The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-01-03

According to pres. dispatches there were sew
eral hundred names registered in Lynchhurg in
the past few months without any requirement
10 MI out the form Of application provided by the
Constitution as a prerequisite to registration It
seems that only registrar IN the city made
THIS requirement The remainder claim ignorance
OF the Law The Bulletin has absolutely no pa
thence with this plea. Here eight or nine
men, claiming intelligence and taking an oath
To perform the duties of tho office they accept
and then claiming ignorance of the only duty con-
nected with that Office It looks entirely too thin
Tor intelligent people to swallow. A registrar
is appointed to register voters according to the
provisions Of the Constitution and elections laws
lhese men ask us to believe they were ignorant
81 the very Law controlling their action. City
folks consider themselves vastly superior to the
eountryman in intelligence ard general informa-
ton, YET venture the assertion that there is
n" registrar in this county who has registered
name since 1904 without requiring the voter to
MI up the application himself So far as we have
inquired there Ia not single one.
Section 20, paragraph g. OF the Constitution
says; THAT. unless physically unable he make
application 10 register in his handwriting
without aid suggestion memorandum in the
presence of the registration officers stating
therein his name, age. date and place OF birth
residence and occupation at the time and for the
two years next preceding. and whether he has
previously voted, and II So the State, county and
precinct in which he voted last"
A registrar that cannot read and lInderstand
the above paragraph should himself be disfran-
chised. registrar who attempts to I'll the A0ce
of registrar without familiariing himself with
the laws governing the conduct OF that office
should be discharged and punished in some man
ner for criminal neglect OF his most important
duty.
But suppose admit that ignorance was the
factor in the case OF the Lynchburg registrars and
suppose We accept this fmsy excuse how about
the judges of election? There is absolutely no
excuse for them. They were warned In advance
that large number OF voters had been Illegally
registered In fact, they held meeting To de-
eide what action they would take in the matter
The result of this meeting shows that these Judges
absolutely ignored the plain, mandates of the
law setting forth their duties and decided to do
yhnx 1naS mad
circumstances. Mark YOU. not what the law
plainly requires. but what these judges deemed
most expedent
An election Judge, certainly, has the right to
decide whether man is legally registered or
not, but he has not the right to deliberately de-
eide man is legally registered when the case Is
plain that there is absolutely no doubt about
the matter. and IL he does decide. he should
he impeached punished and discharged from
office No Intelligent man will claim that these
voters were legally registered. the judges them
selves will not do SO, and In permitting them to
vote they violated plain provision of the statutes
as shown in sections 1876 and l27 of the election
Jaw. They had no legal right to permit these
illegally registered voters vote and by their
expense to the legitimate voters and taxpayers
of that city.
Nearly $500, 900 spent in making that edu-
cational qualification a part OF our organic law
Here. few registrars and election Judges OF
their sweet will and accord. by their action
repeal this law which cost much to enact
We understand there will be a contest nv the
better class OF Lynchburg citizens Let us hone
that the full light OF publicity will be turned on
this whole affair. and If any be found guilty
that they will be heavily punished--Bedford Bul-
ietin.