Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1901-03-22
JUDGE QUARLES' PLATFORM.

JUUdE uUAkLES PLATINUM.
He Tells the People What Changes He |
Thinks Ought to be Made in the
Organic Law.
Messrs Samuel Forrer, Elijah Coiner, Jno.
s. Richey. 7. M. Smiley, J. A. Hupman.
DR. J. s. Blair. j. M. SPOTS, Thomas Xiv
lighan and others
Gentlemen II accepted your call to be-
come a candidate for the Constitutional
Convention some days ago, while engaged
in my duties in Congress, without defining
my position on the questions which are
likely to come before the Convention for
solution, except in 80 far as embodied in
general way in the call. You declared
that you believed that would favor bet
ter form of government, and would repre-
sent the interests of the people, and in &C.
cepting, my position was thus briefly pre-
scented; but you, and all others interested
in the proposed Convention, are entitled
to know. more in detail. my views, and
now, in accordance with my original in
tentiop, will give them
LIST. I favor government simpler and
more economical in form-one that will
cost less to administer, and will tighten
the burdens of taxation. Our present
system is very expensive one. The State
of North Carolina, in population, is about
the size of Virginia, and yet the expenses
of the government of Virginia are more
than twice the expenses of North Carolina
The expenses of our present government
are nearly twice as large as those of the
great State of Georgia. And there are not
two more prosperous and growing atates in
the South than North Carolina and Georgia.
Surely our governmental expenses are un-
necessarily too heavy. and there is need of
reform in the fundamental law. Repair
ing and remodeling the old structure will
not answer. We have done this. We
have adopted amendment after amendment,
and yet the expenses continue unprece-
IDENTIFY large, and taxes covering every
thing, continue high. We must build a
new structure upon new plan, from the
ground up,-a new constitution, out and
out. if need be, to give us better govern
ment and lower taxation.
I'd. L favor restricted suffrage, but by a
provision that will be clearly constitutional.
We cannot afford to make a constitution
and to have the provision prescribing and
limiting the qualifications of voters obnox-
ious to the Federal Constitution. The re-
striction should be such as to at least place
the white people in every county and city
in the State in q safe majority. and this
being done. the government should be
restriction should be is a question that
should be conservatively considered. II
certainly should go so far that it may sc
improve the electorate that the govern.
mental affairs may be more directly ad.
ministered by them than heretofore.
I am inclined to think that an educa.
tional qualification, with very small prop.
erty qualification in the alternative, (that
is, the voter either being able to read and
write, or owning a very small amount Of
property of some kind), may be effective
and accomplish the purpose in view. add
the words in parenthesis because of the
misunderstanding by some persons of my
language used in the Meas But this is 8
matter to be msturely considered, and
only mention this as the present bent
of my mind. We must first get the
statistics in respect to the illitera
cy of both races. and their property inter.
ests in the various counties and cities Of
the State, before any definite position car
be taken on this subject. I am, however
opposed to the grandfather clause" be-
cause its copstitutionality is gravely ques.
toned, and is certainly in doubt.
3i Having improved the electorate,
favor the election of judges by the people
I am reliably informed that on one occa
sion Mr. Justice Harlan, of the Supreme
Court of the United States, was asked what
decisions of all the State Courts are most
respected and relied on by the judges Of
the Supreme Court; his answer came, 1.-The
decisions Of the Courts whose judges are
elected by the people," Virginia. by hel
Constitution of 1851 adopted the plan Of
electing judges by the people and SO long
as this plan was continued it worked ad.
mirsbly; and this Constitution was the
only one we had until the Underwood
Constitution of 1869 was adopted. More
than half of the forty-fve States
of the Union elect judges by
popular vote. There is no doubt,
in my judgment, that the electorate, i'm.
proved as proposed, will select their judges
more deliberately and carefully than is
now being done by their agents in the Leg
| islsture.:
| 4th. I favor the election of the State
Auditors, First and Second, State Treas
urer, and State Superintendent of Schools,
by the people.
5th. I favor the election of County
Superintendents of Schools and School
Trustees by the people.
9Th. I favor the election of Railroad
Commissioners by the people.
7th. I favor the incorporation of pro-
vision in the Constitution requiring the
Legislature to enact a law providing for q
legalized primary for the nomination of
United States Senators by the people.
S,h. I favor Homestead Exemption.
9th. I favor Improvement in the Free
School System. that the Schools may be
made more efficient.
10th. l favor the present provision,
that no Governor shall be his immediate
successor in Office.
1lth I favor a proyision preyarfino