The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1907-06-08
LETTER FROM Mr.. JAS. E. ROGERS
"Bakis is WiIlln.

heard from all the members of the pres
ent Legislature expected 20 stand for re-
election. This was "a prodigious. prema-
ture piece OF gratuItOus information
vOuchsaied "a news, when every body in
Virginia. not a hopeless dolt or idiot, un-
derrtOod from the moment when this
legislature, m view Of succeeding itself
took very large percentage OF a sixty
day : session to lobby advocate al q pass
with extraordinary unanimity "a meas
ure that mOre than doubled the pay OF
meinbers OF the succeeding Legislature. "A
constitutional prohibition only stood In
the way OF making the grab right there
and then. This when the press and peo-
pie oi the country We're wondering at the
tcmerltN OF tOugie-s IN Increasing the
salaries of its members tiity per cent
Our Virginia Legislature had the as
/ tOundlug bOldncss To increase the pay oi
its members one hundred and twenty
per cent. Thus feathering their nests for
warmer setting. and with this vault
ing ambition OF succeeding themselves in
View, what keener spur did members
need to prick the sides of their neiarious
intent III voting each other $500 in place
oi the $40 they were then getting for "a
sixty days session No wonder that
under these seli made to order conditions
OF a more lucrative job our latter day
law makers Of itching palms faunt in
flaming headlines of the local newspapers
| this cooling solicitation for voters OF
| " Barkis II willin.' but how stand they
~ tAi= too hot haste for the favOrs of
Mistress Peggotty, the peOpleg is it not
I likely that she, suspicious of this ~ ar
/ dent early wOOing, may turn her head
askant. mayhaps askew, bend the Ian
guid eyelid down in skittish coquetry,
aud say this l. all too. too sudden aud
too soon. I'm 80. 80 sorry. | never
dreamed 'twould come To- this But did
you not. depending on my smiles. snatch
from me a kiss ne'er intended giving in
thi- prospective salary grab Did YOU
not. a. trusted public servants, put in
your time AT Richmond enscting freak
iai and TOOL legislation of sO-called emer-
| geucy acts that looted the treasury, in
| that they created useless Offices whose
sole purpose was to give certain political
Micaw bers sops at the political pie coun-
ter, sinecure jobs at the public expense.
armed with the understanding. Ask
and ye shall receive" Did not each
State and county office have it, paid
lobby at the capitol in the interest
ot increasement of salaries? Did not the
school men through it's lobby delude.
hoodwink or otherwise secure from YOU
that greatest of public frauds, the public
schools, not one dollar of which extra
has reached the common schools of the
rural districts; all, all engOrged or graft
ed 10y school men higher up2 But bV far
the most unkindest cut of all: Did
you not with fell hand and wicked pur-
pose wrest from the people that ancient
right of Magma Charta-the right to elect
their commissioners of the revenues
Did not this legislature mean to say bv
this hiRh-handed stretch OF power that
the taxpayers of Virginia and their com
mlssioners of the revenue were not hon
est IN listing personal property for taxa
tlon, We're IN conspiracy and collu-ion to
deiraud the State out of its revenues?
That under court appointment these
commissioners would be the creatures of
the courts, alOOf from and in no WAY
amenable to the people for official
wrong doing, however partial, unfair
| and oppressive their listing NAV be?
This legislature by this arbitrary swoop|
Oh unwarranted power wrested from tie
taxpayers OF Virginia every possible way
OF redress against the oppression of this
officer, whose very pay is made TO depend
upon the gross amount of his ASSESS
meats. The land assessor being an ap-
pointee of the court this places the tax
payers of this State hopelessly and help
lessly at the mercy of the vampires of
otiice-the taxeaters-who have us thus
touled and by the throat and are saying
pay the taxes so assessed, or by the gods
your lands, tenements and hereditaments
shall be forfeited to the State. Now.
through this law of taxation without
representation, against which our
fathers warred in l77G, an office-h holding
aristocracy or trust has been created,
whose greed for power, pluAder and pelf
Will make US to groan meath a weary
load OF taxation, unless, indeed, we have
the manhood to demand and see to il
that we are reinvested with all the rights
which have been so arbitrarily wrested
from us. Now, with theeffrontery ofimp-
lsh innocence, these, our quandam law
makers, after having betrayed our trust.
set us absolutely at naught by wrestling
from us our cherished right to elect our
own officers, thus placing us at the
mercy OF sppiation from interested tax
assessors. Having provided for them
selves prospective salary grab OF over
one hundred per cent, having emptied
the treasury at Richmond in the interests
oil schemes that do not contribute to the
pubic good, are asking the people of Vir-
ginla to cOndOne these wrongs and in
dorse them for reelection to the nest
they have already befouled Will the
people of Virginia continue to put parti-
sanship above patriotism and their own
best interests and thus kiss the hand
that struck down their liberties
only because these knaves are
wearing a mask of Democracy, the badge
of nomination from some so-called
Democratic Committee. some cut and
dried convention, or yet more fraudulent
primary election2 With this halter of
party fealty around our necks we have
already been led by office seeking pro-
fessional politicians into a valley Of
shame and humiliation, q wilderness of
ruin and wrong, under "a proclaimed con
stitutiOn. Negro domination, negro su.
premacy, the veriest political bugaboos
and hObgOblins at best to delude us Of
our liberties, are now happily layed or
eliminated. Let us rise up against this
more menacing, more debasing, more
lgnoble because dangerous yoke OF Off
cial domination, official supremacy, by
which we have been ignominionsly
thrust under a constitution by procla-
nation, and later on by this Legisl lturs
now seeking reelection, stripped OF the
sacred right to elect our county officers.
| let Us rise against this spirit OF usurpa-
ton and make these wrongs against our
rights, against our liberties, "To plead
like angels trumpet tongued against this
deep damnatiOn Of our taking on" Dis
carding, despisi6g and rejecting execu-
tive committees, primary elections and
conventions as the artfnl lodges and d.
vices of professional politicians to delude
NJ ~ - - N.s.l e..