The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1884-01-22
Tho e, aSsc.s,,lent Wrong.

A long and ~ell.considered article sign.
cd "iourg Fogy," dealing with the re-
assessment order, appears in The Register, a
newspaper Which may bsaupposed TO have
views on THE question Of public momnh
but does not rush into print with them. 9
ia 10 place 10 remark that tho Register b
not generally SLOW to defend lis party'a
blunders and condone Ito wrong.lolpe; but
the Register is not on good personal terms
with the State administration, and this
may account for It's present backwardnesa
in coming forward, and not less for its
readiness to allow correspondent 10 take
shy at the State officers.
Indeed there is in the Democratic party
an ill-concealed and very awkward effort
10 unload the State administration in the
hope that the acts Of the administration,
dono in the a,sy name and for the party
weliare, may not embayrass the Democracy
In the coming campaign, while, as reaul:
Of tho administrations unlawful man
e1vfes, The party points with pride
10 tax rate not greatly increased. a rea.
son less general for the quiet hostility O!
the Register to the S.ate administration is
that eeyeral Of lis members havo further
political ambition, and the Register isquiet-
ly at work Tor other candidates. Therefore
it Is that the unanswerable argument oil
"Young Fogy" Is no. toned down by any
able editorial comment, and the case Of the
administration il allowed to 30 by default.
II is not necceaaary to follow "Young
Fozy's article through all i.s details. II
takes the line which the 1NrRLLlGEScER
has taken from the first and with great
ability shows tha. the reassessment order
is indeiensible and dangerous. The Legis.
lsture had passed the bill, and Governor
jackson had signed it, with the Consttu.
ton before them; the attention Of the Leg.
islaturs was called to the Supreme Court
decision in the Chesapeake and Ohio Rail.
road case, and the Legislature refused to
repeal the Inv. Tho State Board ofPubIic
Works, an executive body, did what the
legislative body refused to do. To this day
the law which the executive authority
dared TO repeal has not been passed upon
by the judicial branch Of the government
This high-handsd proceeding justiiss the
strong language Of "Yonug Fogy:"
The legal rule IL thns the presumption in
every GEO shall be in favor OF the law. Il is
revolutionary pretension to cay that an
officer can d.tbrone tho law aud substitute
bis viii. Anarchy or dcspotism mpst follow.
To hs without law, and to leave the law dc.
pendent cn single will, are in effect but one
and tho same thing.
1t would have been small wonder if the
stato had btszed with the torches Of in.
diguation meetings. The executive
authority Of West Virginia had exercised
power which no ruler in Europe, except
perhaps the Car Of R1ssin, would have
presumed to claim. No one who has read
the Constitution OF Wes. Virginia will
claim, except in the widest partisan des.
perationo that the executive has this
authority. Yet the deed WAS done, and
unless taxpayers resist the tax must be
paid.
The 1SrELLlGEScER will be tho last to
charge tia. the State administration took
its unlawful action for the political ad.
vantage that might come to any member Of
it because OF that action. On the contrary
we have regarded the reassessment order
as an exhibition OF the highest personal
courage in defense Of s;raitened party.
But this does not make the order right or
lawful, and this will not satisfy Taxpayers
who have been wronged for party's bene-
fit. "Ioung Fogy' is clearly q Democrat;
it is pity that he had not the boldness 10
sisn his name to his production. The rank
and file oil the Democratic party are dis
contented, but none OF the leaders are
brave enough to take this reassessment bull
by the horns. 5...u...-