The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1879-06-05
NO. 8.
Hon. John sherman's Platform

Hon. John Sherman's Platform.
The New York Herald publishes letter
which 1t says was written by Secretary
Sherman, and which. if legitimate, clearly
Indicates that, although he cannot consent
to become Governor of o hio, so far as the
Presidential question is concerned. "Barkis
is willin'." His reasons for this readiness
to serve as leader in 1880 are based upon
statesmanlike considerations. as follows
ssWhat would aspire to in case public
opinion should decide to make me candf-
date for President would be to unite in co.
operation with the Republican party all the
national elements of the country that cont
tributed to or aided in any way to the sue
cessful vndication Of the national authority
during the war. l would do this. not for the
purpose of irritating the South or Cypress
ing them in any way, but to assert and
maintain the supremacy of national author
ity to the full extent of all the powers con-
ferred by the Constitution. This, as | un-
derstand it, is the Jacksonian, as well as he
Republican, view OF national powers.
You see my general ideas would lead me to
lean greatly upon the war Democrats and
soldiers in the service, who have been inflli-
enced by political events since the war to
withhold support from the Republican par
ty. The true issue for 1880 is national SUI
premacy in national matters, honest money
and an honest dollar"
We have some doubts as to the genuine
ness of this letter. 1t is not in keeping with
the methods Mr.. Sherman has of communi.
eating with the public, and scarcely consis-.
tent with the Difference he observes towards
the political organization OF which he is SO
distinguished and prominent member
The broad principle, however, laid down in
the extract, Of national supremacy: will adj
dress itself to the approval Of all who rever-
ence our institutions and desire to maintain
the integrity Of the government. The re-
cent speeches delivered in the United States
Senate by Senators Eaton, OF Connecticut,
and Wythe, of Maryland, resurrecting the
old doctrine OF State Rights, and asserting
as the true theory of our government that
which went down in the conflict of arms,
renders it appropriate and proper that a
strong presentation Of the opposing theory
of national sovereignty be made. The State
Rights doctrine, as practically asserted in
the acts of secession in 1861, was the issue
Of the war, and an appeal TO the sword was
determined in favor of national supremacy.
Indeed, slavery, the source Of the plea Tor
the necessity of State Sovereignty, was
abolished, and why it is desired now to drag
from its bloody entombment this PERM
cious idea we cannot conceive. 1t is mere
obsolete abstraction, which can never re-
ceive practical recognition, and can only
serve to produce sectional feeling and strife.
1t is not profitable to discuss it, for the prac-
tical sense of the American people will new
er tolerate any serious attempt to give vi
tality to the defunct dogma. Theorists and
that class of politicians who never forget
anything and never learn anything, may
amuse themselves and atflict the public with
elaborate dissertations on the subject, such
as emanated from the Connecticut and Ma
ryland Senatorial Bourbons few weeks
ago, but the practical states men of the day,
both North and South, will fully recognize
the determinations reached in the laws and
Constitution OF the country, and conform
pupllc actIOuS W tueu.
The views expressed in this extract from
this assumed letter of Mr.. Sherman, aud his
known views on the finance and currency
questions, will constitute strong platform,
which would receive the approval OF the
But whether Mr.. Sherman is the
man to represent that platform in the COM
ing Presidential contest, is for the National
Convention of the Republican party to de-
termine. 1t may be expedient and wise to
present his name as the standard bearer of
the party, and it may be deemed .expedient
and wise to present some other name, equal
ly pronounced and sound on the questions
at issue. Whoever may be the chosen STAN
dard bearer will +, ceive the united support
of the Republican party and many who have
never acted with it heretofore, and be elect
ed. Not only so, but the Legislative branch
CT the government will be in political SYM
pathy with that result in 1881, unless all
political signs fail, and the country once
more be administered under the auspices of
wise governmental principles, looking to
the enlargement and development Of the in
dustries of the nati1n and the peace and
prosperity of all sections Of the Union.
DEATH OF WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON
After a long illness William Lloyd Garrison,
the veteran emancipationist, died at the
Westmoreland Hotel, New York, at five
minutes past eleven o'clock Saturday night
last, in the 74th year Of his age. By his bed
side were his four sons-William Lloyd,
George Thompson, Wendell Phillips, and
Francis Jackson, named after himself and
three other distinguished abolitionists-a
his daughter, Mrs. Willard. MIR. Garrison
went to New York about three weeks ago to
visit his daughter before her departure for
Europe, and with the hope of regaining his
health. But his disease, a species OF Bright's
disease assumed alarming features, and it
soon became evident that death would ensue.
Except on two or three occasions, when he
asked where he was and why he was not at
his home in the Highlands of Roxbury, Bos-s
ton, his mind had been clear and unperturb-
ed until half-past ten O'Clock on Friday
night. At that hour a short struggle pro-
duced by difficulty of breathing began, but
soon his composure returned and with it
unconciousness. He lay peacefully on his
bed, painless and oblivious, surrounded by
his devoted family, until his death occurred.
Mr.. Garrison's remains, will be removed to
Boston for interment, and the funeral SER
vises will take place there.
FREAKS OF THE LIGHTNING.-The
Waynesboro' Tribune says that on Saturday
evening week, "a rain storm OF unusual
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