Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1880-05-12
"Throwing up the spon, ge."

plcuScu ClCCtOIhl tlCkeI Is no more
And whether it died OF the Stauntol
convention or for want OF breath /
equally matter of no c opseouenc
now that 1t is dead, and I lead betor
birth at that. The mere ,uppestion @
the thing was too much for the aver
age stomach of Democra TIC old Virci
MIA, which turned from il with disgust
and the Whig has b0ea forced to bacl
out and explain away lis half.formet
plan Of treason as bes it can. Thi
morning, in q two-cQ lumn article, i
apparently unconditis nally surrender
all opposition to the Cincinnati noml
nee, and with great flourish of trum
pets puts its Readjus' Ter followers in line
with the Democratic party on the pres
dental issue. The alliance, however
is to have that eXter t A; no more. The
necessity it endeayc RS to make so great
a virtue OF. howev er, was forced upon
it, and is evidently none of Its own
choice. The new s from every quarter
OF the State that rolled in upon that
Office was crushing it by the accumulate
ing weight Of each coming wave, until
it had either to strike its colors or go
down, and it preferred the first. 1t had
either to give up all idea Of an IMPLIED
sed ticket, OF going oyer TO the support
of GRANT, or any other Radical candi-
date, and come out sGuarely on the
| Democratic platform, or lose its pres
! tige and influence with the party its
chief had formed. 1t saw that it WAS
backing the losing horse, and its only
hope Of saving anything was to
hedge" And this is the cause of Its
change of base this morning. The Re-
adjuster organization is 10 be kept in
tact by holding aloof from all party en-
tanglemenlS with the regular Conserva>
tive-Democratic party. They are TO
keep up their farce of an independent
and separate existence apart from and
outside of lbe party, only recognizing
it so far as to vote for the electoral
ticket that may be put in the field for
the Democratic nominee. So far so
good, and, as allies IN this cause, we
shall welcome them but how are they
to DO this and still hold on to their col.
ored allies? These will hardly allow
them TO play this game of fast and
loose, of Heads l win, tails YOU
l0se," Whenever it may suit their con-
yenience. They desert the Republicans
now on the national issue, throw them
over, when their aid is really needed to
elect GRANT, aud then ask them to
overlook the deserlion both in the city
election now and N the State election
next year! In other words, when they
have an axe to grind the Republicans
must turn the grlndstone, but when the |
Republican Ratchet IS 10 be ground
these poor colored people must turn
their own grlndstone, and hold the axe
too. Call you this backing your
friends: 1t rather looks to us like |
backing away troM them and giving
them over to Slaughter.
Still il is the only course left for the
Wing now. The pressure gifts white
ReadjusIer friends throughout the coun-
yis TOO strong upon it to be resisted. |
1t can neither lead nor drive them out
of the Democratic ranks, and therefore
is compelled to follow them at dis,
lance into the party again, coming in,
as it were, through the back door, and |
keeping we'll in the background. But
the people who have acted with it on |
The State debt question do not occupy |
the same attitude towards their party |
that it has taken up. They have not
read themselves out, or acted in any |
manner to forfeit their right to seat in |
It's councils. With vast majority Of
them their detection last fall was mis-
take that they now regret, They never |
dreamed that their leaders were carrying |
them over body and boots to the Radl-
cal party, and mixing them up in polit-
ical and social relations with the ne.
groes. 1t was not until the Legislature |
met and they found the men they had |
voted for entering into an alliance for
division OF the offices with these negroes |
that their eyes were really open to the
true meaning Of the movement and they |
found themselves standing on the verge |
OF precipice, from whose dark abyss |
they started back with horror and az
fright. The Wing led them up 10 this
chasm, but it has not been able TO III
duce them to take the leap blindly into
its unknown depths, aud now as they
recoil from it they force their leaders
back with them on the receding wave.
But we must not count too much on
this and it will still be necessary TO
watch well the manevres Of this clique,
1t may after all be onlya flank move
meut or a feint TO distract our attention
from the real point Of attack, No can
hardly believe that these leaders will
betray their faithful colored allies. to
whom they owe everything aud upon
whose aid they count SO much in the
future, merely for the sake of voting for
the Democratic nominee for President.
This article, therefore, we take it, looks {
both ways for Sunday, like the l60th |
meridian Of longitude. The Democrat
ic Readjusters had to be concliated, or
they would bolt en- masse in fact they
we're Leaving the Wing and their other q
leaders by the thousand in every quarter !
of the State, and hence this slow grant
ofperfect freedom OF action for the mass
OF the party on the presidential issue, a
course they had already decided on, i
whether or no; but the same time s
something will be done quietly and pri-
vately to satisfy the negroes, and they O.,
will very likely have several large tubs
thrown to them and receive much aid II
and comfort through half-hearted sup i
port gwen 10 the Democratic ticket,
which will amount IN negative to the
same thing as voting for the Radi-
;al ticket.
Therefore we must be more vigilant
han ever and watch the movements OF [
these people like hawks all through the
canvass il we would not be hamstrung
n the very hour OF vlctory.-State,
,Muy l0h.)