Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1900-10-18


call an extra session of the Legislature
means that he will call one. For fear that
1t will hurt his party, in the present cleo
ton, he declines to make his purposes
known.
There can be no doubt about the Demo.
Gratis holding a constitutional convention
as soon as they can after the Presidential
election. And there can be no doubt
what that convention will be called upon
to do. From the discussion of it's object
by the Democratic press and orators, its
chief purpose, we might say its sole pur'
pose, 10 to take away from many Thousands
of our citizens the right to vote. This be-
ing true we ask our readers if the constitu'
tional convention question 10 not now a
prominent issue before the people of Vir-
ginia? 1t is the paramount question with
those voters who will be urged to vote the
Democratic ticket In the Presidential cleo.
ton, and who, before another election
comes round, will be deprived ofthe right
to vote by the new constitution which the
Virginia Democrats claim they are going
to make.
Narrowed down, the sole object in ma
king a new Constitution is to give the
Democratic party permanent control in
Virginia. 1t has been evident for many
years that the Democracy would be in the
minority in Virginia, if the vote Of the
masses could be honestly placed in the
ballot box and honestly counted; and the
main work of the Democratic machine
hes been directed to the suppression OF
the vote of the masses of the people, either
by Constitutional or Legislative enact.
ment. We all remember that the Demo.
cratic party adopted an amendment to
the present Constitution, which amend
ment required all voters to pay poll or
head tax before they we're allowed to
vote. The Republicans and Readjusters
got control Of the State for brief period
and repealed that amendment to the Con-
stitution, once more restoring free, man.
hood suffrage to the people.
When the Democrats got control Of the
State again they proceeded to construct
an election law which would enable them
tn do by fraud what they had formerly &C.
complished by the poll tax qualification
for voting-that lie to get rid Of the force
of the vote of the laboring men of the
country, who were rapidly joining the
Republican party. The Mccormick elec'
ton law was the first machine law, and
for while it served the purposes efec'
tually of the Democracy. 1t was found,
however, that the Mccormick law would
not serve the purposes Of the Democracy
in the white districts that had become
Republican,; and the inventive genius Of
the Democratic leaders was again brought
into use. Then they evolved from their
fertile brains the present Ubiquitous meas'
ure. the Walton election law. II was
such perfect machine for fraud that the
Kentucky Democrats, under the leader
ship of Goebel, when they sought model
to construct by adopted the Virginia elec'
ton law. The use of the Goebel election
law last year in Kentucky attracted Ma.
tional attention to the infamies Of the
model by which the Kentucky law had
been built. The Virginia Democracy saw
that the exposures made in Kentucky and
that had been made in recent Congress
ional elections in this State would result
in condemnation of election methods as
they have 30 long prevailed in this Com
monweslth.
The Democratic newspapers and orators
then began to admit that fraudulent
methods were being used in different sec.
tons of the State; acknowledged that
these practices were destroying the polit-
ical and moral tone of the people; and in
sisted that the way to prevent frauds in
elections was to disfranchise the unedu.
Gated men of the State. They proposed
to quit stealing votes at the ballot box, If
they were permitted to steal the right to
vote from hundred thousand men in the
State; and that is what the Constitutional
Convention is intended to do.
They are trying to lull the uneducated
white men Of Virginia into false security,
by telling them it 10 their purpose to take
the right to vote away from the uneduca'
ted negro and not from the uneducated
white man. They say they will make the
Constitutional provision like that in North
Carolina and Louisiana, or insert what lie
known as the "grandfsther's clause" They
know that such clause has never been
tested in the Federal courts; and that