Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-06-20

nor Was of the Opinion That the
Democratic Party Has An Excel
lent Chance of Success-Is Not q
Candidate for Office.
Hon. E. w. Wilson, of Charleston, is
in the city and has been engaged in
business before the Supreme Court of
the State for the past few days. When
visited in his apartments at the Nc
Lure last evening by a Register re-
porter, the Ex-Governor talked inter-
estingly on the political questions of
the day. When asked what he thought
of the present outlook in national and
State politics, he said:
Il think it is too early to form any
thing like a reasonable conclusion as
to the results. 1t is impossible to
divorce local State politics from ma
tional in a Presidential election. The
vote polled in the State for Presiden-
tial electors will be, substantially, the
same vote polled for State officials. The
Democratic party has more than O fair
chance to win, If in forming a plat
form in relation to our new possessions
they insert planks straight along the
lines of Democratic history from JEFF
ferson down. If, on the other hand,
they shall declare for the absolute sur
render Of the Philippines, thereby de-
nrIVinp IC nf both naxro1 ond o0a1ino
stations on the far side of the Pacific,
and fail by the platform to encourage
the annexation of Cuba, it will make
this the paramount issue in the mex
canvass. l cannot believe consider
ing the ability that will be represented
in the Democratic convention. that the
Democratic history of the past will be
abandoned"
"Well, what do you think Of the vir-
ginia debt question:"
In relation to that I have had occa-
sion, as the representative of this State,
concerning what is known as the direct
tax subject, to investigate it from one
end to the other; and in a brief pre-
pared by ex-Attorney General Cald-
well, Governor Fleming and myself,
filed several years ago with the
Attorney General of the United States,
concerning the whole question both as
to the law and facts. The Legislature
at that time, several years ago, direct
ed the printing of several thousand
of those briefs, which are in the
hands, suppose, of most of the men
of prominence in the State. We as
%certained to our satisfaction, certainly,
entirely to my own, that the State OF
West Virginia owes Virginia nothing;
and that the so-called West Virginia
certificates are a mere bugaboo. Not
only so, but there is no possible way
by which a suit can be instituted
against this State on such certificates.
The State of West Virginia never had
anything to do with them in any man
ner or form, and the holders Of them
took them with the clear understand
ing appearing upon their face in so
many words, that West Virginia was
never to pay anything on them except
such amounts as might be received
from Virginia by the State of West
Virginia, and, of course, then, pro
rata as to the holders. The individual
holders under the provisions of the
| Constitution of the United States can
not bring suit in their own names
against the State of West Virginia,
and the Supreme Cour, of the United
States in a case decided a number OF
years ago, determined that individual
claims could not be assigned to a State
for the purpose OF allowing such State
to institute legal proceedings against
another State-that such a proceeding
would be a fraud upon the jurisdiction
of the Supreme Court of the United
determined that a Judgment of the Su-
preme Court of the United States in
favor of n State against another
for money obligations could not be
enforced; to do so would require a
mandamus by the Supreme Court of
the United States against the Legisla-
ture of the debtor State to compel a
levy against the property of the State
to pay the judgment which would re-
duce a State Legislature to the mere
position of a municipal corporation and
thereby destroy the sovereign right OF
a State in such matters constitutionalIy
granted. There is simply nothing in
the so-called West Virginia debt
question"
who is your choice for the Vice
Presidency"
Morgan, of Alabama, or John Dam
iels, Of Virginia. ! regard Senator
Morgan as the broadest and most
thorough statesman in public life in
this country, and he is a patriot every