Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1876-08-24
sSfjDETrncK. Y Il. All. 81 1876.


i souNwo scraps, taken from the Shenan
tloah Herald, to show you that Virginia
still clings to that relis Of barbarism,
4 the WHIPPING POST. Our legislature
made several attempts to abolish the
whipping post, but there being ii,ajor-
ity of Democrats in the Legislature the
bills were defeated.
The same legislature abolished the
law that allowed unmarried women to
swear to the paternity of bastard
children. Bastardy is no offense before
the law 10 Virginia now.
| If my information is correct, Virginia
and Delaware are The only States that
have whipping posts; which shows one
of two things: Virginia and Delaware
are farther advanced in civilization than
other States, or else they are far behind.
Please give your views on this subject.
| Virginia Democrats are opposed to
any and everything they did not have
before the war. If they should be
successful next fall they will give us all
Fthe abominable laws we had before the
war, vioa uoce voting with the rest.
(signed) One
Who is opposed to stripping woman
and lashing them. Oh, shame where is
thy blush
The extracts enclosed recite two
instances of whipping, Casper Redman,
a colored man, ten lashes for stealing a
whip, and Martha Minor, a colored
woman, twenty-five lashes, for stealing
''some articles.
The writer of the above who knows
how sweet 1t is to be Radical
office-bollder, evidently has some ambit-
ion to render his party service by join :
ing the "bloody shirt" crusade. 1t is
not strange that radicals object to the
whipping posts 1t would be natural
for them to object to county Jalls
and penitentiaries as well. From the
number of radicals, including many Ct
their favorite leaders, who have been
either convicted, or exposed in then
stealings and other rascality, we are
not surprised that the entire party
should have a wholesome dread OF
whipping posts. How their sympathy
is aroused over Casper Redman, one Of
their party who WAS convicted OF
attempting an outrage upon a young
lady and sent to the penitentiary foi
the ofense. Having served ont his
term in the State Prison, he was again
engaged in rascality and was very justly
whipped for stealing. The Citizen
could tell us of instances where, In the
law abiding state of Ohio, men were
hung for offenses similar 20 that com :
mitted by Hedman. The bastardy
laws! How the Radical heart bleeds
over the abolition of the bastardy law
"a law which afforded no protection
to the poor victim, but simply gave the
Overseers of the Poor, the authority to
recover from $50 to $500, from the
guilty party The radical correspondent
failed TO tell the Editor Of the Citizen
that when Virginia abolished the bas'
tardy law which afforded no protection:
she enacted one which makes seduction
felony, and the guilty party instead
of paying few dollars may be required
to spend few years in the penitentiary
The change, we have no doubt, is dis
tasteful to many radicals. The words
of this radical correspondent are sutiic-
lent to convict him of writing what he
knows to be untrue. He shows that {
law which was in existence for many
wears before the war has been abolished
By Virginia democrats and then says
Virginia democrats are opposed to any
and everything they did not have before
the war. If they should be successful
they would, he fears, make many
changes. They would kick many dis
honest men ont of office and woule
inspire dishonest radicals with al
lawful" dread of penitentiaries as We
as of whipping posts.
As to advancement in civilization,
few extracts from the Urbana papers
would furnish good illustration Of The
necessity of whipping posts, bastardy
laws, &c. in that favored locality. In
spite of their boosted civilization it ii
scarcely safe to have the second stor,
windows of their houses open at night
really not as safe as it is in the Shen
andoah valley to sleep with our doon
open. 1t has been but short time
since the Editor of the Citizen compile
mented our section for its remarkable
freedom from the crimes which are 81
common in Ohio. Here every class o
the population have full protection, ant
in no section do the colored people en-
| Joy themselves more fully than they dc
here, notwithstanding the statements o
office holding radicals to the contrary
The Impression sought to be made tha
whipping posts are intended only fo1
colored men is not correct. White al
| well as colored thieves are whipped II
Virginia as the following extract from
one of the few radical journals of Vir'
ginia shows:
John Penn. white was sentenced Il