The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1880-08-26
J. Yost, ESQ
The Candidates for Congress.

PAUL AND ALLEN ON THE sTUMP-TwO HOURS
OF INTELLECTUAL EFFORT
The friends of q compromise between the
two wings of the Virginia Democracy must
have felt greatly encouraged at the result of
the meeting held in the Opera House Saturday
night H. G. Allen, funder, and Jno. Paul,
readjuster, both Democratic candidates for
Congress, met and sailed into each other. For
two hours and a half the battle ragged. Allen
was in the house of his friends and Paul had
assaulted the enemy i'll its strong hold. The
forces of the two commanders had been well
distributed. Aliens shouters were largely in
the majority, and were so well drilled that
they applauded almost every word their leader
uttered whether good bad or Indifferent.
Paul's select brigade, although few in number
held admirable position. In every section of
the hall readjuster was seated with large
cane, and when the signal was given they
came up to their work like little tin soldiers.
Each side seemed to be laboring under the i'm
preston that no matter what the candidates
said the power to draw support to their re-
spective tickets lay in the exceeding greatness
of the noise, and acting upon this suppOsition
they came very near running the Opera House
As to what the two gentlemen said, we must
refer our readers to back numbers of the VIR-
GILMAN. The national issues were scarcely
touched upon Paul dwelt upon the sover-
egn will of the majority, and went over the
same old ground that every readjuster speaker
1ooc M, ovar v,hiIa Hon 1ourod o1o,,r ~,
well beaten tunder path, relying on the regu-
larity of the ticket, and the varie gated compo-
sition of the 18th of July convention Both
depressed some little, however, and pitched
into each others record, but upon this point
Allen was the better posted, and seemed fresh
from a cram of the journals of the House and
Senate. He knew each page of that record,
and called Paul to account for every vote he
had given. Paul came back at him fercely
and such little complimentary illusions as
traitor" on the one hand and "scuttling mu-
tineer" on the other were freely INDUCED to
the unbounded delight of the audience and
general advantage of the Democratic cause. If
one half that either said about the other is
true, neither of them would cut very grace
full figure in the councils of the nation.
The only thing new elected by the discus
sion was that Mr. Allen denied the authorship
of the Allen amendment. He declared it a
misnomer, and that for it Writ Henry, and not
himself should be held accountable. 1t. how
ever, was no worse than certain provisions in
each of the readjuster bills.
An impartial spectator from distant State
was among the audience He knew nothing
of Virginia politics except as gotten from the
newspaper. "What did you think of the
speeches" we asked. His reply was, 81 must
confess there was novelty about it. never
heard candidates for CONGRESS discuss in that
way. In my State New York; when they
meet upon the stump, the issues involved in
the national canvass are discussed But here,
it seems they pQnfne themselves mostly to
State affairs, and when they leave that, drop
to individual records"
"How do you think the two men compare?"
Il should say that Allen is the stronger of
the two, but Paul is exceedingly adroit, and
judge very affective before an average audi
ence"