Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1902-07-17
THURSDAY, JULY II, 1902.
A PARTISAN BODY.

AdhCll uo W AOi OIhlIiliS NlloN lllC
cent Constitutional Convention was the
most partisan, unfair and revolutionary
body that ever met in this State to make
statute or organic laws" The Pilot says;
Now isn't it queer that the Republican
should charge the Convention with the
one particular sin from which it was con-
spicuously free The Convention certain
ly was not partisan. 1t treated its Repub-
llcan members with the utmost fairness
and consideration, and it displayed, upon
all questions, a breadth of spirit and a
catholcitg of judgment as far removed
from the narrow view of the partisan as it
IL possible to imagine"
The Pilot must be testing, or it's memo.
ry has played it false. If there was any
one particular sin, Of the great many, that
the Convention committed openly and
continuously, it was the sin of partisan.
ship. 1t began its work by selecting It's
officers and committees in party caucus.
1t refused to take an oath to support the
supreme law of the land, because it did
not wish to be DISTRACTED by such all oath
in lis proclaimed purpose of violating that
supreme law. 1t seated man as a mem,
Der who was never elected to that BODY
because he was Democrat and the con-
testant was Republican, though the Elec-
tons Committee had reported that Greg.
DRY had obtained the returns by patent
frauds.
Tue Republican members were treated
with the utmost unfarness and lac k of
consideration throughout the deliberah ions
of the Convention. Those Republicans
who were members of the Suffrage Com.
mlttee were not only ignored but weke ex.
cluded from the meetings of the Commit
tee when the suffrage law was framed and
considered, and were not permitted to see
that law until 1t was ready to be reported
to the Convention.
Again, the Convention displayed its con-
sideration for the Republican members,
and its bipartisan spirit, by having the
Democratic county committees in coun.
ties represented by Republicans to name
D.. the Commissioners Of Registration in such
counties And the meanest partisan act
of the Convention was its REFUSAL to place
any Republicans on tie Board Is of Regis
tration for the various counti4 and cities
of the State.
Then, what does the Yhrginan-P Pilot
think of the proclamation of the Constitu-
ton as partisan act? What possible mo,
tive could there have been for such an act
but to save the Democratic ,oligarcby from
humiIiating defeat? What other reason
could have prompted such a revolutionary
and defiant course, or given even brazen
Democracy the courage to thus publicly
proclaim its perfdy? Was this a"breadth
of spirit and a catholicity of judgment as
far removed from the marrow view of the |
partisan as it is possible to imagine?"
The Virginian- Pilot undertakes to ac-
count fer cur estimate OF. the character of
the Constitutional Convention by the fol-
lowing:
ave presume that the Republican is
moved to make this charge by the suffrage
article of the new Constitution. Has it
not the acumen to see that the insertion
of that article in the Constitution was the
greatest favor ever done the Republican
party in the State Of Virginia? Can it not
see that if the negro had remained fac
tor of the same importance, as heretofore,
the Republican party would never have
amounted to anything in Virginia? Ne.
gro disfranchisement is not party but a
racial policy, and why our Republican cou-
temporaries cannot recognize that fact we
are unable to understand"
Our Democratic friends may convince
themselves that the new suffrage law is a
great favor to the Republican party, but
they will never be able to convince any
honest and intelligent man that it was in
tended to be'such by those who framed it.
IL is the merest nonsense to say that the
Democratic members contemplated the
building up of the great white Republican
party in Virginia. The suffrage law was
framed prevent that very thing; as is
shown from the fact that the operation of
the law has been placed in the hands of
the machine that has been corruptly ma. d,
nipulating the elections in Virginia in past
campaigns.
AS to the negro remaining factor, as ,
long as the Democracy needs him they will 6
continue to use him. The negro has been .
DISTINGUISHED in Moth Carolina, but the ,
Pilot well knows that the Democrats in ,
that State still usetbe negro scare to keep
the party in line
The assertion of the Virginian- Pilot that !
.sNegro Acknowledgement isnot a party {
but racial policy" is not correct This '
we declare upon the authority Of the pres I
ent Governor Of Virginia, who, in a speech l