The Dickenson County herald. [volume] (Clintwood, Va.) 1927-1930, 1927-11-24
A SQUARE DEAL
DEMANDED

Among the newspapersin the
State of Virginia that doesn'
sneeze it's head off every time
the leaders OF the Democratic
mahcine take snuff, newspa-
per, by the way that dares tt
CLAIM LIS own soul. and conseq
uently respected by all is the
Richmond news Leader. Prior
to the recent election it sent a
staff correspondent to South
west Virginia who visited many
counties and wrote up tn work
-lngs OF the Democrat machine
The facts were damming.
| After the staff correspondent
finished his special article
Tie News Leader in an editorial
STATED.
"Dickenson county has a pop
Iulatlon OF about $4,000, most OF
them farming folk who stay at
home Richmond is credited by
the census with about 1913, 900
people, several thousand of who
are always absent on business
Or on pleasure. Dickinson coun-
ty cast approximately 700 alb
sent-voters ballots last Tuesd-
lay. Richmond cast three.
IL the vote had recorded
TACT, B percent. of the total pop
ulation of Dickinson expected
to be away from the polls on ell
ection day. Of the normal part
lclpating electorate of around
1900, not less than one sixth
were absent voters" In Rich
mond, pathetically small thou
gh the vote was, the percent
age of absent voters was inst
ia little more than one-tenth of
l per cent
County officers were hotly
contested in Dickinson, to be
sure, while in Richmond only.
the Democratic nominees for
the legislature and three con-.
before the electorate. That
makes a difference. So does the
TACT that Richmond is in a
district politically one-sided
and indifferent, whereas Dick
enson is in the fighting Nineth
Even so, how do you accou-
Mt for a condition like that in
~ Roarlrg Fork preelacl, where
1oo votes were cast, eighty
three of them on absent voters
baliots or almost one in four?
1t is alleged that at this prec-
met fifty people who had filled
out absent voters ballots admit
ted frankly that they had not
oeen away from home on elect
ION day and had never had anv
intention of being away.
The responsible officer is
the precinct registrar. He is an,
pointed by the county electoral
board, which in turn is chosen
by the judge of the Circuit cour-
t. The judge is, of course, a De-
mocrat, because he is elected bv
the general assembly, which is
democratic. The court appoints
democrats to the electoral. boa
rd and they name men of their
own party as registrars. It is
doubtful if there is a single Re-
publican registrar in Virginia
IF, therefore, the law per
mits registrars to go around
with candidates in order to del
lver in person the ballots desir-
ed by absent voters, then the
registrar can do this for a fav-
ored Democratic candidate ano
decline to do it for a Republican
Ii going from house to house
and giving ballots to Indifferent
electors is what sweels thevo-
te of absentees on election dav
then the Democratic party has
an undue advantage. In eastern
Virginia the absent voters law
means little one way or another
put in the Ninth district, it pro-
bally tips the beam. And it alw-
avs tips the beam on the Dem
ocrats side. Imagine ninth
district registrar travelling abo-
ut with a Republican candidate