Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1876-09-22

Conservative Nomination for Congress
HON. JOHN T. HARRIS.
MATCHING TO DEFEAT.

rs4-SS
MARCHING TO DEFEAT.
The Republican party is marching, OF
rather struggling, on to defeat, in Noveua-
Der. The country is tired Of it; tired OF its
broken promises Of reform; tired Of its
substituting sectional luminosity for pride
Of country; tired Of its old, old stories of
what it has done, in the face of what it is
doing; tired Of its boasting Of its work for
the nation, with nothing to show for it.
It has worn out the patience OF the.
people, It cannot answer the great
eonundrum Of why, with everything in it's
favor, the country has neither peace nor
prosperity. Twelve: years have elapsed
since peace was declared. There have
been twelve years of abundant crops.
Peace and prosperity should be the re-
suit, and yet the nation has had neither.
The farmer " ho, with a good crop Of
wheat, goes to his county town, and finds
that it will bring i'm hardly as much as it
cost to raise it, knows this. The mechanic,
who lounges in enforced idleness around
the streets of that county town, knows
this. The merchant, who stands half the
Gay idle behind his counter, knows this
Every class in the community. from the
large manufacturer down to the news-boy,
feels the stagnation and knows he is suf-
fering from it.
In civilized nations there is but one head
to look to for responsibility for such q
state Of affairs as this, and that head is the
government A thousand excuses may be
made for the distress and unrest that pre-
walls in this union to day, but excuses are
not what q restless people want from those
to whom they have entrusted their affairs.
Promises to do better are not what they
want. They must have & change. and that
is the secret Of the utter lack of enthusiasm
Of the Republican party in the present
campaign. The hearts Of those Republi-
cans, who have have been waiting for some
thing to turn up; hoping against hope, that
labor would be more active; business would
be better; taxes would be lighter, are not
in the present fight. The thoughtful minds,
who are the leaders, have despaired Of a
more hopeful state Of things under the
same rule, and have turned away from the
ticket. Men like Ex-Gov. CURTIS, OF Pa;
Prof. SUMNER, of Yale; Judge DAVIS, of
the U. S. Supreme Court; CHARLES FRAN
CTS ADAMS, Of Massachusetts, PARKE GOD
WIN, Senator TRUMBULL, and q long list
Of the recognized leaders OF the best senti-
ment Of the North, have seen the hopeless
ness Of waiting longer for the party of bro
ken promises, and are advocates Of TILDEN.
Such a sudden and irreparable transfer
OF leadership; the best leadership of the
party, leaving the direction of the party IN
the hands OF such men as BEN BUTLER.
ZACH CHANDLER, GRANT, MORTON. and
the like, is disaster which no political
organization could stand. It is a transfer
made for cause, and all these men have ap-
peared in the public prints with calm, dis
passionate overwhelming reasons for the
change. They all centre in the one Sill
gle reason, that the Republican party has
proved Itself uaf5 for, and incapable nf
leading the people of the United States III
the paths of prosperity. All other reasons
are outside Of the issue. There may have
.
and who can wonder at it?; the corrup-
lions in the party may have been such us
are the natural result Of a people demon
allied by war; the irresponsible hand at
the helm may have been the effect of hav-
ing chosen a soldier to steer the high
taxes for which the Republicans can prom
Use no remedy, may be the result Of igno-
rance Of government, which any new
party suddenly thrust into most absolute
and unquestioned power would have suf-
fered from. but after all these facts stand
every day staring suffering people in the
face. 4A
That there can be no improvement until
there is change, is the idea now upper
most in the minds Of the people. The cleo
ton of HAYES does not hold out even the
hope Of such change. An engine with
HAYES simply q passenger on the tram,
and BEN BUTEER and MORTON and
LOGAN managing the engineers lever,
cannot possibly run Oh the track of..reform.
The conviction of this fact is as strong at
the North as at the South, and it is fatal
10 the success of the Republican ticket.
If there is any one thing that both the
leading and the following people Of this
Union nave determined on, it is that the
government shall not be run another term
as it has been for the last eight years, and
that determination elects TILDEN.