Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1901-07-26
PARTY EASILY SWAYED.
Veteran Democrats Critieism ofvir-
ginis Politics.


following article appeared in the
columns of the Post:
MR.. ST. GEORGE r. FITZHUeH.
"One cannot forecast issues any
longer in Virginis. There is no tell.
ing what the people are going to do
A sort Of hysteria possesses them
something that would have been i'm.
possible twenty years ago"
In short, vigorous sentences like
the foregoing talked vigorous man
of about 81 years, with ell,trimmed
white beard and rounded physique,
as he sat in his law office and
chatted of affairs in fredericksburg
and in the Old Dominion. Mr.. st.
George r.. Fitzhugh is not only a
veteran leader at the Virginia bar,
but has long been closely identified
with the best interests of this, the
oldest town of the Commonwealth,
saving jamestown alone. Althoug oh
a public-sp;rited man and welding
influence as a Democrat in politics,
he has always eschewed oflice-hold-
ing.
The veteran lawyer was speaking
primarily of the Constitutional Con-
vention and its doings, but he SUBJ
sequently applied the same terms to
the politics and politicians of Vir-
ginia. "The convention has been frit-
tering away time on trivial things" /"
he continued. "There was the long
debate on that oath question: fool
ish proceeding. / would have al
lowed those who wanted to take the
oath to do SO. Those who had OBJ
jections might have refrained from
it The taking of an oath to sup
port the present Constitution would
not have precluded their making
needful changes in it. see the
Richmond Dispatch refers to the
delegates in the convention as very
competent men, as giants, / believe.
That would be very nice, indeed,
were it written in sarcasm"
"Brt there are very many able
men In the convention" was pro-
tested.
"Able is relative term," retorted
Mr.. Fitzhugh.
Speaking of current politics, he
used the same terse language, indica-
tive of independent thinking and
fearlessness in expression. "The
people thought there was mighty
machine in Virginia" he added,
encouraged by the pnwise policies
of Senators Martin and Daniel.
With the fickleness of a woman
whose nerves are overweight, the
people have grasped the coattails of
Attorney General Montague, who
was clever enough as a politician to
gather up the elements of discon-
tent. You cannot tell whether this
new dispensation will be permanent.
You cannot tell what the people will
do next any more than you can tell
when you put fifty pieces of paper
in a bag which one yop will draw
ont first.
SHOW we have another machine
trying to dictate the nomination of
an encouragement. In one of the
Richmond papers friendly to the
new regime l see frequent prophe-
sizes of the strength of the candidate
just put out by that faction. They
have no instruction of delegates for
him to report, but they reiterate
that the letters he receives from all
parts of the State assures his nomi-
"What is the cause of what you
term the hysteria in Virginia poll
tics?" Mr.. Fitzhugh was asked.
at certainly dates back as far as
1892" he answered. "Mr. Cleveland
had disrupted the party. That year
Senator Daniel, then regarded as the
idol of Virginia, wanted to lead a
divided delegation to the nominat-
ing convention, himself at the head
of delegates for Mr.. Hill, who al
ways was demagogical character.
Again in 1896, when there was a
chance for Virginia to take a self
respecting stand at the Chicago Con-
vention, her delegates went off after
free silver, and Senator Daniel went
with them. Last year, when it was
too late, the Senator talked of CON
els not Virginia swinging back
from free silver?"
"Her business men are, but it is
still espoused by the rank and file
Of the party.
"Here in the South our people