The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1875-10-21
The increasing difficulty of making prompt,

and ut the same time approved selections OF CAN
dida;es for public stations by Nominating con-
ventions. is too obvious to require more than a
here, and the workings MS Observed in the gem
eral cement of the Conservative County
Convention. fully attest the degree of turmoil;
heart burni7gs and general anguish which per.
vades bodies snflaglsts Wien the supreme
moment arrives in wIlicl, they are to selc,t one
political honorS and einolutnctlts.
The amount of physical a,ll mental torture
which every component element of the great
body polite end.lreS on these sal occasions, is
source Of ayfaoizing reflection to every phil
antlroDic mind. Fierce tealo,l>ie>. bitter ami
notifies, corrodng city, and al the most re-
pnlsive and worst ps ssiolis of our imprrfccs na-
ture. are marsallesf IN terrible force and stalk
boldly ont ;no the brNtl light OF day. This State
Of tun~s. as we observed at the ulf>ct. is man
ifrs1lv on fine increase, and we mist look ctr.-
fullv for t,,n ,vasons. There WAS at one peri
OH in our history Il inc, "''lsl over vast areas
of country, co.nprisill. lar-se Po"t'si"h
with manifold AMI often diverse Interests "'i''
head and ton CUE did the thinking an. talkI'f-
for all. True he HE'LL his place of authority
by the suffrage Of his fellow citizens, anl no
violence a;ls done to the principles of Rrp,ibli
can Government, BY his election over his peers
They saw and rpcoynIz..tl in him his prcnliar
fitness, conceded his abilities to be above theirs
and with Il conimentl.blr faii ness. alI Il mast
landable discretion and cool sense. they al
loTe him to lead, c:l.lSt. H.. .ll ill.,. f:catir>
and qualifications which ma lr him lril l.r-
Now there has couie I radically different way
of thinking. Every maj, is an a>pii;lnt secret
ly or openly. lie may mike no professions,
Oh the other hand. lie may Indignantly dis
claim it. bur deep down in the sI,Suii Of his
nature. there is implanted the rllkly growing
conviction that he is the man for the ERA. and
that he emboes all the peculiar fitness aud yt'
Mus of Il marvaln,slv successful LEGISLATOR
This spirit is productive of two results which
'lff.'r one from the other. and they are shaped
and modified by the disposition Of its posS,s-
500. Ii lie is an illtlivi,a OF cheek and dar-
Ing. IL nrln who likes to march in the van of
hum tnity's procession, and! wear the insi .na
OF the line, he will not stay at home aud nurse
his self appreciation, but he will publish in the
papers card, OF m Ike Il speech ut som. cross
road, or Il Sunday School a. rtsS, or Il tolrra-
ment lmrangne, AMI will attest in Il multit,llp
OF ways his anxiety to serve the county, and
comes openly and boldly into the public view
and avowa the fitness with which he has been
| endowed He of Z;
that he don't desire office, and plead feclinyly
Ills attachment to the domestic circle AID his
home duties in bur Of a nomination; bit he
feels all the Inc that he may safely do this for
his fclloW-lnen once seeing AMI hearing him
| nOiate, and overwhelmed with aSton>l,ment
ut his hitherto latent abilities. will tear him
from the charmed circle and lesser duties of
private life, and thrust into his steady hand the
c, vcted helm of State. Here we have typltird
that class Of men who help to make conventions
{: bear garden. and all popular assembay,.s an
odd mixture of brayin. hyenas and bowling
dervIshes. Then. again. we have the su!inn
and cynchl asprant. He differs from his bro
ther in various respects. He isn't an orator:
he HASN'T the Gre rotunIo gift, anal lacks the
sGl -pt1SSCSsIt'il anu HOW OF Vcfll:tCnaf WICn
would enable him to mount tho rostrtln He
feels this. but it doesn't diminish the idea of
his greatness; he is Il deep: mln, and he lcsp~-
es the sluggish perception Of his How -cti.
zens, which cannot discern his prof;lllty,
and when he is passed over in the primary
meetings and ignored in the cow 4ltion, liz
grows bitter am! reSentf'il. and prompted bv
wounded vanity and envy Of tn. f,rtaEltr
nominees, he goes about sowing iii IS ..lsinl anil
dscop;l. and bowling over bal l.yisl ttio :.ll
dog-aws. and shifting all the snr,- liat crop
out CT the SURFACE Of the bo ~ polite. ILL.,. i
another type cf the class that render conven :
tons failures. They who deserve to r'll" are
net willing TO serve; and when the ba:lcr OF
the nominating convention is thrown TO the
/ breeze, it is only red flag to these mad
bulls n the ring. and sn they y How AMI paw
Dirt and swear they WON'T support it. and
! talk OF n great constituency being represented
by such a set. and 20 blck to their ho,naS to
outpour the vial: of their wrath and mortified
ambition on all that shared in what thpy, con
ceivcG to be II mon >trouS public WRONG.
In an '.lntlependents' " IN, eing in Rich
mond recently, John S. Wise, In speech,