Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-08
DR.. BROWN ASSA|LS
GOVERNORS POWER
Terms Short Ballot Amend
ment as a Most Un-Oem-
ocratic Policy.
BY LESTER N. INSKEEP,

stan Correspondent of The Star.
BALLSTON, Va, September THE
concentration of the governmental
pGwerS of Virginia in the hands of the
governor through the adoption Of the
SHIFT ballot received the brunt OF the
attack upon the old line Democrats that
was delivered tonight in the Washing
ton-Lee High school here by DR.. VIII
liam Moseley Brown, coalition candi-
date for governor.
Referring to the short ballot amend
ment as q most un-Democratic policy
of the present administration, DR..
Brown declared that it is an affront
to the citizens of Virginia and an in
suit to their intelligence for any one to
imply that they are not suticiently
qualified to elect their State treasurer,
and commissioner of agriculture.
Accuses Vote Trap.
Under the constitution of 1901" DR.,
Brown said, 1.-The people Of Virginia
were permitted to elect six 3eRte
officials. This number was snail
enough, but the machine leaders
thirsted for more power and got more
power. Under the guise of 'simplif1ca-
were placed before the people of the
State and carried by small majorities.
And now the people have begun to wake
I'D to the fact that they have fallen
into a trap deliberately set to catch
them unawares. They see they have
unwittingly made 1t possible for the
governor to control more than 10000
of the $4,000 ONCE holders in the
State"
Or. Brown declared that what is
sadly needed in Virginia today Is an
increased political consciousness on the
part Of the people, who should be given
more power and not less power.
"The short ballot" he said, lis de-
cidedly an issue in this campaign. The
trainers of the amendments were SO
adroit and clever as to leave the method
of appointment of these three ofncialS
to legislative enactment and so, after
1880, may use its within is deciding how
these important officers may be chosen
Cites School System.
The school system is particularly af-
fected by the short ballot, he thinks,
since it represents one OF the two
greatest State governmental activities,
the other being highways. Calling at
tention to the fact that $25 ,00Q, 600 is
spent each year in State and local
that he thought the head Of this huge
department should certainly be selected
by popular vote and not by political
appointment. The passage of the short
ballot amendments took away from the
citizens the last direct contact that
they had with school officials, he said,
and now the entire school system is
open to the gravest political machina-
tions.
A thorough and immediate revision
OF the state election laws was advo-
in
given to the registrars, the absent
voters provisions, the procedure in con-
tested election cases and other features
of the election laws make them an
abomination to the people of Virginia"
he said.
The institution of libraries through
out the State and the use of portion
of the State treasury surplus to build
and maintain them was advocated by
DR.. Brown.
Lyon Introduces Dr. Brown.
Frank Lyen. State chairman of the
independent Democratic organization,
who introduced DR.. Brown, delivered q
speech of considerable length, in which
he impressed upon his listeners that they
must ever realize the fact that, because
of the upset in Virginia politics in the
last national election, the eyes of the
entlTe country are Oh The coming eIec-
ton and that the voters of the United
States await with interest the outcome
of a fight that must determine whether
Virginia has permanently deserted the
old Democratic party or whether she
merely withdrew because of the eandi-
dacy of Gov. Alfred q. Smith.
Present on the platform with Or.
Brown were Mrs. Brown, Lyon, j. E.
Spaulding, chairman of the Airing
ton County Republican committee,
and IA women who represented the
various women's organizations of
Arlington and Fairfax Counties who
are supporting DIR. Brown. Louis A.
Mcmahon, Republican candidate for
the House of Delegates from Arlington
County, was prevented by illness from
attending
There we're between 500 and 500 per-
cons in attendance.