Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1876-09-01
Tilden and Hendricks.

Last Monday being court day, Capt.
Harry Riddleberger, the Presidential Elec-
| tor for this district, made,a speech for. the
Tilden and Hendricks ticket. The Court
house was density packed by whites and the
J gallery was filled by a large number OF ne
groes. Mr.. Riddleberger spoke of the fact
that unlike the Greeley campaign, this was
a clearly defined political issue, and every
man on either side must be Democrat or
Radical. The South was naturally on the
side of the Democrats as it could not be on
the side of partythat had wasted Its mon
ey by extravaganza, burdened 1t with taxes
and then passed oppressive laws with ref
erence to it.
Referring to his statistics OF which he
had full and excellent compilation, MI.
Riddl eberger showed that while the high
est cost of a Democratic administrator
had been $3.50 200, 600, one term alone OF
Grant had cost the country $475, O00,0O0.
He gave an example of the extravaganza
needed to keep up the office holders. There
had been whiskey distllery in Shenan-
doah that made 81 barrels of whiskey upon
which the tax was was So, 700. 1t ran three
months and closed, but ever since there
have beeu five Federal officers sitting in
Woodstock like buzzards around a carcass.
President Lincoln found $4,000 office
holders and only added 1000 during the
war. Grant came in and in his first term
only increased it to 81 ,000, but the next term
it was 5000 and now it is "a, JIG. These
are the people the government keeps out
of laboring for support and who are sup
ported in idleness by the tax payers.
The Indian bureau which cost less than
$4,000 900 was under Grants administra-
ton $25, 100000. No body supposes there
are any more Indians now than there were
eight years ago.
In the Navy there is a difference Of
$23O,OOO 900 against Grants government
and Admiral Porter testified before the
Naval Committee that there isn't first
class vessel in the navy.
Mr. l. Hayes shields a relative of the
Republican candidate who spoke here last
week said it cost Is per cent to collect the
revenue of Virginia and only per cent to
collect that Of the U. S. Mr.. Riddleber-
ger showed it cost only percent in Vir-
ginia.
He said he had. seen at Harrisonburg
large packages Of pamphlets about the
Hamburg Massacre' mailed to colored
men in the South.
He commented On the composition of
the Republican" party in Virginia noting
the fact that in it's last State Convention
at Lynchburg, Allegheny, Craig and Bath
were represented by Becky, negro of
Alexandria, negro mail carrier of Rich
mond, and another nonresident. For the
reliability of the party he quoted from a
speech Senator Lewis is reported as ma
king at Cincinnati. Being asked there
elbow are your people going ?" the Sena-
tor replied, III don't know, they are such
an internal lot Of liars / can't tell" The
speaker addressed some words of advice to
the colored men in the gallery, showing
them that they were being made a conve-
nience of, and said it reminded him of the
old negro who said, 81 amt gwine ter vote
dat Radical ticket any more" 'Why?"
said Caesar. ''Well," said the old man 81
dreampt was in hell last night" ''Did
you see any Radical Office holders there?"
Eyes, [ did" said the old fellow, ''hell
was full of 'em and every office holder had
q Niger holdin tween him an de fire."
This anecdote was received with such roars
of laughter that it was some time before
the speaker could proceed. He showed
what Virginia had done for the education
Of the colored people
After vivid showing of the corruption
of the administration and it's injustice to
the whites in the Southern States, as shown
from it's own records in the case of the
imprisoned ''Ku-Klux." Mr.. Riddleber-
ger concluded by saying that he should
always believe in the doctrine of the rights
of the States, as the fathers of the country
had believed in it, and hoped that no young
man was without the hope that in his life
it might come to be realized all over this
Union. Gen. Lee was an old man when
be said he saw no hope, but the speaker
believed that the young men of to-day
would live to see the triumph of that doc
trine in every State in the country.
Mr.. RiddlebaFger's speech, of which we
have given a very brief and imperfect
sketch, was an hour and half in length
and it's interest was sustained from first to
last. 1t was a most damaging arraign-
ment of the Republican party, sustained by
the facts.