Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1877-07-04

sent them in the convention called to
assemble IN Richmond on the 9Th day
of August to nominate candidates Tor
governor, lieut.. governor and attorney
general. The appointments will be
made by districts, one delegate for
each hundred democratic voters, on the
basis of the Tilden vote. This done,
and the duty devolving upon the people
of Shenandoah will be discharged until
the day of election IN November shall
require at their hands another small
sacrifice of time for the blessing of
continuing good government.
Only a word now in regard to our
meeting next Monday. In this county
it is not question Of whom TO send,
but who will go? We would like to see
a good delegation from SHENANDOAH
We care not whether it be large or
small, SO it is composed Of men who
can come in contact with other men and
be men still. Representative qualifii-
cations are rare in every county, state
and country, and what little talent there
is usually goes unemployed, because, as
a rule, the very men who rush forward
to do the representative work in state
conventions are the veriest knaves and
asses in the community. This grows
out of the fact that such position is all
that The aspiring tomtit can command,
and the appetite for prominence always
urges the harlequins of county politics
to become delegates, with great parade
of detestation for all things political and
huge amount Of side-show harangue
about their immense sacrifices IN per-
forming the trust thrust upon them by
enthusiastic constituents. Such men
never fail to magnify their importance
to several times the size Of the con-
stituent body, and, in displaying them
selves, are dead sure to bring reproach
upon their county. The sobriquet Of
dumb Hundred" was given to Shenan-
doah because so little is known of her.
For average intelligence she is the peer
of any county in the Valley or the
State, and the superior Of many. We
undertake to say that there are fewer Of
her population wholly uneducated than
with any county in the Valley. We
undertake to say that the suffrage is
exercised in this county by men better
qualified in the aggregate for its in
telligent use than in any other of our
Valley counties. Yet such is not the
belief of anybody outside of Shenan-
doah. Why? Because those who do
not know our county judge of us by our
so-called representative men. The
solid, appreciate sense of the county
stay at home while the parvenues jump
over the county line as the embodi-
ments Of Shenandoah wisdom, Shenan-
doah wealth and Shenandoah worth.
Heaven forbid that Shenandoah shall
always be estimated by her generally
accepted representative men, instead of
the common sense, well-bred gentle
men who constitute so much the larger
part OF our population. just observe
how it goes. Shenandoah holds a
meeting to send delegates to conven-
ton to be composed of the first men of
the state. Nobody cares specially to
go so far and pay his own expenses.
Up jumps Mr.. Cod Fish who has the
reputation abroad of owning something,
or, perhaps, of having married into a
good family, or both, and he is willing
to spend enough of his own, his
wlfe's, or of somebody's else money,
and he gets unanimous send-off. The
papers all over the state publish the
name of the fellow who is to cast the
vote OF q district or two and he be.
comes an object Of special interest.
Every other delegate learns to know
him very soon. He is measured in
less time than an artist could get his
negative, approached according to his
calibre and used good for evil in pro.
portion to his superintendent egotism
depending only upon the skill of his
captor in plying fool. Then We have
our ramrod-fed representative man, O
large pretensions and small bank credit
usually willing to serve. His deepest
conviction is that he and the Lore
know it all, and upon this very natura
presumption he shapes his course, re
fusing conference or consultation will
Or advice from any body. The rule
being to calculate the constituency By
the representative, the county tina
continually and eternally sends gu
such men ''goes down foot" in publ,
opinion.
Now, IN The approaching convention
the Valley will be one of the contes
tants for the first prize. The delegate.
from the Valley will have more re
sponsiblity and more prominence thar
usual. True Shenandoah has no can
didate, but she is an important facto
In this great section, welding as mucl
power in democratic convention a
the largest counties of the Common
wealth. Having no candidate, he
position assumes the greater impor
lance. 1t is to be hoped, therefore
that new departure will be takel
next Monday. Let us have men 90 t,
this convention who will reflect tn,
true character of our county. LIE
New Market, Mt. Jackson, Edinbur.
and Strasburg districts send somebod,
here who will go to the convention
We have the material and should ust
it. 1t is never any trouble to get gooi
men to go to our conventions helt