Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1910-02-24
A FOOLISH FABLE.

The Washington correspondents are
responsible for disseminating q lot of
unadulterated rot among the readers of
the newspapers which they represent.
The latest specimen of their ignorar ce
or their Indifference to probabilities is
contained in dispatches, which foreten
the unseating of the Democratic repre-
sentative from the Fifth Congressional
district of Virginia on the ground that
his election was invalidated by reason
OF the presence on the ballots distribu-
ted to the voters of the name of can
didate other than that of himself and
Of his Republican opponent, MIR. Par
sons. The interloper, one Matthews.
Is of unbalanced mind whose lunacv
took the form just then of fancying
himself in popular demand for a seat in
Congress. Judge Saunders, the sitting
member, had nothing to gain by the
candidacy of this crack-brained individ-
ual and sought by every legitimate
means TO have E:5 name excluded from
the official ticket. The Secretary of
the Commonwealth decided that he had
no option under the terms of the statute
defining his duty in the premises but
was compelled to include the names of
all persons who had complied with the
forms prescribed. The fact that Mat
thews ''also ran" has nothing more to
do with the contest between Saunders
and Parsons than it has with the Peary-
Cook controversy, and it is absurd to
suppose that any member of the House
committee attaches the slightest impor-
lance to such frivolous ground of con-
test. There was nothing of idem So
mans to confuse the voters, and if Mat
thews received any support at the polls,
by error or otherwise, no right of any
person concerned was infringed on The
whole story is really beyond words -
Norfolk Virginian-Pilot
We are surprised that our Norfolk
contemporary takes such a frivolous
view of the Parsons-Saunders contest.
If we remember correctly, the Virgin
ian-Pilot was one Of the very few Demo
cratic papers in the State that protest
ed against the vicious redistricting
measure which was enacted by the last
Virginia Legislature for the sole, avow-
ed purpose of preventing the Republi-
cans from carrying the Fifth Congress
sional district. That scheme was the
primal fraud, and the procurement of a
lunatic as a candidate was a secondary
fraud by which the Democrats succeed
ed in counting Saunders in.
The editor of the Virginlan-Pilot was
a member of the Constitutional Conven-
tional which made the present State
Constitution, and he ought to know that
both of the schemes which resulted in
giving the returns to Saunders were in
violation of the Constitution. Speaking
of the manner in which the General As
sembly shall apportion Congressional
districts the Constitution says: (Which
districts shall be composed of contigu-
Gus and compact territory, containing,
as nearly as practicable, an equal num-
Der of inhabitants
The redistricting bill passed for the
Fifth by the Legislature violated each
and every one of these positive man.
dates of the Constitution. AS it had al
ready existed, the Fifth was what is
called in politics "shoestring district"
The redistricting bill of 1908 nearly
severed the ''shoestring" and it is prac-
tically held together by single thread. |
Thus has the contiguity and compact
mandates of Section 5 of the Constitu-
ton been obeyed by the Virginia Demo
Gratis. The population of the Fifth was
several thousand less than the popula- |
ton of the Sixth district; but the Demo
Gratis took Floyd county from the Fifth |
ard attached it to the Sixth, thereby !
enlarging the population of the latter to
the extent of 5000, and reducing the
population of the Fifth to that extent.
No more dishonest piece of legislation
has ever been passed in Virginia. 1t
was conceived by the Democratic lead !
ers for the avowed partisan purpose of
keeping the Fifth in the control of their
party; and Democratic governor, who
had sworn to support the Constitution.
gave his personal and official sanction
~ ,~,,t,oc,oo,,a v,oaas,,ra A. G.