Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1901-01-29

slapped to sleep by the Legislature,
what does that do to his excellency,
George Wesley Atkinson, and his ten
thousand oorrow? It is not probable
that the commission spent all the ten
thousand, but it undoubtedly spent a
portion of it; who will pay it back?
Or will the lender lose it?
The LaughIin bill introduced by Mr..
Laughlin for the purpose of providing
a building for the Wheeling public Ii
brary, which passed the House several
days ago. has been substituted in the
Senate by another BILL About the
only change the substitute makes is
in the number of and manner of choos-
ing the trustees of the library. The
Laughlin bill provided for eleven trus-
tees, seven of whom should be chosen
from the members of the Board OF
Education, four from the outside; the
substitute plans the number at seven.
all TO he members of the board of
education.
Ever since the
state Was Redistrcted
the last time the Republicans have
had much to say concerning the shapes
of certain Senatorial districts, and
have declared that whenever the duty
of redistricting should rest upon them
them would give the Democrats les
son In fairness that would stand as
unexampled for politicians in the ages
to come. They are about to produce
the example The scheme agreed upon
in their caucus makes one Senatorial
district begin at the Virginia State
line and run through the centre OF the
State almost to the Ohio river. Get
out your map of the State and see what
a streak across it is made by the coun-
ties of Pocahontas Webster, Braxton,
Gilmer and Calhoun. It happens that
this strip is made of counties all GER
tainly Democratic, and the scheme is,
of course, to get them all into one dis
trict, thereby surrendering it to the
Democrats and getting rid of the dan
ger there would be in coupling these
counties with those doubtfully Repub-
lican.
There is no Sort of Reason
except the partisan political one for
putting Pocahontas and Calhoun in the
same district. They are in different
water sheds, their interests are differ
ent. their people are strangers to each
other. and so far as inter-communica-
tion is CONCERNED no two counties in
the State lie further apart. If you are
in Marlinton, Pocahontas county, and
wish to go to Grantsville, Calhoun
county, you go fifty miles down the
Greenbrier river to the chesapeake
& Ohio railroad thence two hundred
miles on that road to Huntington,
thence one hundred and twenty miles
by way of the Ohio hiver railroad to
Parkersburg, thence'up the Little Kan
awha river sixty miles to GTantsvllle,
making your travel from one point In
the district to another about four hum
dred and thirty miles. The people of
Hancock and Mercer might as we'll be
put in the same district, the route from
New Cumberland to Bluefield is less
tortuous and less troublesome.
There are signs and whisperings of
appropriation bills of stupendOus size,
to be introduced, but so far they have
been rather kept under cover. Enough
is known, however
To Warrant the Assertion
that the sums asked for will be large
ly in excess of the States ability TO
pay and unless some power arises to
head off the treasury raiders, the ap-
preparations actually made will con-
siderably exceed the amount possible
OF collection. 1t is stated on good au-
thority that the aggregate of the de-
mands upon the treasury for the next
two years will be in the neighDorhCOd
of two and half millions. while the
best that can be hoped in the way OF
receipts cannot exceed a million and
three quarters. For this reason the
Republican leaders are racking their
brains with the hope to discover some
new source of revenue that would fur
nish the means wherewith to meet
these demands. The Republican idea
being always to collect more and spend
more, never to spend less and collect
less.
No. man can tell what is going to
happen in this Legislature. but is toll
erably easy to foresee some
Things That viii Net Happen.
Of the latter class is legislation in the
interests of the miners There is no
other class in the State upon which
the Republican leaders rely on abso-
lutely for support, and none TO which
they owe so much for their political
victories. and yet. it may be safely
predicted that not solitary measure
introduced to relieve the miners of
the State from portion of the dan
gers of their vocation will be enacted
into law, Nor will any act be passed
increasing or even defining the liza
bilities OF the operators with refer
ence TO injuries received by them in
their employ.