Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-03-18
Dixie Goes Ahead
A CITY WITHOUT VOTERS.
BY FREDERIC J. AASKIN

Hopewell, Va, March 12.--In a few
months this, will be a first class city
with mayor and council, excellent
police and fire departments, schools,
churches, hospitals and everything
else that city needs-except voters.
There are only about $50 qualified
voters in the town right now, and it
will have to wait two years before
holding its first municipal election.
This strange state of affairs is due to
the fact that Hopewell was cornheld
a year ago and except for few farm
ers who lived hereabouts, no one has
been here long enough to qualify as
a voter.
All the time that Hopewell was
struggling through crime and fire
without any government, there was a
constantly growing demand among
the better citizens for some kind of
control This bore fruit few weeks
ago when the Virginia legislature
granted the city first class charter
and appointed an administrative board
to take charge of it's affairs, until the
charter becomes effective on July l..
At that time the administrative board
will retire and the governor will ap-
point mayor and council to serve
until the second Tuesday in June,
1918, when Hopewell will have It's
first regular election.
This arrangement was not made.
however, without determined opposi-
ton from the old timers There were
about $50 of these residents of the
county who would be qualified to vote
by July 1, 1916, and they demanded
that the government be surrendered
into their hands. Two factions were
quickly formed, represented, to some
extent, by two chambers of COM
merce The legislature at Richmond,
however, decided against the olisarchy
of oldest inhabitants, and decided that
the governor should appoint the first
mayor and council. ..a- a..
Meantime, Hopewell is under a gov
eminent much like the commission
plan now SO much in vogue, and it is
getting business administration. At
ter the first of July it will stick as
closely to the commission plan as the
state law will allow. having common
council of five and board of alder
men Of three members.
Another law the state legislature
had to pass for the special benefit of
Hopewell provides that when more
than half the area of first class city
is assessed as acreage, new assess
ment may be ordered. A large part of
having recently been corn
field, was assessed at $50 an acre, al
though some of 1t had come to be
worth more than that by the foot.
The greatest attention is being CIV
en- to the organization Of Hopewe!rs
police force under her new charter.
Although a fine civic spirit has re-
placed the lawless atmosphere of her
early days, the new city is still troub-
led with a large criminal population.
Hopewell and Petersburg papers Of
ten record highway robberies at the
rate Of three or four day. 1t is also
admitted that Hopewell has become a
sort of rendezvous for criminals. Men
wanted for high crimes in other: parts
of the country have repeatedly been
arrested there. The Hopewell police
have to deal with some of the most
skilled and desperate criminals in
America. 49, FIJI .as
The new Hopewell police force is
to contain fifty men, and these are be-
ing picked for proved ability and not
according to favoritism. The thumb
print and Bertillon systems Of identi.
fication in addition to a rogue's gal.
lery are being installed. The position
of chief of police is the only one with
in the appointive power of the admin
istrative board and there are num-
Der of candidates for the place.
Hopewell is working along lines of
constructive as well as repressive
morality. She already has about BAH
q dozen churches and evangelistic SER
vices, heavily attended, are held al.