Evening star., 1912-09-01
JUDGE SKEEN STICKS
Pays No Attention to Warn
ings Sent by Vote Sellers.
HOT AFTER TAX DODGERS
Auditor of Public Accounts Moore
Trailing Delinquents.
"CUPID'S EXPRESS COMING
Mrs. Gill Of Richmond, Va, Will
Run Another Excursion Here
September IL.
HOT AFTER TAX DODGERS
"CUPID'S EXPRESS" COMM,
Special Correspondence OF The Star.

L 1NlSIIhoND, td, august 81, IJI.
Judge H. A. w. Skeen of Lee county
circuit court, who has been threatened
| with all sorts of deaths and disasters,
who has been warned to flee the county
! and stop his work of prosecuting" the
| vote sellers and the vote buyers, is not
paying the least attention to the letters
| He has so far tried some seventy-five of
| the indicted men, and has seen about
two-thirds of them convicted. The men
are coming right up to the rack and are
pleading guilty, getting the minimum
punishment for doing. while few
are insisting on a jury trial. They are
getting longer Jail terms and are paying
heavier fines.
Judge Skeen has informed the people
of his entire circuit that he intends to
keep right on at this work until the prac-
tice is broken up. 1t is understood that
detectives will go to the ninth district
this fall and will catch the men who
are given to the buying of votes.
Because of the activity of Judge Skeen
it is expected that the vote in that dis
trict will this year see a falling off OF
such proportions as will indicate that
there are many of the former citizens OF
the old commonwealth who have sud-
denly removed to Tennessee and Ken
lucky.
Taxpayers Are Worried.
From all parts of the state there are
lamentations and shouts of distress at
the manner in which Auditor of Public
Accounts Moore is trailing the delinquent
taxpayers. Beginning with the income
tax dodgers, he is now reaching out
after the personal property owners, the
merchants who pay the minimum tax
and all others who owe the state
money. Mr.. Moore takes the ground
that if the people of the state will hall
way do their duty the taxes can be
placed at such figure as to be, at
most, not more than half the present
rate This can be done, says he. If the
owners of property will pay one-haf Oh
the taxes they owe the state. In Inc ~
come tax list is the one which will sur
prise very many people. There are state
officials who are receiving more than the
exemption by law, and they are not on
the lists as paying anything. In the past
the state would deduct that amount
from the salaries, but in the last few
years the salaries have been paid and
the honor of the men receiving theln
trusted. The state has lost.
Mrs Joseph r. Gill of the Male Orphan
Asylum will be in Washington September
H. and with her will come several car
loads of persons from this city. Mrs
Gill has been running excursions from
this city to Washington Easter MONDAY
for years and years, and She mas been
carrying large numbers of lovesick who
have plighted their troth in the Natlonai
Capital. This year she will introduce
the innovation of a double-header-twO in
one year-and will give chance to the
old maids and the young girls to make
one more trip before the end of the sea-
son. Mrs. Gill is advertising the excur-
sion pretty freely, and she says that she
has good reason to believe that the mar
riageab BILE couples will be with her when
She lands ON her fall trip of Cupid's eX-
press"
To Occupy New Building.
After an absence from the post office
building for more than two years, new
furniture is being installed and arrange
ments being made to occupy the build
ing by the beginning of October. The ex-
tensions and repairs to the building have
cost about s1.OOOOO0. The building is
more than double it's former size and is
i'm every way adapted to the purposes OF
a post office and federal office building.
There are several cOurtrooms. clerks
offices, marshars office, revenue depart
ment and collector of customs. The ex-
tension and enlargement of the building
were in strict keeping with the old style
of the structure and all the granite con-
forms to the general style and Ideas OF
the building which stood the test In the
fire after Richmond was evacuated some
years ago. The building at this time oc-
cllpies nearly an entire city block.
The death of Maj. L. j. Moncufe OF
So otsylvania from injuries received from
a kicking mule recalls the fact that
three members of the constitutional con-
yention. which adjourned ten years ago,
have died violent deaths. Remarkable as
it may appear, each Of the three was
killed by horses or mules The first was
Nathan Phillips of Floyd, who was
thrown from mule and instantly killed
The next was George P. Tarry of Meek
lenburg. who was killed in a runaway
accident, and now Maj. Moncure has sue
cumbed from vicious kicks which a young
mule inflicted several days ago MAJ.
Moncure was close on to eighty years
old.
farm this year in the raising OF sheep,
and while it was on small scale 1t has
proved to be one of the biggest surprises
of the. year: The farm managemeh. %
paid s4ss for the !. ST stock s,aIu ABOUT one a q
the sheep bought at that time. This year
the farm has sold wool and lambs to the
amount of $724. and still there are some
twenty-five lambs to be soid, sold, Inc II ,as sales
twice. The cost of keeping the sheep
has been practically nothing. The sheep
at the farm are penned each night and
care is seen tnat no OOSS are dHo"cu "
get into the flock. The greatest draw
back to the industry in Virginia is the
presence of worthless dogs, which prey
upon the sheep at all times.
Mr.. Glass Wins Easily.
Representative Carter Glass of the sixth
district won an easy victory in his fight
for denomination. He had two opponents
and he defeated them handily by a good
majority. His opponents spent about
three times the expenditures of Mr..
Glass. but they failed to shake him
in his position. This shows complete
reversal of a year ago, when Senator
Swanson carried the sixth district, as did
also Senator Martin. Mr.. Glass has been
in Congress for four terms, and will en-
ter on the fifth term March 4. There is
one other district yet to nominate, the
fourth, where Representative Turnbull is
being opposed by Judge Walter A. Wat
son, and in this district the contest is one
of the closest in the state. Should MIR.
Turnbull win, it means that of the demo-
cratic delegation there will be single
change in the next Congress, former Gov.
Montague taking the place Of Capt. John
Lamb.
Beginning with the new month, Rich
mond will see two of her banks-tWo of
the strongest-merged into one. The First
National Bank has taken over the bust
ness OF the National Bank of Virginia,
which a few years ago took over the |
business of the Bank of Richmond. The |
new bank will have capital of more