The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1880-09-23

VI
shall count and certify the votes, which are to b
recorded in the duplicate poll books, which sal
books shall be certified by the judges, and one cop
delivered at once to the chairman of the county 0
city of each party.
Section T. Tho respective city and county chain
men shall Immediately certify the result in thei
cities and counties, in duplicate, to Hon. William
Malone, chairman of the State Committee of Read
jnsters, and Hon. Absalom Koiner, chairman of tn
State-Conservative Democratic Committee.
Section 8 That on Saturday, October 23d, 1880 tn
state committees of the two parties shall assembl
in joint meeting in Richmond city and canvass tn
returns and that electoral ticket receiving the high
est vote shall be declared the only Hancock an
English ticket in Virginia. and the other ticket shall
be absolutely withdrawn; and that hereafter tn
committee and organization of the prevailing tickle
shall conduct the canvass in Virginia for Hancocl
English
shall be borne equally by the two parties.
Section 10. The tickets to be used by both partie
shall be uniform in size and color.
Agreed to by State Central Conservative Demo
cratic Committee.
j BELL BIGGER Secretary.
September 18th, 1880.
ROOMS STATE EXECUTIVE Com RE-ADJUsTER Or
GANIzATIoN, WING BUILDING,
RICHMOND, VA, Sept. 16, 1880. 1920 P. M.
A. Koiner Esq, Chnirman &c.:
SIR,-The Re-Adjuster Committee direct me to Sa.
that answer will be made to your communication
Respectfully sc,
WILLIAM MAHONE, chairman.
Friday the following communication was sem
to the Funder Committee:
ROOMS STATE COMMITTEE, READJUsTER
ORGANIZATION,
RICHMOND September 18th, 1880.
Hon. A.. Koiner, Chatrm"a, &C.:
SIR,-Your communication of the 10Th, conveying
rejection Of our proposition of the same date, has
been received. 1 am instructed to express to you
the following reply
The body you represent cannot have overlooked
tha last nf lett nf
characterized the plan therein contained as 1.-THE
only method to which the Re-Adiusters" could
'give assent
We cannot consistently with our ideas of duty sub
nit any arbitration less potent than that of the
people of Virginia, whose rights and interests are
involved in the questions at issue between us. We
here at your solicitation in Difference to an ap
prehension we did not and do not share. And we
were met by proposition which the people had al
ready rejected 1t is secret that for weeks past
the proposition you made had been handed about
the State, from county to county, and that signal
failures had everywhere attended the attempt to
give it popular endorsement.
Our committee came here determined to omit no
proper service to the Presidential candidates our
convention had endorsed. We feel no need of dip
lomacy We had no apprehension OF results. we
wanted to and still desire to aay all apprehension,
however unfounded, elsewhere. To the people OF
Virginia will we submit arbitrators, and before
no other forum can our cause be adjudicated with
the consent and approval of this committee.
We have simply asked the submission of our State
concerns to the people of our State. When we pro-
posed as much in the Legislature, met by
your party as means of settling our rival claims
in this matter of electors, we meet your refusal.
The amendments which you offer to our PROPOSE
ton conditions precedent to your acceptance, or
more truly the basis of rejection, embody the
reasons your party vouched why the McCulloch Bill
should not be submitted to the people for their rati
dcation rejection They are the same which
were alleged against permitting the ReadJuSter Bill
of last winter go before the people, when We
might have had solution Of this question which
would have removed it from the arena of politics.
Fhe easiest and most conclusive solution OF the
whole matter is to submit it to the people. This
can be done in day, without COST and Virgin
ans and will cheerfully devote that day to their
State and country.
The last analysis of the Democracy is that a ma
jority must rule. By this standard we wish and
propose to measure and contrast your Democracy
and our own,
Your rejection of propositions of the 10th in
upon the third section of those PROPOSE
lions (for the amendments suggested as TO defray-
ing the expenses OF the primary and as to designa-
ting the competing tickets otherwise than as Fun
der and Readjuster do not involve any matter of
principle and might be substantially granted), the
section which and is our political ultimatum.
We cannot and will not yield to any demand that
would place in the position of abandoning faith
full allies, and cannot concede that any man S
Democracy is to be concluded by his vote in 1876, by
mis- previous political opinions associations, or
by the fact that three weeks before the election he
should not have paid a tax which, by terms of the
law, he may pay at any time previous to the very
day of election. We do not forget that in the call
issued by your committee for the convention Of last
May the cooperation of the citizens of Virginia in
position of any OF the conditions you would now re-
quire of us as essential.
