Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1911-03-02
FUNDAMENTALLY WRONG,

manner in which the registration laws
of Virginia are administered. He said =.
If the registrars are to be the
mai arb tiers, your United States
Senators have already been chosen.
do not mean by this statement to
lmF each the integrity of the regis
trars generally in Virginia. Hun
dreds at these off siRls are men of
the highest type, whose integrity
Is as far above the question as that
OF any man. But in certain parts
OF Virginia there are registrars and
judges of election who go to the
cemeteries and read the headstones
and arrange the elections accord
ingly. This has recently been done
In Virginia, and history has been
known to repeat itself Aud nobody
has been punished, either. By delft
arrangement of the election officers.
putting a judge at the window who
could recognize dead men, and put
ing Judge at the books who might
recognize live men, the scheme was
easily accomplished. And the of
lenders are laughing at the court"
Mr.. Glass was evidently referring to
the primary of last year held in the
Second Congressional District. And
our esteemed contemporary, the Nor
folk Virginian-Pilot, takes the same
mental and moral position on this oues-
ton as was assumed by Mr.. Glass. Our
Norfolk contemporary is greatly out
ragged by the way in which the dishonest
administration of the primary was con-
Quoted in the Second District and the
escape of the dishonest election judges
and registrars from the punishment
they so justly deserved. The Norfolk
Landmark having remarked that:
Swift and sure punishment should be
meted out to dishonest officials, repeat
ers, their abettors and all who seek, di-
rectly or indirectly to debauch the bal
lot or to thwart the will of the people. -
evoked from the Virginian- Pilot these
remarks:
The result of the recent trial.
Ringing on the technical question of
the individual and joint responsibility
OF election judges, offers little en-
enlargement to those who agree
with the Landmark that swift and
sure punishment should be melted
out to dishonest officials ct Get.
We wish it were true that the 'peo-
pie of Norfolk have it in their pow
er to preclude absolutely the shadow
OF similar accusations falling across
their pathway again Certainly
they cannot enforce the demand
that election officials should be a
class above suspicion of prejudice
or partisanry so long as the appoint
ment of primary judges is lodged
with the party machine which al
ways has its candidates for nomina-
tion.'
Our Norfolk contemporary then
says:
'The force of public sentiment
cannot be relied on to effect reform
OF the methods because the onlv
vehicles through which sentiment
could find adequate expression are
the very ones which, under existing
conditions, are employed to sup
press or prevent it,"
The trouble with Mr.. Glass and our
esteemed Norfolk contemporary is that
they continue to herd with that ''half-
way honest" class of Democrats to
which we have heretofore alluded. |
They exhaust their moral and intellect
ual effort in vain endeavor to secure
honest Democratic primaries without
paying any heed to securing absolutely I
honest general elections in Virginia.
MIR. Glass complains of the way in
which the registration laws are admin
Istered at primaries, and the Vir0inian-
Pilot is indignant because of the dis
honest administration of the Democrat
&c primaries. Dishonesty at general
elections by Democratic registrars and
Democratic elections officers do not
'eem to provoke the anger of either Mr..
Glass or our Norfolk contemporary.
dr. Glass says:
eff the registrars are to be the
final arbiters, your United States
Senators have already been (
chosen" 9
The Virginian-Pilot says: I
Certainly they cannot (the peo- q
ple) enforce the demand that cleo .
ton officials should be of a class
above suspicion of prejudice or
partisanry so long as the appoint
ing of the primary judges is lodged il