The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1870-06-06
The Flick Amendment.

The Wheeling Intelligencer in a re-
cent article, assumes that the whole
Republican party Of this State is in
favor of the Flick Amendment We
advised the editor of that paper to leave
the smoke of Wheeling and travel, once
before, and now we give him the same
advice. If he takes it, he will find all
over these hills and mountains thou.
sands of Republicans who believe that
the Flick Amendment was prematurely
forced on the Republican party, and
that our true interests require us tc
send to the next Legislature Repre-
sentatives who will vote against it
The leading organ has acquired q
habit of speaking for the whole party
which is becoming very offensive
Rdvsns,oood Ne,rs.
We publish this paragraph from 9
Republican paper to show to the people
of this State the manifest game which
the Republican party is playing to de
ceive and defraud them out Of longer
lease upon the power they have SO
shamelessly abused for the last five
years. The leading organ Of their
party in this city, together with Il few
Of its satalites in the country, pretend
10 favor the Flick Amendment as the
bottom plank in their platform; and in
their State Convention they will sue
coed in presenting it to the people as an
evidence of their intention to repeal the
odious restrictions which the constitu,
ton and registration laws impose upon
the people, and which the popular
voice so loudly condemns By this piece
of strategy they hope to quiet the
nerves and retain the support of that
portion of their party who profess to be
liberal in'their views upon this question
and thus save the State from the
hands of the Democratic party But
they know very well that the fate OF
the FLICK amendment rests not upon
the election of State officers, but upon
the political complexion of the Legisla
ture; and while they will embody that
amendment in their Parkersburg plat
form, they will take very good care not
10 embody it in their county and Semi
torial platforms, and not to nominate
men for these positions who favor it,
In those counties where they are strong
they viii nominate candidates who are
outspoken "bitter enders," and in those
counties where they are weak, they will
seek to run in pretended liberals. -
But, in both their purpose will be to Sc
cure majority Of the Legislature and
thus give a death blow to the FLICK
amendment or to any other amendment
looking to speedy removal of the po-
liical disabilities that now crush out
the voice Of so many thousands Of our
people.
To make this game of deception wear
as plausible an aspect as possible the
Republicans will also embody in their
Parkersburg platform that feature
Of the Chicago platform which pledged
the Republican party to as speedy re-
peal of all political acknowledgements
as the safety of the country would per-
NIT, and in which negro suffrage was
entirely ignored. But as they have
never yet fulfilled or pretended to fulfill
one single pledge of liberality contained
inithe Chicago platform, it can hardly
be possible that the people of this State
can permit themselves to be deceived
again by any paper promises or guaran
tees which the Republican party may
make preceding an election. That
party knows very well that it has per
petuated its power thus far by the most
shameless frauds and violence, and that
it can only hope to retain it by keeping
their brutal grasp firmly fixed upon the
necks of the people. They shall win
who hath the power, and they shall
keep who can