Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1900-01-12
TWELVE PAGES
FRIDAY, JANUARY l2. 1900.
WHERE IS HOME RULE :

Trea cherry and violence at Manila
must not blind us to the treachery and
violence going on at Washington; nor
must these examples cause us to over
look the trend of things at our own
doors. The inversion of popular gov
eminent is steadily progressing in Fed
eral. State and municipal affairs. Pub
lie officers, instead OF being the SER
wants and stewards of the people, are
rapidly becoming their absolute mas
tiers. And this inversion. or turning up
side down of things, must soon result
In the subversion of even our forms of
government. and make us abject vic
tins of tyranny usurped by fraud, or
imposed by force. or entaied by both
through our stupidity and neglect.
How Is 1t that men elected here to
serve and represent this city. its people
md them and their interests, so often
forget who elected them and what for?
Not only so; but We see some Of these
men at once assuming that their offices
are theirs. for their own benefit; and
strangest OF all. some of them actually
proceed as If they were elected by
other people. to represent them and
their interests! AS strange rs this is,
when we reflect on IT a moment, it is
so frequent and common n phenomenon
that most of us would be surprised IL it
did not occur as matter Of course.
1,at
these men-to nominate and elect thcm
But do we really choose, nominate and
elect?
Too many facts conflict with the
law and the dclusion that we are a
free and self-governing people. Be
hold! here Is n man nominated for some
important public trust whom no man
who knows him would trust with n red
hot stove. unless It was chained down.
Every decent citizen repudiates with
indignation the imputation that he had
any hand in selecting him. Yet he is
charged to "the people," when. in fact.
he is nominated for a purpose in rank
defiance of all popular rights and inter
ests; but, SOMEHOW, he is the marty
nominee. and under the stress and du-
ress of party allegiance and dislike
of the other party. the people elect him,
or, at any rate. he Is counted in and
returned as having received n majority
of the votes! How many such men are
returned elected at every one OF our
elections? Somebody knows, but The
people do not. or only know that they
had Il voice for only a few good men
who are thrown in to give countenancc
TO others.
At once we find that the officers we
elected are somebody clsc's officers. and
that they, or n majority OF them, care
no more for our will or interests than
&c they had been nominated and elected
under some dominant influence in the
Penitentiary mt Richmond: and that
these fellows are guided by instructions
from Richmond, or from Baltimore. or
some other locality on the outside of
Norfolk:
Not only is this too true in non par
fizan matters. relating directly To our
material development as a city. hut 1T
is even more true In our political ana
party affairs. We must first learn who
md what certain outsiders want before
we dare to express a preference for
anybody or anything; and when We
hear from these outside quarters, we
must turn ourselves wrong-s out, to
be in accord with this alien rule, or
say nothing; for what are we. the peo-
pie Of Norfolk. or what Is Norfolk that