We proposed to recognize in the projected prima-
ry every registered voter who, by participation
therein, should show purpose to support Han
cock and English, We saw and see no reason why
any other qualification should be demanded of the
voter. Why should Democrats wish to place limits
upon the membership of their party? Why should
they not seek and welcome converts and recruits
TO apply your suggestions to the policies of every
State in The Union would be to measure Hancock S
strength by Tldens vote, and to discard the prof
tered support to our candidates OF men like Forney
in Iennsylvania, or Butler in Massachusetts. And
here let it be remembered that the National Demo-
cratic Convention found no difficulty in recognizing
and admitting delegates from the Butler faction in
the latter State, though fresh from primaries of
their own, although their leader not in 1876, a
National Democrat nor did he vote with that party
in the last Presidential election" To adopt your
policy would be to consign Louisiana, Florida and
outh Carolina forever to the control of the Repub-
ican party If this policy had governed in Virginia
in 1869 she would still be subject to rule the very
reverse of Democratic.
1t were folly in our view to proclaim so narrow a
rule Of prescriptions even were 1t not violation of
every principle and precedent Of Democracy. Men
cannot be excluded from all voice in party affairs
and still be relied to champion party measures.
Our desire is attract not to repe for Han
cock and English. We have deemed that the Demo
cratic work OF the hour. We have not supposed
that the political antecedentS of voter, nor his
color, could constitute valid reason for rejecting
his assistance to our cause; and In this view we
have been supported by the declarations of the
chairman of the National Democratic Committee as
policy and duty of seeking to obtain for the
Hancock ticket elements Of strength heretofore
given to the Republican candidates. We do not
wish and have not sought to exclude from the pro-
posed primary any class Of voters We cannot ad-
nit that it is right in you to ask, or would be other
wise than unDemocratc for US to consent, that one
Readiuster should be excluded from the polls who
is willing by participation in the primary to give
token OF his support OF Hancock
Nor do know, under the wording OF your
amendment, who might not be prescribed from
voting, nor what scope significance might be
given to the term National Democrat. Every mem
nj declared official
body to be beyond the pale Of National Democracy
the language Of your amendment may be intend
ed to include and exclude us all. We have upon
this committee, which you have addressed, and
which is replying to you, gentlemen who did
not vote for the National Democratic candidates at
the last presidential election, but who to-day
earnest and active supporters Of Hancock and Eng
lish Was it expected they should be ostracised in
the primary? You have upon your own electrral
ticken gentlemen who, within the past twelve
months, have voted for Republican candidates; and
lest 1t should be said that those occurred in
local and not in National contests, you have upon
that ticket at least one gentleman who within the
year more than willing to give his vote to Re-
publican for United States Senator. The term your
committee has used suggests test;-how and by
whom should 1t be applied?
If by ourselves, we could not allow any plea of
regularity drawn from unchallenged attendance
upon the Cincinnati Convention to cover language
and acts which, coming from recognized organs and
official canvassers of your party, could only be &C
cepted showing preference for GarfieldS sue
in Virginia rather than that our ticket should
give the vote of this State to Hancock. Nor could
we permit bue OeInOcfdcy Ol one heduJuSt6r who
address to the platform Of the July Convention and
supports the ticket then proclaimed, to be chal-
lenged and denied under sanction of this committee
We claim and insist that the very act and utteranoe
of our party has been Democratic in spirit and in
deed. We claim to have 1abored for years with the
single view of impressing upon the administration
of Virginia's government the will Of majority Of
the people. We claim that the original and contjn
uing cause of our controversy with your party has
been our Democratic respect for the popular viii.
and your un-Democratic resistance thereto We
claim to have spoken and to speak for majority Of
the people of Virginia. thrice asserted at the ballot
box; and we claim to have been met in every con
test by methods at variance with the fundamental
doctrine of Democracy.
1t has been our part always, as now, to seek con
sultation with and authority from the people The
policy of our opponents has, on the contrarv hoan
marked by persistent refusal to seek or to he
bound by the popular will - y" "9
But this letter is not written for the purnose Of
further ordinations between res pectiya ~
though the manner Of your rejection Of orr nr@,o'
1t1ons OF the 10th instant made 1t necessary
some notice should be taken of the reasons aiotai
Tor that action. 1t only remains to saw that go