Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1878-07-12
' MSAt At~>ttats*.
STAUNTON. VA.
FRIDAY MORNING. July IL. 1878.
CONFIDENTIAL POLITICS.

CONFIDENTIAL POLITICS.
The most signal evidence OF the I'M
Northiness of cause which musI Oh he-
,essity depend upon the public for us u
nal success, is the adoption of secrecy ?y |
it's managers. But one such experiment
las been tried in this State in this genera
tion. and the people signified their dis
approval of and scorn for such tactlcs, at
The polls by sweeping it into oblivion.
The fact that know-nothingism worked
under the cover of secrecy would have
sealed it's fate with Virginians If there
had been no other cause for its da1Hna-
tion. And the fact that the Readjusters OF
the legislature formed, matured, and tran
sacted. in secret caucuses, the business OF
the Commonwealth in which every man
in the State was interested, was the hrst
symptom confirmatory to the people OF the
suspicion, already entertained, that the
movement, instead of resulting in relief to
the burdened taxpayers, would end in
peryersion to the qualification of the poll
tical aspirations of ambitious men. The
legislature and the caucus being at an end,
we are not surprised to find the secret sys-
tenn still being pursued, and to see publish
ed in the Richmond sDispatch'' circular
and address, signed by Gen. Malone, OF
Petersburg, Of the date OF May 10Th, and
headed sConfdential." The persons to
whom the circulars may be addressed are
requested ssif you approve the address" to
return it with s'your signature" and to
ssenclose such contributions as may suit
your pleasure and convenience, to defray
the necessary expenses attending the pub
LEGATION and distribution Of the NATTER
The circular states that the address was
unanimously adopted at "a conference re-
presenting all sections of the State, held in
Richmond on the 25th of April" a fact,
that, beyond rumor at the time. will abe
new to most people and beget some curl
osity to know how large conference it
was that claimed to represent all Sec
tions of tho State, and who composed it.
In the Valley we have not the fullest con-
fdence in these private conferences Of
representative men, and have not yet for
gotten the disastrous conference at Har-
risonburg, where the representative men
of the Valley were to appear, and who,
when he came, was clothed in a linen
buster, and looked uncommonly lonely.
Whoever the representative men of the
25th of April were, however, his main OBJ
ject seems to be, as put forth in his address.
to have public meetings held, and the sena-
tors and delegates in the legislature in
structed to vote for calling constitutional
convention, which is, we gather from the
same source, the Swelling wish Of the
popular heart" We don't know how the
ssDispatch'' fished this document to the
surface, but if its publication has not
gratifed the ''swelling wish'' of the Re-
adjuster leaders it has at least gratifed
those of the rank and file, who no longer
take an interest in REIMBURSEMENT lat least,
under the same leaders who, with a large
majority, made such an abortion of it last
winter at Richmond), and who in addition
to ''groaning'' under the State tax don't
wish to groan under the leyies laid
that failures may climb into Of
fee. That patriotic journal has given the
address the largest circulation it can pos
sibly get in the State, and handsomely
saved the expense attending it's publica-
ton and distribution" Whether the
people of Virginia would like, in their
present condition, to authorize the assem-
bling of convention, which, once con-
vened, can sit as long as its members can
find their per diem in the treasury, is
something that the taxpayers have but
one answer for, and that is that they
haven't several hundred Thousand dollars
about them at present to spare for Rich
mond champagne and oysters, ad hbituna,
to a body that will go there to stay until
their constituents drag them off by the
heels.
Another specimen of these confidential
politics is brought to light in South
western Virginia by the publication of a
circular marked sconfdential'' and signed
among others by R. A. Richardson. the
late nominee of the convention" held in
Mr.. Harvey Wartman's parlor at Harri
sonburg, for 1t. Governor, Col. Abe Full
kerson, I. C. Fowler and Others, endorsing
the proceedings of "a large number of rep
resentative men of the thirteen counties
composing the ninth congressional dis
trict,' met at Abingdon on May 3Oth, at
which resolutions we're adopted Stating
among other things that, ga man who is
not readjuster, who panders to the money
rings and is believer in judicial infalli-
bility is not the man to represent Virginia
in Congress in this crisis of her fortunes. -
Among the committee who prepared the
resolutions we find the name of Daniel c..
Miller of Smythe, the nominee we believe
Of the parlor convention for Governor, but
who withdrew. Sub committees were ap-
pointed to carry out in their respective
counties the opposition to anybody but a
readjuster for congress. The 'confden-
tial'' circular, Notwithstanding this. calls
on whoever receives it to bear in smind
s'that we do not propose to act outside the
pale of the Democratic party" Ii these
gentlemen with thorough political organ
ization of their own already secretly formed
inside of the Democratic party, don't bolt
if they fail in carrying the congress ional
nomination, it will be the rarest political
event in history.
But what are all these secret machina-
lions for ? Why is it that the Democrats
of Virginia can't be addressed publicly and