Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1880-09-23
The Virginia Split,

The effort OF the regular Democrats Of
Virginia to patch up pssce with the
Readjusters has failed for the simple
reason, apparent from the first, that the
latter do not desire the success Of
Hancock. Had they done so they would
never have put a second so-called Demo-
cratic electoral ticket in the field There
might be some excuse for separate Con-
gressional nominations because Congress
men have an opportunity, az such, to
vote for or against the principles of the
repudiators on larger scale, but electors
have but one function, which is to choose
a President. When the Resdjuster Con-
vention met, there was in Virginia one set
OF candidates for electors pledged 70 Gar
field and Arthur, and another set pledged
to Hancock and English. Unless the Re-
adjusters wished to vote for Weaver or
some other candidate, and not for either
Garfield or Hancock, they had no conceiv-
able use for another set of electoral csndi.
dates, and of course they were fully aware
OF the fact
This being the case it is evident that
they had some object, and it seems to US
almost equally apparent what it was. The
Readjuster party in Virginia is composed
of men who have been Republicans and
Democrats in the past, and who profess
some sort of slack allegiance to one or the
other of those two parties yet. The
party is formed to accomplish
local object, and its responsible
opponent has been the regular
Democratic party. which still holds the
executive power of the state and Yields it
to defeat repudisting legislation of the
Readjusters. Naturally, therefore, the
strongest resentment the Readjusters have
is against the regular Democrats, or
Funders, as they call them. So far is this
the case that though the Readjuster party
IS largely led by former Democrats, it
has used its majority in the Leg
islature to crowd negroes into all
sorts of offices in order to coneiiate the
negro vote on which it no largely depends.
This being the snimus of the Readjusters
it seems to us clear that their object in
nominating separate ELECTORAL ticket and
running it as Hancock ticket was to
revenge themselves on the regular Demo-
Gratis of the State by causing Hancock to
lose the electoral vote of Virginia.
They cannot expect to secure for their
ticket majority over both the regular
Democratic and the Republican tickets
and this being the case they are evidently
aiming to divide the Democratic vote with
a view to permitting Garfield to carry the
State. 1t may be that they would prefer
that their own ticket should be elected, and
cast the vote of the State for Hancock,
though what assurance any sane man
could have that they would vote for
Hancock, even if chosen, we cannot see.
, We do not understand why a man whose
highest ambition is to cause his own state
to dishonorably repudiate its obligations
and break its promises should think it any
: wrong to break his own promises. But
granting that the Readjusters might pre-
} fer the election of their own men, anC
that those men might vote fol
! Hancock in the electoral college
r if appointed electors, still it is evident tina
! the Readjusters would rather risk losinf
0 the State to Hancock than fail to b,