenience Of a majority Of tl,e
people Of West Virginia would be pro.
NOTED by removal Of the Capital 10
some point more accessible 10 the popu.
lons portion Of the State.
The thirly.one counties enumerated
above lie contiguous TO each other com.
munication between them il ensy, expe.
ditious and cheap; they contain more
than l2S,O0O people more than all the re-
mainder Of the State, and yet they are re.
mote from the Capital and subjected to
great inconvenience and serious detri
ment on that account. Certainly the
majority should not be any longer COM
PEELED to sacrifice its interests 10 those
OF the minority.
We have spoken above only Of popula.
tiOn, and have shown that the location Of
the Capital at Charleston incommodes
the greater portion OF the people OF the
State for the satisfact ion OF The less, But
when we consider the relative wealth Of
the counties incommOded and the. share
Of State burdens they bear, the disadyan-
tage and injustice Of the present location
will be even more apparent. According
to the Auditors report for the year end.
ing September 80, 1872, the total tax on
real and personal property in each county
III The State amounted to S6l5, ,B56 II,
Ol this, the counties enumerated above
(omitting Callloun) paid into the State
treasury Si20, ,53l 20, which is more than
two'thirds Of the whole revenue Of the
State, or S2i3, ,l0G 20 more than is paid
by the entire section in whose bosom the
State Capital is placed. Can the disad.
vantage ol the present location be ex-
hlhited in any stronger light? Certainly
no citizen who loves justice and desires
the prOlnatiUn Of the interests Of the
State can reasonably contend for the re.
tention ot the seat Of government at n
point remote from by far the greater por.
ton Of the wealth. Certainly those who
not only outnnmber the opponents OF re.
moval but also pay two.thirds oil the
taxes which support the State govern.
ment, may justly regard their own conve.
nience as paramount TO that OF less
number OF people paying onIy onc.hali
as much.
| II the Capital had been, by some legisla.
tive freak or blundCr, located among the
mountains Of Mcdowell county, surely
tho hardy dwellers in that region would
have no cause for complaint II, when
reason returned, the seat Of government
were transferred to some more accessible
place; and how absurd it would be for u
dweller in Mcdowell county to remon.
strate by saying TO the people Of the re-
mainder OF the State, at ia no more diff.
cult for you to come to Mcdowell than
il is for me TO go 10 any point you may
lind convenient for you ~
The principal reasons why the Capital
should be At once removed from Charles.
ton may be briefly summed up as follows:
II is remote from the most populous
portion Of the State; the people who are
incommoded outnumbering 6ymore than
l2S,OOO those who are supposed to be nc.
commodated thereby.
II is remote from the wealth and busi.
ness interests Of the State; the people who
are incommoded paying more than two.
thirds Of the State taxes, or more than
twice as much as is paid by those who are
supposed to be accommodated by the
present location.
Communication between Charleston and
the most populous and wealthy portion
Of the State is slow, ditFicult and expen-
sive, especially during the winter season,
and, as the result of this, the people are
unable to exert upon the legislative body
that influence which their interests de.
mnnd, and the legislators are unable to
maintain that intercourse with their con-
stituents which is necessary for the enact.
mcnt OF wholesome laws.
In consequence Of these difficulties OF
communication, the members OF the Leg
islatue are cut ofTfrom intercourse with
their constituents and cannot correctly
interpret their will; while citizens at
home have but inadequate means know
ing what public measures are being dis.
cussed by the law.making body, and are
prevented from instructing their repre-
sentatives concerning the legislation most
needed or most 10 be Stunned. AT the
same time the opportunities Tor abuse OF
the legislative power are largely increas-
cd by the comparative ease with which
an Objectionable bill may be passed and
become law long before the people most
affected by it can know Of its existence
or make their protest heard. ....