Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-02-14
FOR FACTS
State Legislature Spends
Week Investigating.
TROUBLE IN WEST VIRGINIA
Prison Directorate at Moundsville
Charged With Dereliction.
ALLEGED CORRUPTION FUND
Sentiment in State in Favor of Pro-
duction Tax on Coal, Oil
and Gas.
LEGGED CORRUPTION FUND
Special CORRESPONDENCE Of The Star.

| Special Correspondence OF The Star.
WHEELING w. Va. February Is. 1909.
Investigations are the order OF the day
The legislature spent the week chiefly in
| investigating Theodore Alvord. late state
head Of the Anti-Saloon League, and now
its legislative agent, while another COM
mittee of the same body was exercising
the probe on the prison directorate at
Moundsville The Alvord investigation
went on at Charleston between the times
the solons were wrestling with temper
ance and primary laws.
| The greater popular interest centered
on Moundsvile because of the sensational
tinge to the charges preferred by Dele
gate Everett Moore. He let loose
bunch of them first on the legislative
floor. greatly stirring up the animals, and
he added on few after the special COM
mittee began its labors at Moundsville.
OF the testimony taken the most con-
spicuous was by Convict Seabright, who
stated that he was given the promise Of
a pardon conditional on his friends and
county for Arnold c. Scherr when he
ton last summer. scherr captured the
county from w. H. Hearne, who was also
a candidate for governor at that time.
| The pardon never came because, it is
| alleged, GoV Dawson was put next 10
the proposition. 1t is interesting to
know that the governor espoused the
cause of Charley Swisher as against
Arnold Scherr on the governorship.
The scherr candidacy y, in Mar Marshall
Bloyd. the resident director of the
penitentiary. and Bloyd has been persona
non grata with the administration ever
| since. Four years previous he was
high light in the Dawson organization.
1 Spabrjphf'S connected
Col. Clarke Hamilton. the prison director
from Wheeling, as party to the pardon
arrangement. This was somewhat sur
prise. as Col. Hamiltons preference as
distinctly known, he having apparently
maintained perfectly neutral ground.
Public Not Interested.
However the public at large is not
wrought up over the prison investigation.
If politics did not cut the obvious figure
and If there had not always existed rival
| factions in the republican party that d.
vided on the prison patronage there might
| have been shock to sensiblities. AS 1t
| is the controversy is looked on as a politi-
| cal falling out. with one crowd trying to
get even with another. 1t is night
chiefly to eliminate Director Bloyd, who
| has served for three terms. The upshot
| Is to be a new board, for harmony II for
nothing else. when Gov. Glasscock has to
| name his appointees-
Theodore Alvord was on the rack for
| his remarks to Huntington newspaper
| reporter, which he later qualified. but
| which the reporter refused to accept
with the crossing out of a letter. Alvord
was reported in an interview as saying |
the liquor people would raise a million
dollars to defeat prohibition. He was in |
We stigated somewhat a year ago for say
ing $4,000 had been spent in corrupt
ing the state senate. Alvord has evident
| the good of the Anti-Saloon League. The
members Of that organization are saying
| SO openly and frequently, although they
question the eagerness to investigate him
| as sugge stive of move to sidetrack the
main issue of whether or not the state
shall go dry.
Local Option to the Fore.
The local option measures are forging
to the front for the first time in West
Virginia, and some sort of a bill is to
come from the hopper. The Craig bill.
offered by the senator from Peasants
county, stepped over the PROSTATE form
| of a measure offered by Senator Hazlett
of Wheeling but 1t will hardly go through
| in its present shape. 1t permits munic-
ipality of 200 population Or over to de-
eide for itself on the liquor question even
| though the county vote dry. There is
constitutional point involved in this ex-
| ception which may cause protracted
struggle later. The Craig bill satisfies the
liquor men and gets some support from
Legislators who would also vote for
| straight prohibition
| Gov. Dawson has denied that he was Of
fered a position under Uncle Sam to gath
| er manufacturing statistics in Europe at
a salary equal to what the state now
pays him. but he did not deny that he
hopes for a congenial place on the fed
eral pay. roll. Senator'S Scott and Elkins
are anxious for this. and the governor
has the cordial support Of the organiza-
ton and the people for something good.
1t was on the issue of a production tax
on coal. oil and gas that Gov. Dawson
| won his nomination and election. During
| his administration the question got
| pigeonhoed After four years 1t has
| come forth again in the closing days of
the Dawson administration, and the gov
| ernor, ex-Gov. White and Tax CoTms
| sioner Townsend are leading a fight to
| compel coal, oil and gas operators to pay
| increased taxes.
Sentiment for Gas Tax.
| There is q, strong sentiment for the
payment Of increased charges by the
producers of natural gas. West Vir-
| ginians do not relish the building Of i'm
| mense pipes every year or SO for the
purpose of draining the gas. that the citi-
| zens Of Cleveland, Cincinnati and other
towns in other states may enjoy the
precious fuel. West Virginians would
prefer to keep the gas. so that manufac-
turers would be forced to locat. their
plants In the state.
But when 1t comes to putting tax on
every ton of coal mined or every bar
| rel Of oil extracted from the earth there
| is a difference of opinion. The mineral
interests argue that the proposition to
| tax every bushel Of potatoes or barrel of
| apples would be equally sensible and Just.
The fact that the mining industry, in
| been
year or two is another factor against the