Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1897-01-29

expose the bad features of that
srheae and the necessity for renov
ipg them, il u steady and persevre
ing agitation of the question be
maintained from uow until the time
OF decision short, ii the serious
attention of the people be attracted
and held, VIC believe that they will
inve ,tigate for themselves aud vote
in favor of a convention.
Reasons FOR reconstructing the work
of the selfish inen who controlled the
politics OF VirgiDia thirty years ago
are innumerab!e Underwood aud
his follow patriots" were in politics
for what there was i'll it. When they
came to the task of deyising consti
tuition, they undoubtedly bore i'll
mind their own taste for pubic Office
and their desire to reward large
band OF disinterested followers -
The result of their l.bors was a
cumbersome. c0mplicated, expensive
governmental machine. The unneces
sary multiplication Of offices is what
makes it so, but it is safe to sly that
tho machine was all the moro salts
factory to it's hiilders on account o..
its i,nperfeotion. The strange thing
Is that the people, who keep the gov
ernmeHt III op, ration, lmve beeu con
tent to go on without complaint for
mauy years after it came into their
power to correct the abuses, bat il
is not ut all strange that professional
politicians should resent all criticism
of the States system OF government
When it comes to the NJ clifton OF
needless officers, the work falls upc II
the people-the office holders thei.
selves cannot be expect@ to perform
or approve it.
As Senator Withers, the great
champion for the movement for bet
ter constitution, has so often pointed
oat, there must be something wrong
when the expenses OF Virginia are So
out.of proportion when compare /
with the expenses Of other States
The wealth nf Georgia, for instance.
i'd estimated at Sll0,00O,000, and
t lat of North Carolina ut 5000
0J0, making II total OF 1878, 900, 00U
Tho population of Georgia is 1887.
0JO and the population of NORTH
Carolina Is l,6l7,G01, making com
hined pops letion of 3,ljl,00 t.,
combined area of Georgia and North
Carolina is 122.G00 square miles
Vireinia's wealth, population, al d
area III square miles are, respectively
$3.50 Jo,g0o; l.G55 0J0, and 42.I50
Thus, 1t will be seen that he wealth
ol Georgia. aud North Carolina is
nearly twice that of Virginia, their
population more thar double ouis.
and their area three times as great
rs this States. 1t would appear
reasonable, then, to express The opin
ion that the expense If governing
Virginia ought not to be more than
half Of the combined expense Of gov
erning Georgia aud North Carolina
Let us look into this for n moment
aud see what the truth is. For the
year 1898 (;he last for which we have
iig Ires), the combined expenses Of
Georgia an1 North Carolina amount
ed to S., 100000. For the same l.
it cost Virginia S3,75l,OO0 to sup
port her which amount
is nearly seven eights of the total OK.
pcnses of Georgia and North Caro-.
lima. Virginia pays, excluding the
interest on the public debt, very
nearly Sl,O0O,000 more each year
than North Carolina alone.
Can any Intelligent citizen read
these facts and fail to see that some
thing is the matter? Norfolk Land
mark.