National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1879-06-07
THE SOUTHERN Republicans FOR
GRANT.
Biaine's Punctuation" OF Ben Hili-Conk-
Iing as an Author-Oid Zach's whisky
Sherman as a Presidential Candidate in
the South.
PErERsnuRa. Va. June 5, IS

PETERSBURG, VA, June ., 1879.
To the Editor Of The National ReDt5licm:
SIR On the authority of Joseph Confederate
States Blackburn, we are now justified in call
| ing the caucus Democrats "d-d dastards,"
for they evidently both "hestate" and
! doubt for after loudly threatening revolu-
tion they are letting II would" wait upon 81
dare not" How shocking must Blackburn's
profanity appear to pious old Ieb Vance, who
uttered such an unctiou5 and sanctimonious
| prayer to God at the close of his recent great
| speech. 1t is said that Zeb once proposed "to
| fight the Yankees until hell was so full that
| their feet would stick out of the windows"
| Welt it would seem that the world "do move"
and Ieb Vance moves with 1t. II Vance will
only labor and wreste with Blackburn even
| he may yet be saved
| Well, the comedy is about ended President
Hayes will soon write inis," and Hill, Jonas,
Chalmers, Blackburn & Co. will have strutted
| their brief hour and subsidized" their occupa-
ton gone" Had the chivalrous Hampton
only made speech on the wickedness of "bull.
DOING" or the unctious John Goode on what
he knows about ballot.box stufng. and Gilbert
c. Walker in the last Congress, made one on
the curses and mseries of carpet-bagism, the
curtain might have been rung down, tho lights
turned of, and the comedy rounded out to full
completeness. Ben Hill said e If there had
|
bccn no rebellion" With greater pertinency
might he have said Had there been no
Saviour there would have been no crucifxion."
How thoroughly did the master.hand of
Blaine puncture Ben Hill's ante-war Union.
ism, and rs the great Benjamin was picturing
to the "unwashed" the Union (?) record of the
eightY.fve or ninety Confederate Brgadiers
in Congress, how utterly was his fabric of
hypocrisy and falsehood demolished by Conk-
ling's sententious when ?" No mortal be.
fore ever wrote so concise and ponderous
book. 1t is volume In four letters. And
there is Zach Chandler, glorious old Zach
With what vigor and success he always reaches
his long pole down into its lair and stirs up
the Democratic tiger. Had more of the Re.
publican Senators drank old Zach's whisky
during the past five years the United States
Senate would not now be in the clutches Of
this same tiger tho destiny of the country
would not now hang trembling in tho balance:
"Nor in the fatness of these pursy times
Would virtue pardon beg of vice,
Yea. curb and WOO for leave to do him good"
But let the Democratic tigsr rage. Let
him fret till he doth digest the venom Of his
spleen" Senator Jonas assertion that ma
jOrity Of the negroes in Louisiana vote the
Democratic ticket has an old familiar, stereo.
typed ring to our ears. We remember this
same trick to cover contemplated fraud was
tried by the Tilden and Hinton "refOrmers" in
Virginia In 1876. They bought the Rev. j.
| w.
commence the formation of 'filden-Hendricks
and Reform" clubs. He organized one in Rich
mOnd, and was then sent over to this Congress
sional district to form the same kind of clubs,
with same title, with the name of Hinton as
an addcndum, aud were one to believe the edi-
torias of the Richmond Dispatch, Whig, and
the InieE-ippcdl of this CITY, he would suppose
thoro was a general stampede, an exodus Of
coored Republican voters into the Democratic
ranks. They gravely asserted that the mig
gers" were deserting the Republican standard
J by thousands, tired Of Radical and carpet-bag
misrule. IT, after the election, the country
should be impertinent enough to inquire hCw
it was that district having over 5000 Repub
licau majority should send Democrat to Con-
gress, it was necessary TO have an answer
ready, viz that the negroes voted the Demo
cratic ticket"
Now, the truth Is, those thousands OF negroes
that joined Dungec's clubs and voted fo: Til
den, Hinton, and reform" were "men in buck
ram" and no ono knew it better than the Dis
patch and Ldfr-IDDed
Mark the sequel. In municipal election in
Richmond the next spring (lS77) tho Demo.
crats held primary to select candidates j,
w. Dungee's cOlOred Democratic club (never
numbering over nine members) asked the
Democratic committee for permission to par.
ticipate in said primary election, which was
refused. Tho ID was no lolger sick there
was no necessity for turning saint The Rich
mOnu IiNpdfcN eulIOllally hunCJlOneu Salu re-
fusal, and said substantially (as we quote from
memory I" that no matter what might have
been said In the past IL did not believe there
were fifty negroes in the State who voted the
Democratic ticket and therefore they had no
, right to ask TO participate in Democratic pri-
mary or regular election"
We have no doubt Senator Jonas picture OF
the stampede of colored Republicans of Louis
lana into the Democratic ranks has about the
, snme basis. Men in buckram hath this
extent and nothing more" How sadly are we
tempted TO exClaim, in another's language,
J " How they do lie!"
So IL would seem that Secretary Sherman is
a cand idate for the Presidency The Republicans
here have always had great admiration for
Senator sherman, and in defense of Southern
Republicans, during the memorable debates OF
l576.'77, he was without peer; nor do they
forget his loyalty to the principles of the Re.
publican party and the honor OF the nation, In
his administration of the Treasury Department,
Neither do they forget that no was looked upon
as the "Premer' Of this administration, and
that Secretary Sherman's defense Of Southern
Republicans has not been as stalwarb as was
Senator Sherman's, Republicans have been too
often made TO take back seats and Democrats
(whO so hated and despised Republicans that
had they thought their prayers would have
been granted, they would have prayed God for
/, some other air to breathe than that inhaled by
= Repubicans) called to the front, notably in
this the only Republican district in the State