The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1873-09-04
..rHE SPIDER AND THE fly

The Dispatch is unfortunate in compar-
Ing the Republican party of Virginia to the
spider and its own party TO the fly,
although the comparison is neither inapt
nor infelicitous. We shall not look at
this Conservative fly through any jaun-
diced vision of prejudice or antipathy,
but view his qualities as they are accurately
presented by the political entomologist,
whose science may be somewhat enlarged,
if not improved in range of mental faculty,
by this new classification of our neighbor.
In our Judgment, to be a Republi-
can spider is good deal more creditable
than to be Conservative fly. To be a fly
is to do nothing but live on the productive
industry of others, and faint what is left
them with his corrupting larva! Your fly
is an absolute non-producer, and, in this
respect, most admirably exemplifes the late
Richmond convention in its compositional
characteristics. That convention was pre-
eminently one Of non-producers, and the
chief thing it did was to put forth ukase of
prescription against all the working classes
Of the state. 1t was composed of high born
Virginians, mostly; 1--WE won't say fly-blown
arstocrats, for that would make the classii-
cation ofThe Dispatch offensive J Virginians
who array themselves in purple (the robes
of authority and fine linen, and fare
sumptuously every day Virginians who,
like the fly, do nothing but look down
with pity, ard doubtless without envy,
from their exalted perch on the pigmy
| bipeds whose dwindled littleness "show
scarce so gross as beetles'' to the slant
eye of aristocrats and flies For your
| hy's eye is most remarkable optical in
strument. 1t magnifies on the principle of
a reversed field-glass, and not only throws
you off at respectable distance, but dwarfs
| you down to the dimensions of a Lilliput.
| In this particular it is a remarkably aristo-
cratic eye, which may account for the par.
TALLY of The Dispatch in the classification
! Our "rare Ben johnson" evidently hat
his eye on this sort of aristocrat when he
penned the line, ga rifing fly, none Of
your great familiars." We suppose he
meant by this, one of your official flies who
rifles the public treasury, and admits of no
familiarity with spiders. In fact the spider is
grievous eye-sore to this sort of fly. He
sets too many meshe5 for him, and is too
| sharp detective for Conservative flies gen
orally. Besides, he is an interchangeable
worker, and this fact settles his socia
status in respect to political fydom. liz
can never get into the company of Con
sentative flies, however unfortunate they
may be in occasionally getting into his
company. He is thoroughly ostraciseC
and barred out of their social circle, simply
because he is a toiler and works indefatiga'
bly, for living.
So far the comparison may seem tc
be in favor Of the political fly. Blu
after the ides of November, whel
the nipping frosts of election hav'
come, ohere aoiU be yoar C0nse,Yatio
| fly? Either meshed in the Republican
SPIDERS web, or sent into hybernatins
quarters for the next four years. This il
the fate which awaits The Dispatch's Con
sentative fly, which is just now goo'
deal of high-nyer, enjoying his aristo
cratic ceiling, while the spider is busy a
his geocentric web.