Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-07-28
IN TIE OLD DOMINION
GOSSIP OVER CANDIDATES AND
POLITICAL MATTERS.


Special Correspondence Of The Star.
RICHMOND. Va. July q. 1907.
Politicians of the state do not take
great deal of stock In the rumors that Sen
ator George B. Keezell Of Rockingham is
considering the advisability of getting into
the gubernatorial contest. Senator keezeli
has served tn the senate for many years.
and while he has taken great interest
in matters of legislation 1t is not believed
that he Will make any contest for the
nomination. He Is business man. q
farmer. a capitalist. and takes great de-
light in managing his vast estate In his
native county. Those who know him best
do not think that he would be willing TO
give up his residence in Rockingham and
consent to make his home here for four
years. He is a candidate for the senatorial
nomination. but he is making no effort
to have the voters return him. being inde-
pendent of what they do and not caring
whether he is nominated or not. Few
men in the state are better posted on the
states revenues than Senator Keezell and
he has served on some of the most i'm
portant committees since he has been In
the senate. He is a democrat and is one
man in the county of Rockingham who
can be elected to any office he desires,
though 1t frequently happens that republic
cans are chosen to office there.
The retirement Of Judge William Hodges
Mann of Nottoway from the attorneyship
for the Norfolk and Western railroad has
been the one subject of conversation among
politicians of the state the last few days.
Judge Mann, who is a candidate for re-
nomination to the senate, announced to
several of his close personal friends more
than year ago that he intended to retire
from the service Of the railroad. and he
would have handed in his resignation the
first of this year but for the fact that
there were several causes pending in court
in which he was counsel. some of the
causes having been partly argued and
others sent back for rehearing. When Judge
Mann announced his candidacy for the
gubernatorial nomination there were many
who wanted to vote for him who would
not do so because of the connection he had
with the Norfolk and Western railroad He
Is now free to make a campaign independ-
ent Of all relations with the railroads,
which have gotten into general bad repute
with the voters Of the state at this time.
Officials Reticent.
Gov. Swanson, the members of the cor
poration commission the attorney general
and Allen Caperton Braxton. who was asso-
cated with the commonwealth in the prose-
cution of the hearing of the rate matter
before the commission. held conference
here Monday, but so far absolutely nothing
has been made public as to what will be
done. That the state will continue the
contest is accepted but t. mode of pro-
cedure is the one thing which the officials
refuse to divulge. They content them
selves with saying that nothing undigni-
Heu will be DONE" but decline to go one
step further than that. That some move
is on foot that will serve to bring the dis
pute to a head without having to go
through a tiresome review Of the evidence
and all the details of the management and
classification is regarded certain. hut
in what manner one will venturei
suggestion.
From the June state health bulletin some
interesting figures are taken. The death
rate data are not complete, several of the
this city the total number of deaths Is
given at go. of which 1913 were white and
131 were coored. The ratio of population
Is two to for the whites as against
the blacks, yet the number of deaths
among the negroes is greater than of the
whites by three, with only one-thrd of
the inhabitants. In Norfolk city. where
the whites have population some 10000
in excess of that Of the negroes, the deaths
are So and &C. respectively, and this in
cludes the deaths of IS persons under the
age of five years. In Roanoke city tie
deaths of whites exceed that of the blacks
by 46 to 81. the population being two white
and one colored. In Elizabeth City county
which includes Hampton and Phoebus. the
deaths aggregated IS. of which 10 were of
whites and % blacks, the population being
nearly the same.
Contagious diseases are reported fol-
lows: Whooping cough in "A counties,
measles in AZ. dphtheria in 6, scarlet fever
in g. tuberculosis in 63, typhoid fever in
40 and smallpox in II. On the whole, the
sanitary condition Of the state is good.
Eighteen counties fail to make reports to
the state board.
After the Ice Trust.
Judge Witt of the hustings court has
charged the grand jury of that court to
look into the matter of the ice trust in this
cit;. There Is no specific statute on the
subject of trusts in Virginia. but the judge
told the grand jury that the commonwealth
was in itself law. and that If 1t could be
shown that there was conspiracy to him
der trade In any way 1t was the duty of
the body to present the parties to such
conspiracy. The grand jury has been in
session several days, and at the request of
the members of that body it has been adj
journed over to Wednesday of next week.
The icemen of the city have been in
sweat for several days, the court sum-
moning them to tell all the facts. The belief
here is that the state will indict these peo-
pie. That there Is trust no one here will
deny. save the ice companies. The COM
panies have an agreement whereby drivers
in certain sections of the city will not sell
to consumers who buy from another driver.
lotted districts to buy from the company
which has the district Numerous cases
are on record where drivers of wagons
have fatty refused to sell to people who
wanted to buy. for no other reason than
that it was not in the district which they
furnished.
Judge Edmund Waddill of the United
States court. in whose jurisdiction the
street-car lines of the city We're placed by
receivership proceedings has issued regu-
lations for the operation Of the of
the local companies. He has prohibited
smoking in the at all times. no one
being allowed to smoke except those who
stand on the rear platforms. The companies
have always allowed smokers to occupy
the two rear seats In the summer cars, but
Judge Waddill has Inhibited that The
judge does not interfere with the "Jm
Crow" law In any way, giving the conduc-
tors power to assign seats to whites and
blacks and making 1t plain that the state
law on the subject Is valid. Passengers who
decline to conform to the law are liable
to arrest and fine in the courts of the state.
The new regulations effective from Au-
gust 1. The company has been in the
hands Of the receivers for several years.
The principal owner is Frank J. Gould of
New York
Incendiary Recaptured.
Willie Freeman. the colored man who
was released from the county jail of Gooch-
land about a month ago, and who was re-
captured In Portsmouth. Ohio. Is again a
prisoner of the state Of Virginia. Freeman
Is accused of incendiarism, the charge be-
ing that he burned several buildings on an