Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1900-03-22
THURSDAY, MARCH %, 1900.
A CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION.

al convention. III tilal aItlCie VIC i0iO'iN"
to a statement of the Richmond Times: ut
has been determined to remove every OBJ
stacle which stands in the way OF fair
elections in Virginia. 1t has been deter
mined, in short, to eliminate the ignorant
negro vote and when that has been doue
there will be no excuse for election trick
cry in this State, and the occupation OF
the election law will be gone" These
remarks of the Times were declalative Of
the purposes of the proposed constitution
al convention.
In our article last week we undertook to
show how mistaken the Times must be IN
its conviction that the Democratic Ma
cline was advocating a convention and
the adoption of a new constitution for any
such honest purpose. This we did, we
hone. to the satisfaction of all who read
our article.
The Lynchburg News of the 10th inst.
had for its leading editorial an article
which we publish in another column, I'M
der the head of "a Crisis" in which it
assigns very different reasons from the
Times for the necessity of changing the
organic law of Virginia. The News de-
clares "There is but one hope Of saliva
ton for the people of Virginia from the
corrupt, costly and intolerable domination
of All office. holding despotlsm; and that
hope is in q constitutional convention"
Without such a remedy, the News asserts
that in less than five years terrible con
dition of affairs will prevail in Virginia.
We are astounded that the editor of the
News, who is well acquainted with the
political conditions of the State, would be
so misled as to the proper remedy ior
situation that is now upon us, and does
not require five years or less to produce.
We are already suffering from "the cor
rupt, costly anu intolerable domination OF
an office holding despotism;' and it is not
intended to hold constitutional cOnven
ton to relieve the people from that des-
potism, but to intensity and rerpetuate it.
What hope can the people have for re-
form from tie corrupt machine that will
control the elections when the members Of
the proposed convention are elected 1t
hae controlled the Legislature Of Virginia
for number of years, and instead of re-
trenchment and reduction in offices we
have found expenditures all the time in
creasing and new offices being created for
hungry applicants. If the Democratic
party in Virginia has been truly repre-
senied by its Legislatures, and it was sin
cerelv DESTROYS of changing the Constltu-
ton so as to decrease the public expenses,
why has not its Legislatures submitted TO
the people amendments to the COnstiu-
i'm looking to that end.
The Lynchburg News is as much mis-
taken in its conclusions as to the plans and
purposes of the proposed convention as is
the Richmond Times. The convention
will not be held without the machine, or
Office. holders trust, wants the convention.
We are advised that it does want the con-
vention, and are strengthened in our be-
lief that it does by the knowledge that the
resolution which provides for an election
next May 10 vote upon the question Of
holding constitutional convention was
introduced by Senator Flood-a machine
man and very close to Senator Martin.
The machine will favor the convention for
two reasons First, berause it desires to
relieve itself of the expense of buying
venal voters, and of the dangerous Deces-
sty of stealing enough votes to elect its
candidates in most sections of the State.
1t hopes to obtain this relief by dis
franchising the illiterate white and negro
voters.
Second, because it is not satisfied with
now appropriating all the State offices,
United States Senators and Congressman,
but is reaching out to control all county
and city offices. With new constitution
arranged for that purpose, the office hold
ing despotism will be extended, and the
machine, with the aid of its iniquitous
elections law. will become more vicious
and corrupt than even the Goebel ring in
Kentucky.
The reforms the Times and News seem
to desire cannot come through a constitu-
tional convention dominated by the ma
chine, as are all elective bodies in Virginia,
but can only come from purer politics; and
we can have no pure politics in Virginia
until we have an honest election law.
That is the only way to "put an end to
the pre-eminence in our politics OF the
spokesman and the cheat"
THERE is some talk of having an extra
session of the Virginia Legislature to undo