Year: 1869

The Capital Question is in lovely
snarl. Things are mixed. The ques-
ton is what's what, and there is nobody
who can authoritatively decide it. The
House of Delegates Tuesday tried to
define how the capital should be voted
into the bill. Yesterday they tried to
explain that definition. To. day an of.
fort will be made to explain the
explanation. A glance at our report
this morning will show the situation.
Tho House in Committee of the Whole
Tuesday decided that all the candidates
should be set up and voted for drop
ping the lowest on each successive bal
lOD till one got a majority OF the whole;
and that this place should then be set
up and all the other places pitted
against it one at a time; and that after
vote had been taken in this way
clear through, the place having the
highest vOIe should be elected. This
seems plain enough, but 1t isn't. A
reading OF the resolution and the votes
in our report show several difficulties.
1t is like Major Downing's spectacles.
If you read it one way, Grafton is the
chosen spot. If you read it another
way, ParSersburg is the place. 1t is
doubtful If the House will be able TO
agree which it is. The argument seems
equally strong in favor of each. The
winged lightning has carried the "glad
tidings of great joy" to each that it is
tho Capital elect. People in Grafton
went to bed last night in full faith that
their everlasting fortunes were made.
People in Parkersburg did precisely
the same thing. Now who could be
30 heurtless rs to disappoint these con-
6ding souls and knock the price of
corner lots into jiffy? Tho Legisla-
ture is in tho situation of the infatuated
but tOO-much courted youth who found
larger stock of female loveliness on
his hands than he knew what TO do
with, and who vowed how happy he
'couId be with either, were t'Other dear
charmcr away"


There seems to us but one way out of
this cntanglement, and we hasten to
suggest it. Why not have two capt.
tails? Rhode Island has two; and
Rhode Island isn't much bigger than n
good many of our counties. Connecti-
cut also has two capitals, and Connec-
ticut isn't much larger than Rhode IS
land Why shouldn't West Virginia
have two capitals also? Why not let
the capital be six months at Grafton
and six months at Parkersburg. There
is railroad all the way, and 1t could be
shipped back and forth on Gondola as
the state of the weather or the necessi


ties of tho two towns might suggest.
No doubt free pass could be obtained
for tifthe Legislature would be pliable.
If Little Ehody" can have two capitals
we don't see why West Virginia might
not have four. For instance it might
be switched OLA few months each year
at Clnrksburg, and during the muddy
season when pavements are in demand
! it might I've run over here to Wheeling.
course, over that thirty miles of bottom
less mire. 1t is sad to reflect, (and it
shows chow vain are all things here be-
low'O thnt BuckhRnnon is hopelessly
out in the cold, and couldn't be one of
the capitals even If we had four.


We make no charge for this sugges-
ton of migratory capital. In fact we
might have as many capitals- as there
are candidates, and then everybody
would he made rich and happy, every
thing would be lovely and corner lots
would hang on the tOpmost branch.