J.V. McMahen of Standard Oil Co., was here to see T.R. Stump
relative to securing right-of-way through a tract of land that Stump owns on the
route of the proposed Elk and Kanawha railroad, which penetrates the rich timber
and coal fields of the Upper Steer Creek valley.
McMahen had no trouble securing the right-of-way, and the
transfer was made and paid in short order. The road will be a narrow gauge
common carrier, running from Gassaway to some point on Steer Creek, and the
principal object of its building will be to transport the timber from the
35,000-acre Bennett tract now owned by Standard.
It is thought that the road will be completed to Rosedale this
year, and as far as the mouth of Bear Fork next year. That part of the country
promises to supply many men with work this year, and for years to come. Standard
will build a barrel factory at Gassaway, which will supply many men with the
construction of this railroad and the work of getting out this vast amount of
timber.
Can you imagine all the chaos that would arise if the person
receiving the most votes for president on Nov. 8 was actually not the person
elected to office?
It has happened before and it can happen again.
Why? Because in the U.S. we have such an out-of-date institution
as the electoral college. We voters do not really elect a president. We merely
elect certain presidential electors, and they in turn elect the president.
These electors are proportioned to the states according to the
number of representatives in Congress. This might work out very well if each
Congressional district contained somewhere near the same number of people. This
is not the case. Shifting populations make this impossible, together with
reluctance of politicians to redistrict the country as it is needed. A vote for
president should count the same whether in West Virginia or California.
Unfortunately, this is not so. Some voters are shortchanged.
The
question of abolition of the electoral college was raised last week in the
Letter Box of this newspaper by eighth grade history students. We believe that
our readers should give this question their attention.