Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1899-01-12


that completely reverse its charges
against the Democrats and lay them at
the door Of the Republicans it will
have the situation about right.
AS it stands the Republicans have a
majority of four in the Senate which
in view of the Democratic majority of
seven in the House makes Demo-
cratic majority of three on joint bal
lot. If they refuse to seat the Demo-
cratic successors of the war Senators"
Pierson and Getzendanner and permit
the two latter to retain seats in viola
ton of the Constitution, the Republi-
cans will have an illegal majority of
eight in the Senate, which would give
them an illegal majority of one on
joint ballot. In the House, as stated,
the Democrats have a certain and legal
majority of seven.
We would call our New York con-
temporary's attention to the fact fur
Their that the Democrats having the
legGl majority on joint ballot are not
proposing to unseat anyone, but are
simply trusting to the maintenance of
the law and the Constitution in the
cases of Pierson and Getzendanner,
who forfeited seats in the Senate by
accepting commissions in the army and
whose Democratic successors have
been legally elected by the people, to
give them their just rights.
The Register is at pains to straighten
this matter out knowing its New York
contemporary does not wilfully mis-
represent the people of this State and
that it will be glad to publish the ac-
tual facts when it knows them.
In this connection, also, we would
call the attention of our esteemed in
dependent Republican and generally
very fair contemporary the Pittsburg
Dispatch to a somewhat similar mac
curacy in it's comment on the same
subject. 1t says:
The Senatorial contest in West Virginia
has become complicated and exciting.
The strength of the two great political
parties is about equal. and neither appears
to possess enough of conscience to rise
above the purely partisan plane. Thus
the leaders on both sides are freely dis
cuSsing the policy of unSeating members
in the House or Senate. without regard
to the honesty of their election and with
the sole object of obtaining a majority on
joint ballot.
West Virginia has been doubtful State
for several years and it may be freely
conceded that the SenatorShip is a polit-
ical prize of the first magnitude. But no
amount of partisan feeling fealty can
justify the unseating of a member of the
by his district The West Virginia lead
erS,. however appear blind to this prn-
cple and indifferent to any sense of hon
esty in their hot pursuit of the spells and
honOrS in store for the crowd that can
carry political robbery to the greatest
length. Possibly the leaders appear worse
than they really are. Their, threats of
stealing seats may be mere bluffing-each
side hoping to brighten the other away
from such a fragrant disregard of the
rights of the people and the sacredness OF
the ballot. At least, it may be hoped
that this is so. The fair name of the war;
born State would suffer irreparably from
wholesale unseating of members of the
House by one party and of members of
the Senate by the other for no better OBJ
ject than to secure an illegal and dishon-
est majority on joint ballot
We agree most heartily with this
well expressed sentiment, for it is ex-
actly that which the Register has held
and proclaimed from the beginning;
but the Dispatch makes the same err
ror quoted above from the Mail and
Express of New York, that of charging
the Democrats with taking part in this
policy of unseating members in the
House or Senate, without regard to the
honesty of their election and with the
sole object of obtaining a majority on
joint ballot"
The Democrats, we repeat for the
benefit of our Pittsburg contemporary,
propose to do nothing of the kind and
have made no threats whatever on
which such a charge could be based.
The revolutionary proposition to I'M
seat duly elected members comes en-
tirely and exclusively from the Repub-
lican side, where all the so-called con-
tests have originated. And these
trumped up contests" are the outcome
of the knowledge that even with the
stolen seats of Pierson and Getzen-
danner they can muster but one ma
jority on joint ballot, and that it would
be wholly impossible for any Republi-
can Senatorial candidate now before
the Legislature to hold that majority
in line.
Our esteemed contemporaries of New
York and Pittsburg when they get the
lay of the land correctly will, we are
sure, correct these unintentional mis-
statements. The situation the Repub-
lican bosses have created in their des-
peration and insatiate greed is quite
disgraceful enough without dragging
into the mire the Democracy, which is
asking nothing but the maintenance of
the law and Constitution
A member of the Indiana Legislature
has introduced bill to suppress free
luncheS on tho ground TINT thov oro