The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1876-09-28
THE FIFTH DISTRICT.
d. SHEFFEY LEWIS LETTER ACCEPTING
THE REPUBLICAN NOMINATION FOR CON-


DANvILLE, Sept. 2lst, 1875.
TO Geo. W. Finney, ". II. Peasants, G
R. Wooton and Others:
| Gent.emen-In reply to your commune;
ton informing me Of my nomination by I'll
Republican Congressional Convention Z
Rocky Mount, beg leave to tender to 70,
and through you to the Republicans of tn
Fifth Congressional District, my gratitud
| for the honor which you have seen fit to cor
| fer upon me, and to assure you that | sha
! endeavor to prove that your confidence Ia
| not been misplaced.
| shall try to discuss the questions involve
in this political contest before the people q
this District as fully as my other duties wi
permit, and if agreeable to my competition
Shall be happy to meet him in joint discus
sion as often as practicable before the day c
election.
But the time from now until election da
is so short and my prior engagements ar
such that it will be almost impossible to Sc
all the people of each county, and | hay
therefore determined to embrace this oppor
tunity of expressing my views upon some G
the leading issues of the day.
The Republican party now has control O
the administration of the Government an
was given that control in 1872, by the over
whelming popular majority of over six hun
dred thousand votes. But the country
asked to reverse its verdict of approval rem
dered in 1872, and to place in control of TIL,
Government, party which it then declared
was unfit to be trusted.
The grounds upon which the Democratic
party ask this reversal are, that the admin
istration is stepped in corruption and tina
''reform is necessary; and that therefore
they should be placed in power. Ishall frs
inquire whether this general allegation O
corruption is founded in fact; and secondly
whether the Democratic party has given an,
evidence Of its fitness to play the part CT 4
rcfoimer.
The honesty or corruption of an admins
tration must be judged of by the compare.
tive faithfulness or unfaithfulness will
which it collects and disburses the public
revenues; and fortunately for the country ;
Democratic Senator has helped us to arrive
at that important comparison with gooC
deal of certainty, and, to the Republican
party at least, with good deal of pride and
satisfaction.
Some time last session a prominent Demo.
cratic Senator with an inquirng turn of mind
Introduced a resolution calling on the Score.
tary of the Treasury to furnish the Senate
with list of the names of the defaulters and
the amount Of their defalcations under Gen.
Grants administration. At the instance OF
a distinguished Republican Senator, who DOS
sessed still more inquiring mind, this reso-
luton was so amended as to require list OF
the defalcations from the administration of
Gen. Andrew jackson down to the present
time.
The result of the official report showed that
the losses on the 1000 were, in the admins
tro tiOp nf Tao1.coy, ~
Harrison. $10.37; Polk, $3.50; TAYLOR and
Fillmore, 81 GA; Piecre, S.. Sc; Buchanan. sc. as:
Lincoln, $l.40; johnson, 4S cents; Grant the
first four years, 40 cents; the second four
years, 26cts. Thus it will be seen that the DER
cent. OF losses from corruption is less now I'M
der Gen. Grants administration than Il has
ever been since 1884.
lie expenses or the government in 1866.
were $500, 500, 415.99 while in 1878 thew were
only sos. SOC, 900, showing a reduction un-
der Gen. Grants administration of s262. 3O9.-
1859, or reduction of more than one-half.
In the face OF these figures, it is hoped that
we will have no more twaddle and bosh con-
corning wholesale corruption. etc. For at
the same time that the Republican party has
been reducing the expenses of the govern
ment at this rapid rate, it has been paving
OFT the public debt and also reducing taxa.
alton.
That there have been individual intances
OF unfalthfulness and dishonesty in the pub
lie service, do not deny, but / do assert.
without fear of successful contradiction. that
generally the duties devolving upon the adj
have been performed honestly
and faithfully.
1t is weak and unworthy device to at
tempt to prove dishonesty of a whole partv
by citing individual instances of dishonest
officials. But If this course is to be pursued,
the Republican party need have no fear Of
the result; for while the Democracy may point
to Belknap and q Babeock, the Republi-
cans need not go beyond the limits of this
State to find in the Democratic ranks MAYO,
a Coleman, and Stevens, to saw
nothing OF host of distinguished Demo-
Gratis, upon other theatres, who have made
national regulations for dishonesty.
1t will thus be seen that this sweeping
charge of corruption extensively INDUCED in
by Democratic politicians is altogether I'M
founded, and thus the only claim which the
Democratic party has advanced as reason
why it should be trusted with the admins
ration OF the government, utterly fails.
But even if the Republican party was as
corrupt as charged by the Democratic politi-
clans, it would still be best for the country as
| choice of evils to retain the Republican par
y in power, for assert that more imbe-
,lle or more corrupt party than the present
'o-called democratic party never existed
nce the formation of the government. Now
the best wayto Judge what party will do
n a certain event, is to see what it has
zone under similar circumstances. And, if
We here in Virginia want to know how the |
Democratic party would administer the Ma
lonal Government, we nave only to consid- |
r how it has administered the State Govern
nent.
1t is a Well-kiown fact that the State of |
Virginia under Democratic rule, has been |
'rought to the verge of bankruptcy, and / |
night fill page after page with recitals of it's |
weak and dishonest acts. But shall only |
efer to two OF three of these acts to illustrate |
be utter incapacity of this so-called reform |
artY to successfully manage State affairs.
AT the close OF the late war the Democrat
party, which has since that time CONTROL.
q the Legislature OF Virginia, found that
mongst the assets which the old State had
aved from the ruin of the war, which had
cen brought about by Democratic policy.
ne State of Virginia owned an interest of
everal millions dollars in the different rail-
Dads. A wise policy would have demanded
hat these assets should have been applied to
ne reduction OF our public debt. But the
democratic party, not content with the ruin
nd devastation it had already brought upon
Ills old commonwealth, was determined to
rip her of her little remaining property, and
they absolutely gave Virginia's interest in
er railroads away without receiving one cent
| return.
Again, instead of compromising with Vir-
inia's creditors when they found her in the
impoverished condition above referred to.
ley not only failed to do so, but actually
1acted law known as the ''Funding Bill:
hereby they agreed to compound the inter-
st on the public debt.
These two instances are sufficient to illus
ate the financial imbecility of the Demo
attic party of Virginia, and shall now call
tention to another act of this party to show
ot only its imbecility, but its absolute dis
'nesty. allude to the fact that the Board
Education, composed of the Governor,
uditor and Attorney General, have deliber-
ely robbed the Public Schools of the sum of ,
10000, and have perverted it to the pay
ent OF the interest on the State bonds. This
IS been done, too, in direct violation of the {
of Virginia. If party profess i
g to believe that their paramount alleoi- !
ice is due to their State, will thus deliber-
ely violate its Constitution, what must we i
'pect from them in regard to the National