Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1917-12-07
NOT BY THE PEOPLE.


(From Bluciicld Daily Tclcgraph)
The Clinch Valley News, an organ
Of chld-likc faith in the Democratic
party, calls for enlightenment as fol-
lows:
won't some wise newspaper man
in Richmond, Lynchburg, Roanoke,
Bristol or Biuelield, or some one in
some other center of intelligence and
great learning, publish or have pub
lishcd, the figures showing the vote
cast and how cast in the November
election? Every newspaper coming
to this Office since election day, be-
sides inquiries made of leaders and
lcaderlcts, has failed to give the de-
sired information. Someone suggests
that the "returns are being held
back" Another suggests that the Re
publicans are ashamed and chagrined
by the size of the vote. We don't
know how this is, but we do know
that the public would like to see the
tabulated vote of the State"
1t will not take a wise man to fur
nish the News with the information
it desires, hence we undertake it, In
Virginia all of the daily papers are
Democratic in politics; all of the cleo
toral boards are Democratic; the GUS
todianS of the returns are Democrat
ic-and if the returns are being held
back the party of the News is doing
it, We should not blame them for
holding the returns back. but we are
surprised that they do-not surprised
because we believe they are too good
TO do so. but because we are con
strained sometimes to class the Vir-
; ginia Democracy as bourbons, who
never forget forget and never learn
anything, while keepinli quiet about
the returns would be an indication
that the powcrs-that-bc showed some
progressive traits, for the returns
disclosed anything but healthy con
dition. Ony ninety thousand voters
took part in the election-just one in
twenty-five of the population of the
, State. This small number only took
the trouble TO go to the polls and
vote Is the result in Virginia based
on the opinion Of the citizens? Who
knows; who can undertake to say ?
Is the population of Virginia repre-.
scented in the electorate when only one
man out of each twenty-five cares
enough for the privilege of popular
government TO vote? When the ser.
vice of the public ceases to be the
principal concern of the citizens ant
they would rather discharge it by
their purses than their persons, thI
state is already far on the way tC
ruin So soon as citizen says
| a,.rhnt CT N afr IN Ia.
$ state may be given up for lost"
Another Witness, Daniel Webster
said: Nothing will ruin the country
if the people themselves will under
take its safety, and nothing can save
il if they leave that safety in any
hands but their own" The people oil
: Virginia are neglccting the most i'm,
portant function OF citiZcnship-tht
= only function which has any direct
bearing upon the policies and admin
istration of their government. Is il
because they believe that the party il
power may make a government be
nevolently disposed towards them? II
so they are sleeping over volcano
for eternal vigilance has always beer
the price of liberty. Is it because the
state requires that taxes shall be paid
before man can vote, and that all OF
these citizens would rather give III
the privilege of having Il voice in the
government than pay their part OF
the cost OF government Surely the
administration OF the state govern
mcnt has not become so impotcnt fol
good under Democratic administra-
ton that members Of that party will
evade paying for it III any way they
can. This condition shows symptoms
indicative of dangerous lack of
healthful vigor in the body polite.
Such a condition, however, makes
summertime for the ring politicians;
it ncables them to divide up the loavcs
and fishes of public Office to their
Town taste, but it is teaching an OBJ
ject lesson that is anything but ideal.
and out of line with the spirit that
| is aniD,atingt his great nation in
spending billions of money and sacri-
fcing its sons so that other r.ces and
peoples may be youchsnfed thing
which is so lightly regarded in one Of
the great states of the union. This
condition is the work of the party to
which the News is bound like Ephra-
i'm to his idols, and the News knows
that Virginia is not enjoying COVE
eminent by the people.
AN ARMy D1NJCJON