The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1901-06-29
SATURDAY.......JUNE %. 1901.
Observation-Disclosures

uInu article appears dS NpdThS IOii
the Anvil Politics, but why it should
have been called forth and where it
draws its deductions We are at loss
to see. We know that the esteemed
Times was a burning advocate OF the
May Conference of two years ago;
also that it "died hard /" when the
fizzle became apparent, and only be
cause of this fact can we CLEAN a
reason why it, with some Others, is
inclined to believe Mr. Montague's
success now a result of that Confer
ence movement.
We say we can't fathom the deduc-
ton in the Times article. 1t recites
the careers of less than half of the fifty
two signers-giving no account of the
remainder-tO show that the ''Outs y
and "has-beens . have been endorsed
by the people and are now in the
ascendancv. About a dozen of these
it heralds forth as being politically
alive because they are members OF the
Constitutional Convention, saying
nothing about others that did not
"get there" OF the remaining few
which are accounted for it shows the
creeping flesh by noting that they
have either succeeded themselves in
some office, are members of the State
Committee. can have anything within
the gift of their people, or are "prOs-
pective" members of the Legislature
or something else. The FREE LANCE
does not draw these distinctions be-
cause it would not detract one iOta
from the laurels OF these gentlemen,
because many of them are among our
first men-as good as could De pro-
cured by the astute caller of the Con-
ference, as would naturally have been
supposed. They were great and re-
main great not because of but more
like in spite Of their Conference
move" affiliations. The Times arti-
Gle draws a contrast which is patent
but hardly as conclusive in its argu-
ment as evidently desired.
If twenty-five out of the fifty-two
have since had "hOnors thrust upon
them" the remainder must feel mighty
lonesome that the "pure election r"
maelstrom hasn't brought something
good into their yard; or probably
they are living in hopes of something
yet to come.
We say the articles deduction is
hardly warranted by the facts, if its
article contains all it can procure.
There are a hundred offices in the
Constitutional Convention, some hun
dred and forty in the1egislaturc, a
few in the Congress, the State offices
and dependencies are in the tens,
while of Judges there are not few;
the State Committee numbers fifty or
more, the county and city chairmen
more than a hundred, while the Gov
ernor's staff, boards, etcetera, would
bring the nOtables Of the Old DOmin-
ion into the thousands And here
the Times shows that a pitifulnumber
"a score or so out of half a hundred,
supposed to be and sought out as the
biggest men in the State have got
fat jobs, or are in some way or another
kept in the eye OF the people
We venture to say that if our
esteemed friend will run over the rOs-
ter of the Constitutional Convention
he will find large majority OF the
members of that body who failed to
sign that May call, or even attended
the meeting. 1t may be true that
many of them have gotten into the
Montague band wagon, a vehicle
which our friend would have us think
..the May Conference had evOluted
from a rickety shay. They might
have attended the Conference, though,
but for ON impression that it was a
call to capture a US. Senator's seat,
and not so much for the election of
Senators by the people. Nearly all OF
Virginia is for the latter, we believe,
and if it had been a call honestly for
that purpose the petition would have
had to been reeled around on cart,
so large would it have become.
But getting back to our friends
article we think there are Daniel
and Flood and Glass and Thorn
and Withers and Braxton and some
other notables ofthe Convention who
did not sign the famous call; two T..
s. Senators and nearly the whole
Congressional delegation failed to
get their "fists" on that wonderful
paper, but they have been returned, "
as the Times uses the expression; we
have some able iurists, supreme and
subordinate, that we don't think got
on it, while hardly tenth part OF the
State Committees. and State officials
saw in it any wonderful phosphores-
cenee in the swampy politics OF the
time. So forsooth with all the argu-
ment of the article and the opinions
OF some politiciansit would seem that
Il the May call has slain it's hundreds
there are tens Of hundreds yet to be
"a ....4e. f..rf ~ fhn pHAn6Q