Jefferson Barracks Citizens Military Camps - Jeffersonian Yearbook (Lemay, MO)

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,IEFFERSONIAN Uwing to the diversity of climate caused by the wide dif- ference in elevation in the various sections of the state, we find three well-defined life zones, the Carolinian, the Transition and the Vanadian. These life zones afford opportunity for many kinds of animals to make lVest Virginia their home. In the mountainous regions may still be found the black bear, deer, wild cats, panthers and many smaller animals. Also we have 260 known varieties of birds which have been officially listed. CLIMATE The highest recorded temperature for this state is 107 degrees, the lowest 35 degrees below zero. Everybody thinks about Florida as being the state of perpetual summer where the people enjoy invigorating sunshine the year 'round But careful observation has proved that there is more sunshine in WVest Virginia than there is in Florida, and less snowfall than in Ohio or Illinois. The climate is so favorable that some of the most famous summer resorts in the country are to be found here. Guests from all over the world visit White Sulphur Springs and other lVest Virginia resorts each year. Whether we see the hills and valleys of ever-changing scenes or the huge mountains covered with luxuriant forests, there is beauty, grandeur and simplicity on every hand. As Isaak Walton said of the world, we may well say of VVest Virginia: Doubtless God could have made a more beautiful place, but doubtless God never did. THE MINE GUARD SYSTIQIVI The one thing that has been emphasized more than any other by outsiders is the so-called deputy sheriff or mine guard system. Une is led to believe that West Virginia originated and has a monopoly on an unique plan,and that all other states are so highly civilized that they would not tolerate anything like it. The facts are that the same system is used in New York. Pennsylvaiiia, Folorado, and in every other industrial state. Why is this system such a horrible thing for West Virginia and of so much value to the industries of other states? 'lihis is not a defense of the mine guard system, but if I were living in certain sections of lVest Virginia, I would welcome it. li was in nr mining district a few days ago where they have :1 fir! I: S1'L z'll!wX'-fflVU'

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---T JEFFERSONIAN to below the center of Kentucky on the south, and lil'0lIl the middle of Ohio 011 the West, to within fifty-six miles of W':1slc1i11g- ton 011 the east. Within these borders, and contributing 1nate1'ially to their irregularity, are to be fo11nd two panhandles, one 1nore than any other state in the Union has. Not only do the panhandles add to the irregular shape of the State, b11t the people living in these sections have diverse opinions and tho11ght about conditions and government, which adds a wealth of thinking that the state draws from which is possessed by no other state. You will also note, in YOUI' examinations of the map, the faet that one man has pointed o11t: 'WVest Virginia is the most southern of the northern states, the most northern of the southern states, the most eastern of the western states, and the most western of the eastern states. Another 1nan has said: alt is a d- good state for the shape it is in. A MOUNTAINOUS STATE Not only is VVest Virginia the IIIOST1 irregular in outline, but it is also the most H1Ol1I1t21lI1Ol1S of all the states. It has been called the t'Switzerland of A1I1C1'iC3,H and is frequently referred to as 'fThe Little Mountain Staten Our state motto, Montani Semper Liberi, CMountaineers are always freej describes the geography of our state and at the same time indicates the spirit of her people. If we were able to take a bird's eye view of this state from the top of one of its highest mountains, we would see on the western side, bordering the Ohio River, wide plains which gradually re- cede into rolling hills and broad valleys which narrow into deep ravines and canons in the upland regions. Between these valleys rise hills which, east of the center, grow into huge mountains that stand out against the sky line like immense giants and from the famous Allegheny Range which acts as a dividing line be- tween West Virginia and Virginia. The hills and mountains of our state make a range in eleva- tion from the highest point, 4,869 feet, to the lowest, 260 feet above sea level. This wide span of elevation produces an alti- tude equivalent to more than a thousand miles of latitude. It so effects the temperature that vegetable and forest products of YVest Virginia are s11ch as may be fo11nd from the soiithern line of Virginia to beyond the Clanadian borders. l'f1lgf S.'Cw'11!ys!-:c'o

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JEFFERSONIAN --- population of more than l5,000. One constable. and zu poor one at that, is the only police officer in that section whose duty it is to enforce the laws. According to that ratio, Charleston with at population of nearly 40,000 would have only two and a fraction policemen. If there were only one policeman to every 15,000 in New York Pity, there would be more riots and blood- shed in one week that has ever occurred in NV:-st Virginia in its history. In some counties of this state where the population has grown from one or two thousand to twenty-five or thirty thousand within a period of a few months, deputy sheriffs have been ap- pointed to supplement the constables. In some eases these extra officers have been paid by eoal companies located in those counties. This is wrong in principle and should be corrected, and is being corrected by legislative action providing more adequate police protection. Even our crities do not complain when every rail- road in the country employs officers to ride the trains to protect the travelling public and at the same time to protect the companies property. THE REAL NVEST VIRGINIA lNIany people do not know the real NVest Virginia, the state that has some of the most hospitable people in the world, the state that can boast of the purest blood in America. Outsiders frequently think of it as the place where feuds exist, where moun- tain people do not hesitate to kill anyone who gets in their way. where mining towns are armed camps with coal operators and mine guards in a trench facing armed miners in another trench opposite, with no man's landt' between, and where life is gener- ally held cheap. They arch their eyebrows and say: 4'Yes, but how about your armed march? When you explain that in a week's fighting there was one deputy sheriff killed, two volunteers and four miners, they think you do not know what you are talking about. The Herrin massacre, the bomb explosion in NVall Street, and even a daylight robbery in New York take precedence over any- thing that has ever happened in VVest Virginia. Those of us at all familiar with the facts know that a wrong impression has been created about VVest Virginia. We know that there are no horrible conditions here such as investigators have reported. The West Virginia we know has been hid behind the screen of sensational newspaper stories prepared by prej- Pnggf' iSlf'f't,Ilf5'ifiIJll!