Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1909-09-24
JUDGE MANN SPEAKS.
Makes Ringing But Conservative
Speech.

people OF our State elect their own
in their own way, and impose
upon them duties which these officers
have been faithful to perform, and for
which the people hold them responsible.
1t strikes me, however, as a little
strange that this charge should come
from the nominee of party in which
less than dozen are the distributors
of the patronage of the Federal govern
ment. and who hold their party together
by the cohesion of official salaries dis
criminately bestowed upon those who
respond to the call of the chief in every
canvass and in every time of need. y
In what respect is the Democratic
party either wasteful or incompetent?
Why should the management of the
affairs of the State be taken out of its
hands? 1t will not do to deal in gen
eralities; acts of incompetency and mis-
management must be pointed out and
proved; mere general allegations will
not satisfy the Virginia people. = .
1t must be borne in mind that cents of
the SO on the 500 now levied for State
taxes are devoted to the payment of
S430, 600 of pensions to Confederate
soldiers in contrast with $106, 235 paid
in 1899; that 10 cents on the 500 are
devoted to schools, and that the State
maintains its agencies and runs its gov
eminent on the remaining 20 cents, the
amounts received from railroads and
other corporations and from licenses.
The standards of our public schools
have been steadily but conservatively
raised. Our system ranked No. 35 four
years ago and now stands No. Is
amongst the States Of the Union. and
we expended on them in 1908 $40, 0s2
more than in 1899.
When the Democratic party took
charge of the State government twenty
five years ago our funded debt was
S45, 71S, 112.23. During Governor Nc
Kinney's administration this amount
was reduced by agreement between the
State and it's creditors to $29, s25. O24. 81,
of which we have paid and retired
81, 1888, 065. IL, leaving the present debt
$24, 986, $50. S3, the interest on which has
been promptly met. and our per cent.
bonds are selling in the markets of the
world around 90. Surely the holders of
our State bonds do not think our
finances have been badly managed. In
deed, the price of our bonds is the
worlds testimony to the safe and con-
sentative management of our State
overnmentby theparty in power. y
Prosperity Of the Farmers of
Virginia.
The State under Democratic admins
tration has been looking after the in
terests of the farmer. Our Agricultural
Department, the Agricultural and Me-
chanical College, at Blacksburg, the
station, the departments
Of agriculture in the rural high schools.
and last but not least the prosperity of
the farmers themselves bear out the
assertion. In 1900 we produced corn to
the value of $40. 200, 600; in 1908 this
crop yielded $50. 900, 600. The totalvalue
of farm products for 1900. including
corn. was $95. 3Os. 900, and In 1908 $780,
100000, an increase of $6S. 696. 900 in
eight years.
Good Roads
As part of the program for the ad-
of the agricultural interest
a State Department of Highways has
been created, and is doing efficient work
in giving information to the people and
skilled direction in the building of per-
manent highways. Since the creation
of this department sixty-eight miles of
permanent roads have been completed
in thirteen differeE.. caunties and turned
over to the counties. Work is now
being done on 2S3 miles in thirty-four
counties. of which LIT are already COM
pleted, and work is in progress on the
If elected Governor of this Common
wealth will recommend to the Legis-
lature the adoption of a settled, definite
plan, by which the State will extend its
aid to the counties for the building of
permanent highways, and which will
enable the counties to know what
amount they can expect from the State
for the payment of the interest on bonds
or for the building of highways direct.
A plan which will be so guarded with
reference to the widely varying condi-
tons throughout the State, that each
county will receive its proportion of the
funds distributed, and. as far as it
elects to do 50, its share of the convicts.
Election Methods,
Election methods were mentioned by
the nominee of the Republican party.
and IN the same speech other States
than Virginia, which are under Repub-
lican rule. are referred to. The COM
bination is unhappy. Pennsylvania and
West Virginia furnish examples in this
and other directions which it would not
be well for Virginia to follow. Indeed,
the Constitutional Convention in 1901
was called for the purpose of getting
rid of the colored vote, which threatened
every interest and was used by the Re-
publican party in every possible way
for the election of its officers and the
carrying opt of its plans and schemes.
And, with the disfranchisement of the
negro, the Democratic party determined
that the elections in the State of Vir-
GINA should be fair. and that every