The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1868-08-01
..L1be1lInr,, ne Demoeratic EConven.

| -a#rF 1tOns
We read in the Wheeling Register,
with unmitigated pangs, that "the
"wHEELlNa INTRLLIeENcER has know
''iugly, wilfully, scurrillously, and
s'disgracefully lfbelled the Democratic
8 State Convention" Did this assur-
ance come from less distinguished
authority on the class of adverbs quot
ed, we might doubt whether such a
thing could be done, either in all or in
any of-these several ways, or in any
other way. By reference to the text
we find that knowing, wilful, scuril-
lous and disgraceful journal [the IN
TELL1GENCER) aforesaid has expressed
the opinion "that such collection Of
"ruffianism and rascality has never
"before copgregated in this State" To
this the Register excerpts, and we pre-
sumo the ground of the exception is
that the Convention held in this city on
the sth of last January, exceeded the
Grafton Convention in the particulars
referred to-. We were not personally
in the city during the sitting of the
January Convention, and therefore
yield this point without contest.
The Same "scurrlllous" paper says
further that "the amount of drunken
ness was fearful" Now we don't
know that "fearful" is exactly the right
word. We do know that the drunk
enness was intense, extraordinary,
widespread, and adjectively many
other things which we nave not words
to describe. Ofthis we have partly the
testimony of our own observation and
partly the testimony of others. The
quantity of liquors consumed was
enormous. The drunkenness was not
quite that, because it takes great deal
of liquor to make Democrat drunk.
And further it is alleged that the
crowd which went east from Grafton
the night after the Convention twas
drunk and dlsorderly, presenting
many broken noses and black eyes,"
Knowing the condition in which that
crowd left Grafton, it would be an ire
sistable inference that there would be
broken noses and bunged eyes among
them; but we have the testimony of
witnesses who saw them that they were
fighting drunk, and that for lack of
Union soldiers to wreak their fury on,
they blacked each othets' eyes and
banged each others noses.
And it is further alleged that "Gll ac-
counts concur in showing that the reb-
elism and ruftianism congregated at
Grafton were without parallel in this
quarter of the State" OF course we
mean the accounts of all sober enough
to make observations and honest
enough TO report truly but in this case
as in the first we admit the same ex-
ception, viz : that the January Conven-
ton may have exceeded this. The fact
that "the- lawless elements from the
rebel counties overran everything and
permeated and gave tone to the entire
Convention" was illustrated IN many
ways: AS for instance, by yells for JEFF.
Davis in the Convention and out of it /;
by threats to shoot and hang Union
soldiers by open avowal OF delegates
that they were rebels. had been in
the rebel army, and we're not ashamed
oft; by a beastly assault by crowd
of rebels on one man who was rash
enough to "hurrah for Grantw by the
prominence given TO u rebel Colonel
named Hayward, who WAS put up to
address the crowd at the Grafton
House platform; by the fact that three
Democrats fell on Capt. FELTON,, of Pres
ton county, an Union soldier, and beat
him SO nearly to death that he has lain
in critical condition ever since, and
day before yesterday was reported In
this city to be dead; by the fact that a
great part of the Convention in actual
mbers, and an important part of II
| in prominence, were men who served
In the Confederate army; by the fact
that the most disloyal utterances of all
the speakers were most loudly APP
plauded; the fact that a one armed rebel
soldier was the first one to congrstu-
late Mr.. Pendleton for defending The
cause that cost him an arm; by the fact
that the Convention swallowed whole
the revolutionary New York platform;
and by the fact that "the widest and
grandest" and most t''tremendously en-
thusiastic" appreciation of the entire
Convention was expressed over the
nomination of the writing editor of lhe
Wheeling Register for Congress In {his
District.
The crowd at Grafton is further spo-
ken of as rufianly, rowdyish and ras-
cally. These are severe terms tos be
sure, but are they stronger than ehe
facts? We do not say of course tpat
every delegate was either a rowdyi a
ruf1ian, a rascal or rebel. We know
the contrary to be true. The delegation
from this county was one of the sots.r-
est and decentest there-but they wore
in very bad company. We speak
OF that element which was most
demonstratlve and prominent, Pud
think it was larger than in any convPn-
tion of our acquaintance. We have
named instances and given names,
| where men were knocked down asld
robbed. People who knock othErs
down without provocation areSpropHr-
ly considered rowdies and rufhaus, afad
those who rob the victims of their ISo-
Ience are called rascals, or If you prefer,
robbers.
It's possible the editor of the RegI :eT
is hardly qualified to express opinions
on this subject; for certain dispatch
which appeared in that journal the
morning after the Convention indica-