Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1905-06-01
RAISE THE CURTAIN.

Tie OSHlOCfdLlC pdIC has hou NOiiPiN'N
control of every department in the
government of Virginia. All the while
our Democratic friends have been as
sorting that they alone are properly
qualified to manage the affairs of the
State. This assertion has been coupled
with the declaration that that the Dem
ocratic management was and is honest
and clean. But all the time the curtain
before the stage on which the govern
ment's work has been transacted has
been lowered, and no one except the
Democratic management has been al
lowed to go behind the curtain and find
out what was going on. Occasionally
some daring person has peeped in at the
side of the curtain and made discoveries
that were we'll calculated to startle hon.
est citizens and cause CONSERVATION
among Democratic officials and mana
gers.
That there have been many crooked
and dishonest things done by Demo
cratic officials during the last twenty
years; and that the affairs of the State
have not been properly managed, is
proved by the suggested reform meas
ures that are now advocated by some of
the prominent Democratic candidates
among them Captain Joseph E. Willard,
! who is now standing for the Democratic
nomination for Governor. He declares
that if he is elected Governor he will
see that an entirely different system Of
bookkeeping in the several departments
of the State government shall be
adopted. This is all very well for Cap
tain Willard, and he is in position to
know what has been going on in the
Augean stables, as he has been for
nearly four years Lieutenant Governor
and very intimately acquainted withpo-
litical conditions in the State. We
suggest as better remedy than that Of
fered by Captain Willard, that an entire
change be made in the management OF
the departments instead of relying
upon change of the system of book
keeping. During the past twenty years
hundreds of thousands Of dollars have
been stolen from the Office of the Audi
tor Of Public Accounts, more even than
the Auditor has been able to determine.
This has been known to the Chief Exec
utive of the State and he has never, by
message to the General Assembly or
otherwise, asked an investigation Of the
Auditors office. The Roanoke World
(Democratic) says:
"These defalcations have invariably
been charged to some incompetent or
dishonest subaltern. There
has been entirely too much scandal in
Virginia about such matters, and there
should be an end of it.
Yes, there should be an end to these
scandals. They have been started not
only in connection with the Auditors
office but there have been serious charg=
es made about the Department of
Education and some of the charitable
institutions of the State. The coming
election in Virginia will furnish an ex-
cellent opportunity TO the people to
raise the curtain which the Democratic
party has so long kept down for con-
cealing it's scandalous management OF
the State. Captain Willard is the only
Democratic candidate who has had the
courage to suggest any reform, and his
is only suggested change in system
of bookkeeping. No investigation or
change in management is advocated by
any Democratic candidate. Would it
not be well for the people to once more
have the curtain lifted and see what
its servants, profitable or Improbable,
honest or dishonest, have been doing
behind the curtain? According to DEM
ocratic hints and confessions the
Augean stables, under their manage
ment, have become very filthy. Fhey
should be cleaned, and the Republicans
intend to clean them if the people will
give them the opportunity.