Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1872-07-11
Thursday Morning, July llth,. 1872.
LETTER OF GEN I'll. 4. WISE Y
COZ. JOHN 5 RlOSBY.

lsour letter asks-"lFhat IS the da iy
Of Ttryiinid at Tie present time 2"
That question is very grave..one. and
of the highest dignity, far above all per-
sonal consideration and party policy.
I x,lEsvcr there was q ''Niobe of Nations"
S91eylaa is a Niobe Bathcl in tcars
and draped in mourning .as she is or
ought 10 be, at the burial of her rights
aud part power and glory, it is about as
lacper and decent for her to be mingling
in he caI'ls qsspar'ioa struggling for Of
widow OF yesterday, whose husbands
oo~pso is lying il her chamber. 10 receive
The eallssof her ltsty beaux. OR to accept
tickets 10 midnight balls. sho is my
mother State aui tie mother Of States !;
and with tho intensest emotion and most
Jealous love cry to her. "flother re-
member who you arc. Don't forget
''yourstli--gnurd your honor. preserve
''your sci: respect, AID defend your
faith"
Every son of hers worthy of her blood
ought 10 feel Indignant at the insult Of
fered her by the proposal. at the time
especially, il ever. (which suitor, mad
am, do yoa pre- fer-Gfant or Greeley,
Greeley or Grant . VIRGINIA, VIR-
GINA, VIRGINIA prefer eilhcr-el-
Their all all, now or over? Why. even
Webs.er's definition o: The verb TO pre-
fer" sorbils the question as mocksry OF
her grief! Can she. Virginia. the mother
Of tit Constitution Of the country, and of
lis true construction, ever for moment
think Of bearing or carrying in advance.
"u her MIND, Ler affections, or her
Choice either enemy of.the works and
iaah Of her whole being? Which has
done the most to destroy her and hers !?
Can she ADVANCE" or "Eaise," or "cx-
ut" either Of these men to the Presiden-
cy oftAe couusry, and hhus add her high.
css aapcsien aud endorsement to their doe
ttilso and practice, fiat she must snbnf,
t. pass iyo obedience and non resistance
10 tyranny and that her best and bright
est soas are 10 be branded as traitors for
accession under her conventional man
dates? Ii she could possibly SO delame
herself and denude herself of her robes of
sovereignty, can she turn States witness
and testify at the polls no. only against
stamp the uamo d hrnHd{asa96eFatq 55aans cybapt
grave of her dead heroes and martyrs Of
State Rights and State Sovereignty.
Virginia can't so degrade herself;
though she be much bumiliated already
without her consent and against her pride
She Will never. hope, directly Or indi-
roctly, at last consent to her own shame.
L would be the foulest pollution and SAC
rllege-cnuush to mako every true son
Of hers Hamlet. Sell-respect COM
mands that sho SHALL accept neither of
lheso candidates. and that her voice shall
pronounce most emphasically against
both. You say you have announced a
preference for Grant over Greeley" l
am sorry that you have SO announced !;
but can't see why so doing has subject
CD TO you 10 ga great deal Of ceusure'' by
those @ho have adopted the morale of the
Lesser Evil"
With me The question of choice for
President is one efprincipIe. of mortality
and just pride. The point is one of hon.
or and Of COED faith to others and myself.
Laudanum and arsenic are put before Eie
10 choose poison which will give the least
pang of death.
| care not by which l would die easiest;
ii is too much for me to take either, as
by either l would die. Ovorpowering
!Orce. brute force alone could compel me,
10 take either. and those who forced me-
woufbe murdercrs; but If | take either
By any consent or choice or preference of
my own, / will be suicides telo de Sc
fclon. before God and man, I adhere
to the moral philosophy Of Paley. l know
of no 'oxpediency" true, just, right,
honorable aid brave
My conviction is that honesty is the
best policy" There is no expectancy in
any course Of conduct which is cot hon
orable. truthful, honest, moral and just.
But you and the Conservatives have from
the end OF tho var acted on tho czpedien-
ey of choosing the lesser evil" very
much against all my moral instincts and
my best judgment as to what was wisest
10 DO done in self defence. The RESULTS
well known it has been worse than
Sheridan raid upon our political rights,
our profession of faith, our moral charao-
ter, and our financial credit. Surely
your Conservative comrades are not they
who have subjected you to great deal
''of censure p Do they choose what they
nigh. judge the ''Lesser Evil ~ You
do but the same. Do they pursue the
policy of not dividing the party by going
Greeley You may as we'll claim not to
divide the party by going for Grant. To
60 for either is to divide the party. Do
uhey say that if you vote for Greeley you
endorse Grant? You may say that if
they vote not for Grant they endorse
Greeley.
Which is the worst, then, not which is
the best, is the question. 1t is not which
will conserve most but which will turt
least. | am silly enough not to choose
either. if either will vitality hunt me at all
Jfthey say that [, by not voting between
such Alternatives. endorse Grant, my an
swer is that Grant had better be elected |
without tiny vote than that Greeley should
he elected by ii. / will vote for neither,
Ind my absehce from the polls will cx-
press my condemnation ofboth. IfIre-
fuse to choose arsenic l. don't take lauda-
mum; but if / refuse both l am then no.
guilty of suicide. That is the whole log
ic of the case. 1t is suicidal to choose
either.
Do they say that Grant is a military
Mortimer. ''oJeys orders and Lrcakes
s.wnnc. 2' Vas NAV rooI,. ,I,.. u h., :. |