The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-04-10
Genera, Assembly. the common run .,

General Assembly, the common run OF
people viii not draw any fine distinctions,
when 1t suits their purpose TO break any
law. even the most sacred. !" Just how
near We hit the mark. let the Emporia
Messenger testify. In the last issue Of
that paper is the following editorial arti-
Gle:
The State of Virginia, through her le-
Eally constituted lawmakers, has enacted
a Law that most men believe Is Intended
for purposes of fra;id. The intent Of the
alaw-:1aker has been carried out in its
spirit. Few men. IL any. have confidence
z in election methods. No safeguard has
been thrown around the ballot Inteli-
gent, cultivated. patriotic taxpayers are
excluded from witnessing the CONT. Doors
are shut blinds are closed or calico hung
over the windows so thatsno man on the
outside can tell what IS done. Election
judges arc changed on the eve of an cleo
uon confidence IS destroyed, and love OF
law and order slumbers. The Governor
of Virginia last spring sounded the alarm.
The Syndicate" or office trust as
named by the Governor. has had its way;
the intelligent. conservative citizens,
Men, high-minded men. men who their
duties know,
But know their rights: and knowing, dare
maintain
have learned that II is the part of wisdom
to stand aside and quietly wait until the
{ wild madness now running riot shall eXT
pend itself.
We must have confidence in our insti-
tutions. confidence in the honest and inn
partial execution Of law, confidence in OF
hcials and know that our officials rep
resent the law-abiding, intelligent. con-
fi1-a ia vi VIII TpODIn
State.
1.-THE cohesive power of public plumber"
will not long hold Virsn!ans on the rack
If that is not plain enough. let cor
respondent of the same paper speak. In
commenting on the lynching. he says:
No, the people were not to be blamed.
The previous total failure of the officers
to detect and punish crime. made them as
powder The absence of faith in the abill-
ty of law was the igniting spark.
It is our belief that all this has sprung
from combination Of circumstances
which have been at work for many years.
1t greves all to have Virginia disgraced
by such an act. yet when the leaders OIL
the people first turned from the principle
of right 10 accomplish their own selhsh
political purposes, and subverted Law for
the purpose of electinS some pet Poiu-
cian it led to a train Of circumstances lhat
inevitably caused this disgrace.
The first of these series Of ,obberles was
when our clerks Office place that shouio
he held sacred. was broken open at night,
for the purpose of robbing balIot-boXes-
But let us hope that this is the grand
finale of the awful tragedy, and that in the
future they must be cautious. Now that
The people are aroused let them stay
aroused. but TO the fact that their power
lies not in the hanGman's rope. but III inc
ballot. and if they do not use 1t Judlclous-
IN. then they are to be blamed.
Fellow-ctzens of Virginia. ye who nave
said that The Times was injuring the
State by crying aloud against election
frauds. read what the people of Nottoway
and the people of Greensville are saying
and think. Our election methods are IN
deed, revolutionary. and have in many IN
stances brought the law into contempt.
The only reason why we have not had
Kentucky outbreak in Virginia is because
The whites have felt that they were COM
PEELED to stand together to prevent negro
rule. But in spite of this fear, thousands
of white men in Virginia are even now IN
revolt. and unless something be zone 10
get the negro out of politics and purify
the ballot, our revolutionary methods VIII
bring on revolution. God save the Com
rnonwealth.