Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1892-09-21
rHr VIRGINIA. FREE PREsS--rHE OLD FAMILY 10
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TORN TO sHREDS.
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Continued from pTSt pGgc.J
1879 IL was l23. 1857. In 1871 there We're
only Gags teachers employed; in 1871
there were ). 500 teachers employed. The
value of our school property IN 1871 was
81 .064, III: in 1891 it was s., 151, 1856. In
ISL we had an irreducible school fund
of only S27s. O69 %, and a general fund
aggregating only $174, S9635; i'll 1891 the
irreducible school fund had grown 10
1868 ,203.93, and the general fund to
1851 .4S7. SO. In 1871 the entire amount
spent in education was $577, 71S.72, while
in 1891 there was expended 81 1850, 693,54:
This, my friends, is the splendid record
of our educational progress and grandiy
vindicates the loyalty of the Democratic
party to the bright boys and girls OF
West Virginia.
West Virginia Railroads.
In 1870 we had $50 miles of railroad in
this state. The milage was made up al
most entirely of the Baltimore and Ohio
railroad, completed in 1916, under
Democratic administration of the old
mother state. During the entire period
of Republican rule in West Virginia,
from the organization of the state to
1871. less than twenty-five miles of rail
roads were constructed and put into
operation. What a record for this party
of boosted progress that now in the face
of such record charges us with retardlng
the growth of the state On the other
hand, what has been done IN railroad
building under Democratic admimstra-
ton since 1870? On the 31th of last De-
cember. the aggregate railroad mileage
in this state was 1865 miles, assessed at
S1S.195. 1864, with many more miles OF
new road under construction than at any
other time in the history of our state.
Not only this, but the new roads are
chiefly CROSSINGS, penetrating the IN
terror of the state and reaching and
throwing open to capital those sections
richest in all the elements of material
wealth; and they have been and are being
constructed by West Virginians, they
are largely the product Of West Vir-
ginia enterprise, muscle, brains and
capital. In the face of these facts, my
fellow citizens, which party is the party
of progress. and which shall be charged
with retarding the growth of your state!
Does the fact that in nine years OF Ke-
publican supremacy less than twenty
five miles of railroad were built IN West
Virginia, show that any great amount OF
progress attaches to that party? Is the
quadrupling of our railroad mileage I'M
der Democratic administration to be
cited as evidence that the Democratic
party is retarding the growth of the
state?
Progress of the Mining Industry.
No less maabed is our progress under
Democratic rule in other lines of indus
trial activity. We can not give an estl-
mate, even, of the coal business in this
state when tine Republicans were run
ming things, so small and insignificant
were the operations There was no
mining law, no mine inspectors, no re-
ports to the legislature touching this in
dustry. Twenty years ago L had not
seen a coke oven in the state. and l
doubt if any were built. How is it now?
In 1891 our mines yielded 1921 ,430 long
tons of coal, as against 1858 79 tons IN
1880. an annual average increase of over
IS per cent. since 1880. In 1880, 1903
miners and 1,173 outside laborers were
Employed last year our mines gave en-
ployment to 10, 424 miners and 2,5S9 out
side laborers.
In 1880 we produced 121, 715 tons of
coke: last year 1884 tons, and West
Virginia took rank as the second coke
producing state of the Union. Where is
the evidence that the Democratic party
is retarding the growth of the state?
Our manufacturing interests are be-
coming immense, and there is marked
improvement in every line of trade and
business. Every section of the state
proclaims the charge of the Huntington
platform to be false and hypocritical.
GubernatoriaI Contest.
This platform concludes, by denounc-
ing the Democratic legislature for not
conceding to General Golf an Office to
which they claim he was elected. This
is a repetition of charges contained in
the Republican platform of 1880. The
issue was then squarely made, Republi-
can speakers, including General Gott
himself, stumped the state from one end
to the other, and spent more time upon
this question than all others put to-
gether. The people promptly met and
answered the issue at the polls. by de-
feating every Republican candidate who
had taken an active part in the contest;
by sending a solid Democratic delega-
ton to congress; by replacing legisla-
ture which was Republican in one
branch and Democratic by only one ma
jority on joint ballot, with legislature
two-thirds Democratic in both houses.
Should BE Repudiated.
Let the honest Republicans, the honest
part of the Republican party, repudiate
the Misrepresentation and falsehoods
contained in their state platform, let
them repudiate the individuals who led
them into error Let them ask what
party by its platform traduces the state,
its administration and officers, and pub
fishes to the world that we are violators
of our constitution and the laws; that
we have bad government, a large debt;
that we are extravagant, and that our
people are not progressive and that our
state is not prospecting; and let them
repudiate that party. Let them turn to
those who glory in our great prosperity,
who hold up those who honestly and
fairly administer our wise laws Ny
fellow citizen, which party will you
trust for the next four years?
VIII you go back to the days of '63 to
II, or will you go with and vote for the
candidates of the party that has given
you honest administrations. collected
and honestly disbursed the states rev.
enues, established and built up our vari-
Gus state institutions, perfected your
free school system, the party under
whose administration prosperity has
come to the state and her people despite
discriminating and oppressive federal
legislation. l here you say of the
Democratic party, "Well done, we will
trust you again"
The authorities of Ems, the German
watering place, have decreed that no
pianoforte shall be played unless the
windows in the apartment in which the