Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1911-10-26

htical brigands," both to be operated
under and in the interests of the ma
chine. If the Roanoke Times will make
Investigation it will find that the reve-
nues of the State from the oyster tax
have been appropriated and absorbed
by Mcdonald Lees crew of political
pirates.
The Times tries to respond to our sec
ond item, which called attention to the
increase in the salaries of the clerks of
the House of Delegates and State SEN
ate, during their terms of office, in vio-
lation of the constitution. The Times
ssys:
The fact is the clerk is paid be-
cause he is required to remain in
Richmond the entire year compiling
an index of all the acts of the Vir-
ginia Assembly since the beginning
of the government, a record of vast
historic interest"
The fact is that this indexing OF all
the acts WAS another Job" and the
Roanoke Times will find that in the
general appropriation act of March 16.
1910, ample provision was made for the
clerk of the House Of Delegates for do
ing this work, even allowing pay for
clerical assistance to the clerk. Yes,
this was a job" just as was the job
which ordered the clerk of the House
of Delegates to have the Acts of the
House of Burgesses printed, and for
which work large appropriations were
made.
Responding to our third item, charg-
ing that the appropriation of SIC. 600 for
the employment of special counsel for
the State to assist the Attorney Gener-
al, was job, the Times says:
"A third alleged Job is the ap-
preparation of $1,000 for the en-
ployment of an extra assistant to
the attorney general, or so much
as may be necessary This extra
work, If we recollect correctly, was
the conduct of the cases involving
the States public Institutions and
the prosecution of the claims against
West Virginia.
What a marvelously convenient MEM
ory is possessed by the Roanoke Times
In every emergency the Times can make
its memory work to suit the occasion.
But we insist upon correcting this con-
venient memory of the Times, and will
show it that this appropriation was a
Job" put up for the benefit of the
"Dickie" Byrd of the machine. And
the proof shall be made from the edito-
rial columns of the Roanoke Times it's
elf. In the Times of April "a, 1910,
there appeared an editorial: THE Spec-
ial Counsel" from which we quote:
when the appointment of Speak
er Byrd to be assistant to the attor-
ney general at a salary Of 1900 a
year was announced, the Roanoke
Times asked some questions. Be-
fore undertaking to discuss the mat
ter we wanted the facts. We asked
how much such services as the as
sistant is supposed to perform have
cost the State; what Mr. Byrd is
expected to do; what the attorney
general and his regular assistant
are to do. We have no official or
direct answer. The News Leader.
of Richmond, gives the general
public some information apparently
carefully compiled. This is that the
cost to the State for extra counsel
fees in the twenty-four years from
1883 to 1907, inclusive, was an av-
erage of 1864 year"
The Roanoke Times also ascertained
from the facts presented by the News
Leader that the litigation engaged in by
all the State institutions in which spec
ial counsel is employed, and paid out of
the funds of the institutions, only aver
aged 81, 900 year, "all told" and this
includes 81, 900 paid as g retainer by the
University of Virginia to its special
counsel. The Times says further:
'The matter is fast assuming the
size Of scandal They
say the appropriation Of SIC, to
be available'to employ special coun-
sci to assist the attorney general
was hurried through at the last ses-
sion Of the Legislature, that those
who knew anything of it supposed
it would be a kind of emergency
fund; that nobody suspected that
eight-tenths Of it would be paid to