The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-11-18

| stitut,on and to giva to the people ol W
e,.n;a the best laws for Their government
/ 1t is Inso,ence for any man 70 tdih Aooue
| his personal claims in connect'oi VIZ
! such a gathering. Let the place-hunters
| stanl aside this time and let the people
| select those who arr, best fitted to dis
| charge the sacred duties OF the position
| The New York Tribune says:
Day after day the newspapers puh!ish
! so many accounts Of suicides that the dis
| turoed and perplexed readers wondsr why
/; such numbers of unhappy naen and women
rash'y mportunate. as Hood put 1t, are
| ending Their lives withou! sufficient cause
| Docto are somewhat puzzEd when an
| epidemic of influenza sweeps over nation
and prostrates multitudss OF victims.
! They do not find IL Easy to account for
| the seemingly unusual number of suicides
| in this and other cities In recnt months
| Carbolic acid is used In 50 many of th:Se
cases that our State Legislature ought to
consider tn. adoption OF suitable restric-
tons as 10 the sale Of this destructive
agent Now almost any man or woman,
! no matter how restless. wan and haggard
Of look he or she may b, can buy fataI
dose OF carool:c acid for a few c51ts al
Almost any drug store
Suicide should DE made less easy Thu
enactment OF thu, law in this State making
attempts at self-mur1:r crimes subject to
severe punishment APPEARS to have little
deterrent effect.
This reminds US of a story of slavery
days A far1nEr went to his barn. and,
opening the door, found one OF the SLAVES
stealing corn. The slave drew a knife and
th1-a ned to kill himself but the master
drew whip and said. IL you cut your
throat with that knife. I will whip you
until you are back and blue And the
saves life was saved.
The Chicago Chronicle says:
Speaking Of Abraham Lincoln at Edin-
burgh Tuesday. Ambassador Choate said
that, as TO abolition OF slavery. public
opinion in the North would not have sus-
tanned i, earlier
This brings hou1s a lesson recently en-
phasized in the editorial columns Of The
Chroncle-the debt universal liberty owe
to the founder Of the Democratic party
of the United States. Thomas jefferson.
In that dabt Abraham Lincoln was a
sharer. 1t was Thomas Jefferson who
sowed the harvest Abraham Lincoln
gathered.
Emancipation does not consist alone Of
Adjustment OF legal serfage on account
of color
Thomas jefferson had contributed sub
stantia-ly TO brealsage OF all bonds breaka-
be in the republic before Abraham Lin
coin arrived IN politics. That he would
have broken the bonds OF color serfase If
it had been possible in mis- tinla is unde
niao.y shown in his writings and conduct
His adherence Of the slave trade. was
SO intense that he proposed convention
with the naval powers OF Europe to pre-
vent it on the coast of Africa. while the
unitEd States should Danish it from Ameri-
can waters.
But Mr.. Jeffsrson would never have
freed the slaves by proclamation without
c0mpensating the owners therefor. and he
woud csrta n y not have put the ballot
into the hands Of the freedmen until they
were. in some degree at least. qualified to
exercise the right of suffrage. Virginia
was always opposed to siavsry, and If the
North had only let her alons, in time she
would have freed her slaves in hsr own
way and we would have made much
bstter job of 1t than the Northarn abo!i-
tionists did