The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1878-04-11
Troubling the Waters.

The Scottsville Courier, of the 4th, il
early in the field in expressing its prefer
renee for Congressman to be elected from
this District next November. 1t fiaunts al
the head of its editorial columns the name
Of Judge Henry C. Allen, of Shenandoah,
as its choice. This means that Hon. j. T.
Harris, the present representative, is not tc
walk over the track quietly and without op
position. There is to be fierce contest. &c
doubt, as the indication from the Courie,
informs us, with formidable candidate. The
| first point to be determined is whether the
''machine" is to be put in operation, ana tie
issue as to the candidate decided by pri.
mary meetings and Convention, or are the
People to have a say in 1t at the ballot-box.
There is nothing in the issues which will
probably enter into the contest, or the po-
litical affinities of the aspirants, which
calls for q convention. The Republicans,
so far as we are advised, 10 not propose to
present candidate, and as 1t will be SQUAD
BILE between Democrats exclusively, we can
see no valid excuse for excluding the peo-
Pile from giving expression to their prefer
ence at the polls.
The announcement in the Courier will,
no doubt, be followed by a general troub-
ling of the political waters in this District,
and the active endeavors of the friends and
opponents Of the various aspirants for the in
side track. We shall await, complace ntly,
developments.
The Nelson Examiner has an excellent
editorial on "Virginia-her future, " in which
the people of the State are congratulated
upon the destruction of slavery, land advise d
to forget the past, to live in the present and
mould the future. ''Let us not stop then to
grieve over the past OF bewail the present., :"
says our contemporary, which is a policy we
have urged in these columns for years past
Had the people of Virginia acted upon this
view eight years ago, accepted the situa-
tion,'' instead of fighting the inevitable and
irreversible, and not sought to live back
ward instead of forward, we would have
different condition of thil KS to-day. All
the legislation of the State since 1870, has
been directed by prejudlces and hates grow
ing out Of events that it was futile to war
against. Had we met the condition In which
we found ourselves, grappled with and con-
auered 1t, the State to-day would have been
on the highway to prosperity. The old
Bourbon politicians have controlled
all che departments of government, directed
public policy, and appealed to sectional
and race feeling and luminosity to perpetuate
their rule. while the State has been going
down, down, under their disastrous admins
istration. We recognize in the Examiners
editorial, a good omen, and fully sympathize
with the spirit and motive which evidently
prompted it. The people have submitted
patiently to this degrading slavery, until
they begin to see thatthey must either assert
their rights and proclaim their manhood pri-
vileges, or conunne to retrograde. and sink
into ruin and bankruptcy. Mo State in the
Union presents more natural advantages
than Virginia. and all that is wanting is for
the people to leave their old rnts. crush out
the old scheming, trading politicians. and
enter upon a new life by directing their en-
ergies to the development of the rich stores
Of wealth nature has lavished upon them.
With such spirit developed, others will
come to our aid to share in the fruitions.
But this will never be until the political
rings, which grow and thrive about the
court houses, are broken and crushed, and the
people assume the management OF their own
affairs-political, as well as material.