Evening star., 1954-01-19
Richmond Set
orStan|ey's
Inauguration
City in Gay Mood
To Receive New
Governor Tomorrow
By Alex R. Preston
StuF SfoH Correspondent


Stur stoff Correspondent
RICHMOND, Jan. 19.- The
State capital has assembled e
holiday mood for the inaugura-
ton tomorrow of Thomas B.
Stanley, SO. who will take over
as head Of. the Commonwealth
from 63-year-old Gov. John S.
Battle.
The 1854 General Assembly.
just one week old. will cast leg
iSlating duties aside for the day
to participate in the swearing lin
ceremonies, scheduled for shortly
after noon on the south portico
Of the Capitol building.
Tickets and hotel accommoda-
tions for -of-towners are vir-
tually impossible to obtain. Spe-
cial places on the portico have
been reserved for members of the
Legislature and such other high
officials as Supreme Court JUS
tices. members of the United
States Senate and House and so
on.
Set Aside for Public.
The general public will be ad-
mitted to the spacious Capitol
grounds to stand on the steep
slope. facing uphill, to witness
the program.
A colorful four-year term will
be near its end tomorrow, when
Gov. Battle leaves the Capitol
at II am. and motors to the
John Marshall Hotel, about half
a mile away.
There he will be joined by the
Governor elect in addition to 1t.
Gov. A. E. S. Stephens and At
torney General j. Lindsay AL
mond. jr., both of whom were re.
elected, for a return trip to the
Capitol's reviewing stand.
Meanwhile. the Legislature.
which also will convene at II
am. will complete the formality
OF joint session and then, half
an hour later, receive the high
State and national officials.
A few minutes after he as
sumes his new cloak of authority,
Mr.. Stanley will lay before the
General Assembly some of his
objectives for the next four years.
A few lawmakers expect him to
make some changes in the S746
million budget Gov. Battle placed
before the General Assembly yes
terday.
Would Close Of Pits.
In business yesterday, Senator
John A. K. Donovan of Fairfax
sponsored a bill making it un-
lawful to have pits or abandoned
rock quarries on ones property
without either fencing them in
or posting warning signs.
He said he had legally repre-
sented the family of a 10-year-
old boy who lost his life in a
Fairfax County quarry and found
there was no provision in the law
against leaving such hazards
exposed.
Senator Robert Y. Button of
Culpeper introduced bill to
permit corporal punishment of
juveniles under Is years of age
when found guilty of misde-
meanor. The punishment would
be administered by a parent or
guardian.
Would Drop Voting Pledge.
Meanwhile, a bill was in prep
aration today for submission to
the Virginia Legislature which
is certain to bring politics right
into the middle of the young
session. bill to do away with
the loyalty pledge in primary
elections.
A supporter of the bill said
it is an effort to clarity the sit
uation so all voters will know
where they stand. He said it
takes into consideration that
people are becoming more inde-
pendent.
He said it is designed to pro-
vide a method of party regis
tration entailing the least pos
Sible effort on the part of the
voter and at the same time will
require an affirmative declara-
ton of party affiliation as a
condition of party participation
in primaries. The supporter of
the bill preferred that his name
not be used at this time.
Here is what it would do: A
person Offering to vote in a
primary would be required to
sign a simple declaration that he
is a member of the party in
whose primary he offers to vote.
Out the window would go the
present requirement that he
must have voted for the candi-
dates of the party in the last
preceding general election and
that he would support the candi-
dates of the party in the sue
ceeding general election.
It would provide also that no
party could add to these quail
f1cations or requirements.
The voter still could be chal-,
lenged on his qualifications to
vote. But he could not be chal-
lenged on whether he voted for
the party's candidates in the last
preceding general election.