Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1873-10-31
Local..
THE NIGHT BEFORE THE BATTLE


House. Town HALL-RUNNING COM
MENTs ON THE SPEECHEs-THE SCENT
OF THE NEW VoTER-SUDDEN APPEAR.
ANcE OF A YANKEE-A CAVALRY
DAsH-A CAPITAL SPEECH CAPITALLY
SPoKEN-WILD ENTHUSIASM IN THE
CITy-A NIGHT SCENE BY THE Con-
sERvAT1vEs-MUsIC, FIRE WORKS AND
PATRIOTIC YELLING-MoRE SPEAK
1NG-GENERAL POLITICAL ITEMS.
&C.. &C., &C.
The past week has been lively one in
this CITY and county in politics. The Con-
seryatiyes have been stirring up the county
in all directions, and the first Radical meet
mos were held at the Court House on Mon
day morning and at the Town Hall that
night. The meeting at the Town Hall was
the strongest political picture OF the cam
paign. flor the room densely crowded
with blacks, with hardly enough white
fares TO make mild leaven for the dusky
mass, was sight calculated to fill the
heart of the most reckless politician with
apprehensions for State that should fall
into the hands of such as these.
THE OPENING OF THE DAY.
Monday morning was very wet, and the
homes of the Radicals for securing white
audience were much dampened by the slim
attendance on county court. AT noon,
however. the day was bright and court hav-
ing adjourned the blacks poured into the
galleries filling them in few moments
The gathering of the whites was very thin,
hut before the speaking had progressed far
"a very respectable number had come in at
tracted by the orators voices. The meet
ing was called to order by Maj. Jno. A.
Hartman, on whose motion Judge Fultz, the
Radical candidate for Attorney General,
was called to the chair, and Maj. 5. M.
Yost. of the Valley Virginian, chosen Sec
retary. Judge Fultz introduced, first,
Hon. T.. H. Chandler who he said had been
actively engaged in the canvass, and could
give them an interesting account OF IT.
Mr.. Chandler commenced his speech by an
,allusion to the death of Hon. J. B. Baldwin
with whom he said he held friendly rela-
lions though differing in politics, and then
proceeded to review the political situation.
He thought the platforms of the two par
ties differed little, with the exception of
clause in the Republican platform for the
removal of cases from the State Courts to
the U, S. Courts, which he himself would
have to think over long time before en-
dorsing. Apart from this outrageous
clause which Mr.. Chandler seemed to think
could be passed over very lightly, he
thought the main question was from the
success of which party would Virginia de-
rive the greatest benefit" and went on to
show that there could be no benefit from
the success of the Conservatives. 1t was
remarkable feature of Mr.. Chambers
speech, that while only "a few days ago an
utterance of Gen. Echols, to the effect that
we were now one people and determined to
make the Republic a glorious one, was
greeted with furious applause, an apostro-
phe to the greatness of the Union from MI.
C. did not elicit one token of approval from
either white or black. He, rehearsing what
the Republican" party had done for the
SCdC0 W
free education but forgot to add that the
Radical convention at Lynchburg refused
to repudiate the mixed schools, which Mr..
Chandler knows would kill the whole sys-
tenn dead in Virginia. He said the home
stead exemption was another monument OF
sRepublican'' legislative wisdom. In the
matter of using political power he told the
blacks that if they used their power in
counties or localities where they had nu-
merical strength, to disregard the rights OF
the whites it would be rebuked at the bay
-onets point and the sabres edge, state
ment which was applauded loudly by the
blacks. He said it was the Conservative
party (which was not organized till 1859
that brought on the WAL, broke banks and
a lot of things that party never heard OF.
It also gave away $4,000, 10000 of the peo-
ples money he said, but did not add that it
was done to get completed the great Ches-
apeake & Ohio Railroad He might have
added that the same party has just given
$4,000, 900 canal to the U. S. Government
to get that completed. He offset Kemper's
splendid charge at Gettysburg by pictur-
ing Kemper as an original secessionist 60
ing into a Confederate grave yard after the
war, and viewing the havoc, though KEN
per made speeches against secession almost
up to the act, and SO stated in his Staun-
ton speech-and he forgot to mention
Hughes as an original secessionist in the
same picture. He made nice curl on the
of 17fo OF in, hlt
neglected to say that Hon. VIM. Mines, a
Republican iron furnace owner, says he
will have to leave Virginia if the Radicals
get possession. Perhaps the most unfortu-
mate thing Mr.. Chandler put before his au-
.dience was picture of Stonewall Jackson
come to life and being a Radical. The
white people heard it in silent disgust.
Capt. J. H. Rives, U. S. Collector of In
ternal Revenue, a handsome young fellow
4 with fair delivery, was next introduced,
and under the delusion that Chandler had,
as be said, $50 ably discussed the general
question: went into figures, enlivening
their tedium with some startling questions,
one being Ibid anybody believe the Ere
publican" party was a negro party 7" No
body answered, the crowd in the gallery be-
ing deemed a sufficient reply to the inter-
rogatory, and just about that time a tall
African with coat split in the back like a
locust, and brown paper bundle under
his arm, stalked to the very front of the au-
sdience, seated himself in a vacant chair,
and hosting his No. 1875 to the fore twist
ed his moustache with look of general
approval. Tt seemed to settle the question.
In another portion of Capt. Rives' speech
i'm a protest against Mr. Stuart,s natent