Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1880-12-04
COMMUNICATED.
TIE ELECTION OF SENATOR.

tho u. S. Senate,-a place rs high, as
honorable and as responsible rs any in
this country, it is right and proper their
merits and dement's be discussed and
made known to the people, so that,
being Informed, an intelligent and
healthy public sentiment may be reflect
cd upon those who are our agents to
make the selection.
Several gentlemen have been men
toned and, with one exception, each
candidate has an established political
record, has held office and has perform
ed public acts which enable US TO form
ajudgment in respect TO his ability and
fitness for this Office.
AS matter OF course, it is impossible
to form an opinion whether man is
qualified tor this place, if he has never
done anything to indicate a capacity
tor the character Of work entrusted to
Senator. For example: o. &. Bull, de
voted his life to the violin and no one
can judge what talent he had for public
affairs; MIR. Webster, having applied
himself to the science of government, no
one can tell how he would have succeed
ed as q merchant But this We do
know, because experience has establish
ed the fact, that the men who possess
The faculty of accommodating money are
dead failures as statesmen. 1t requires
one kind of talent to make money and
another, different and very much
higher order of talent to manage the at
fairs of government. Vanderbilt I'M
dcrstood this. lie was a man of extra
ordinary sagacity and if he had turned
his attention to public business, if be
had acquired the necessary knowledge
and experience, he might have rivalled
Thurman or Bayard; but, when friend
suggested he might be elected to Con
grcss, he replied, 81 have spent all my
lite in other matters; all my training
lies IN a different direction; | am not
qualified and would neither do myself
credit nor my country service in such
position" Vanderbilt said this when
lie was seventy years old and had made
eighty millions.
We are not the advocate otany par
ticular candidate; it matters not 10 us,
who is elected, provided he is cOmpe-
tent and honest, but in this and in some
future articles we propose TO write, we
may aid onr readers in making an intel
ligent selection. In the present paper
we will contrast Mr.. Hereford with Mr.
Camden.
MIR. Hereford, wejudgc, is about fifty;
he is a man Of strong native intellect,
excellent education; liberal in his views,
Of fixed principles, self reliant aud is
considered Gy his neighbors, by those
WIN know him besi,) to be man Of
stern, unbending integrity; he is man
OF labor, energy and persistent aPPlica-
ton, courteous, approachab!e and &C
commodating, he has had more expert
rnce in public affairs than any other
man in the State, except perhaps Mr..
Faulkner. II we mistake not, on the
4.h of March next, lie will have served
continuously in Congress for ten years.
This gives him All immense advantage;
he is familiar with all the political
questions and measures of the day; he
is acquainted with current politics and
politicians; he is known and respected
throughout the country and hes stand
ing before the people and all influence
in Congress no neD man could possibly
possess MIR. Hereford is regarded i'll
Washington as being very conservative
and cautious but bold and determined,
and those OF his constituents with bust
n IS b, fore Go gress or the Depart
ments have found him efficient, success
full and willing to do his full duty as a
representative.
Again. 1t is a remarkable fact, and
one our people ought to remember, that
during his term of service, Congress
has appropriated to West Virginia more
money thar was appropriated during
the whole period of the seventy years
which preceded his first election, (of
course, in this estimate we do not in
clude the expenditure Of the old Arse
nal at Harper's Ferry, because that ap-'
preparation was not permanent and lis
benefit was restricted to limited terri
tory) 1t is true, our other Representa-
tives (and with respect to the improve
ment of the Shenandoah, especially Mr..
MARTINI are entitled to full share of
credit for obtaining these appropria,
tons, yet We believe it is pretty geDer-
ally conceded that Mr.. lIeretords III
fluence secured favorable action OIL sew
eral occasions when objection was made
to the amount allotted to West Virgin
10. But be this as it may, we give the
FACT and our readers can draw their
own conclusions, the fact is, these ap-
preparations did MOI come mfi! zee sent
Hereford TO Harrington.
Again. Mr. Hereford has served four
years in the Senate; he has proved him
self fully equal TO the duties of the office
and to say the least he stands well up
in the front rank, and OH repeated &C
casions has taken excellent care of the
State in debate with the acknowledgc d
leaders of the Republican party. We
do not say, that he is the ablrst man in
West Virginia; we do not say that he
is superior to Bnyard and several others
we might name, but we do saw that
having the advantages we have men
toned, he will be more successful and
will render more efficient service than
either Mr.. Camden or Gov. Mathews,
to whom, if Hereford is defeated, our
choice will be limited.
We regret to publish that which will
be unpleasant to Mr.. Camden; personal
lv ,xa iava the kindnst fpelino towards