New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1873-11-20

From yirGIpiH.

JuIliN VIII WHICH Inc beiuOican parry i's7
been counted out and figured Up defeated in
Virginia. With q; least u:nc;y-iTe thousand
colored voters and fifty thousand white voters
to rely upon FOR support, it requires i.;'.c
explanation 10 account for The recent Gc:ta:
Of the Republican party, BY the ovcrThclw-
Ing majority reported IN the daily papers
throughout the country.
I; is impossible 10 philo>olhjze with rnath-
ematical certainty how many were ac,gatcl
to vote for Til, or that candidate, and TO give
shape to the result obtained; but judging by
inference and analogy, the causes C.: this de-
feat may be attributed, first to the discipline
and machinery Of the Conservatives. second
II sundry egregions blundcrs and miScalcula-
ticns Of the Republicans. The effect Of the
mi>re, reservations by the Conservatives Of
radical rEis:ule in louisiana, South Carolina,
and Arkansas, greatly exaggerated and mon
struusly distorted; the scare Of negro >upre-
macy and social equality into which the white
| population were thrown, causing thousands
to go It Blind :" the revival of the memories
/ of the war embitter.n- tie opposing parties
| rs hostile armies in a sanguinary struggle,
the perpetual warfare upon carpct-h1-gers,
'niggers," and scalawags rs the "oT scou--
| ing of the country; the intimidation. fraud
| by repeating and false counting, and sy.tc-
matte prevention Of the polling of hundreds
of Republican voters these may be summed
up as the causes for bringing out relative
| larger Conservative vote and maintaining
| their asccndcncv. ON the other hand the
| Republicans are responsible fer the very
| light vote pol!ed, the white Republicans
who control the machinery of the party in
the state reasoned thus the colOrcd voters
are bound to vote the Republican ticket, the
: name is = sufficient induCemcnt 10 bring cut
a full vote, therefore, we need have no con-
Germ for arousing them; but the 'riUc voters
are the ones whose votes we must seek aud
whose ears we must reach in this canvass.
! This was true, in part. These manager,
/ looked at this from one stand point, AID
| from the onc-sided aspect presented, every
movement in the campaign was directed.
! Accordingly, 4 circular found its way into
I the hands of prominent white men, urging
! them to use all their cXcrtions to prevent
/ Colorei men from being sent rs delegates TO
! the IynchburG Convention. This leaked out
and the plan was'spoiled; but the Conserva-
| tive canvasScrs used the circular as il telling
campaign document to show that the white
men, the Office holders in the Republican
Party were not actuated by any exalted pa
triotc motives but by their love for the ''livc
loavcs and the two fishes"
| In the second place, TIE State Central
! Committee ignored colorcd men as canvas
sers. 1t is no answer TO this charge 10 say
that six or seven men were appointed ont OF
two hundred. 1t is needless to assert that
the stock of colorcd canyasscrs is very limit
ed, when we IeColleCt the number Of young
men from Virginia at Lincoln, Howard, ana
| ayland Jealous and ever ready to throw all
of their energies into the struggle, said the
| Chairman, before the commencement of the
canvass We intend to send our white SPEAK
ers in the valley and the Southwest, the
| stronghold of the Conservatives and our
cOlorcd canvasscrs 10 the negro counties in
Underwater and Piedmont Va. In those parts
Of the State least visited by colorcd men OF
charged all imaginable designs on the cOlorcd
race and branded the white Republican can
vassers, with the insinccrty Of the political
principles they avOwed. The cOlOred Republ-
cans not fully cOmprehending the arguments 0i
these men, and seeing no representatives OF
Of their own race to address them and meet
the charges raised against the white men 0,
the Republican Party in the South, naturally
became Indifferent, and hundreds voted the
Conservative ticket.
No colGrcd cauyasscgs did by appoint
mcnt Of the State Central Committee ac-
company the nominees or Canyao-crs, AT
large at their III: etings, or follow up the Con-
servative meetings and answer their har
angues On the other hand every prominent
Republican cauvasser was either promptly
met on the stump or shortly followed by an
opponent, giving always a Roland for an
Oliver.
Thirdly, it was a part Of the plan before
mentioned to ignore colorcd men as candi-
dates for the Legislature. Men who couldn't
be bought oil or quoted were abused, Will
fled OF By an unseen, no,clc,s hut potent
agency, upon the ground of czrcdirncy
"ovcrslauglcd.' Many c"lprcG'rncn have
heard this cry, Of expediency 50 often that
they believe il, on the principle Chat lie CON
stantly repeated bears the scinHlancc ug truth.
1t appears never t. occur to these men that
white men who vote with the negro. are class.
flied with them politically, and will draw n
many votes from the opposite party a. a ne
gro viii, and no more. + Ills cry az OK
pediency, a subteifuge or Is the tue reason
that white Republicans in Eirciu.a viii re-
cciYe negro votes bu. viii not vote for a ne
gro? Ii th.. be true the sooner il j. known
the better ior 81 parties concerned. There
Is no difference than practically between
Conservative who says he dor- not so!.ct,
negro vote, nor claim par erc.Eea-- 10 all
vance hi- political condition, thanh Ecrub,;-
can who. thinks the negro has reached tie
height OF his Political dignity when L.. +.
merely q voter. Because such A rc'.,.,. ,,.g
pursued IA Ignoring cOlcred met, - c,,rI:-
dates for the legislature, hundred. o. colorel