The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1881-02-24
Hon. John F. Lewis to President
Garfield.

Garfield
| HIS VIEWS ON THE POLITICAL SITUATION.
LYNwooD January 21st, 1881.
Gen. James A. Garfield:
| My Dear Sir,-As chairman of the State
| Central Committee of the Republican party Of
| Virginia, l beg to be excused for troubling
you with party matters before you have as
sumed the duties of the high office to which
you have been called. But am emboldened
to take this liberty from my knowledge of the
great interest which you feel in the sue
cess of our party in every part of the United
States.
The necessity fer this action on my part lies
in the fact that the situation Of affairs in our
State Just at this time is such that our action
in the next few months may take Virginia out
of the ranks of the "solid South and carry
her forward until she is placed in line with
the great, Union-loving States of the North
and Northwest or may, on the other hand,
aid the Bourbon Democracy to crush out the
liberal feeling which is now so plainly and
Enthusiastically manifesting itself,and thus serve
w Cudtlu diet IOpClCooi1
to the Bourbon Democratic party.
Therefore, recognizing the fact that the att-
tude of your administration towards the party
in our State will have much to lin determin-
ing it's future, and knowing that efforts have
already been made to warp your judgment
upon this Ito us) vital question, l propose to
give, very briefly, the situation of affairs here,
and after you have had the facts laid before
you, will be perfectly willing to abide by your
Judgment.
You are doubtlessaware that the Democratic
party of Virginia is divided into two factions
one called Funders or Debt-Payers, and the
other Re-Adiusters.
End Just Here, let me say, that 1only propose
to devote few lines to the position which these
factions occupy upon
THE DEBT QUESTION,
in order to show that any one who is really a
Debt-Payer can have very little choice between
them on the Debt question, but that little is
clearly in favor of the Re-Adjusters
The Funders or Bourbons have, until recently,
claimed to be the real Simon-Pure Debt-Pay-
ers, though their actions always belied their
words.
The Re-adjusters have all along claimed
that the people of the State were unable to
meet their obligations without the abatement
of the war interest and reduction of the rate
of interest to three per cent. per anuum. This
was, in short, the difference between them on
the Debt question so far as their professions
ar179f R11t oh no TO of tay
ton fell short of providing revenue enough to
carry on the machinery of the Government
and meet the annual interest due upon the
bonds by more thon eight hundred thousand
dollars, still these so-called Debt-Payers have
| again and again declared in their party con-
ventions, from the hustings, and by repeated
g0tes IN the Legislature, their unalterable OPP
position to any increase in the rate of taxa
ton.
These Bourbon" Funders, while not taking
any steps to pay the interest on our indebted
ness, have continually tinkered with the Debt
question and demonstrated conclusively that
the term "Debt-Payers" can only be applied to
them in the 6atterest irony.
They have, by their legislation, placed the
creditors of the State (all Of whom originally
held the States obligation for debt on equal
dignity in such position that a portion of
them are now nominally receiving interest at
the rate of six per cent, another portion at the
rate of three per cent, and still another class
receive nothing at all.
The proposition of
THE RE-ADJUSTERs
is,as understand tito eliminate the war in
terest, to fix the rate of interest at per cent.
per annum, and to place ALI. of the creditors
upon an equal footing.
So you can at once see that the Re adjusters,
while not SO loud in their professions of honor
and honesty, are practically better Debt-Pay-
ers than are the so-called Debt-Payers.
But it is not with the Debt question that /
am chiefly concerned.
T1is liberal Re-adjuster movement has in it
something of far more importance than
whether our creditors shall accept per cent.
or 6 per cent interest. 1t is above dollars and
cents 1t touches the liberties and equal rights
of the poorer and weaker citizens.
| will give you briefly some of the leg
islative and other actions of this Bourbon rule.
1st The colored voter has to great extent
been DISTINGUISHED by an unjust and discrmi-
mating poll-tax restriction.
Cd. Ballotbox stuffing is SO common and
barefaced that in many sections the Republi-
cans scarcely ever attempt to make their
will known through the ballot-box, no mat
3d. That relic of barbarism, the whipping
post has been established; the infliction OF
stripes authorized by law for the most trivial
offences, and made cause of perpetual dssfa01a-
ctasenaent, thus holding out to partizan mag
istrates an inducement to aid their party by
perverting the administration of justice.
4th. They have systematically perverted the
money set apart by the Constitution for public
schools from its legitimate use, until our public
school system became
WORSE THAN A FARCE.
Tn parts of the State the public schools had
to be suspended altogether, and in Other
places, though nominally in operation, they
were SO administered as to utterly fail to ac-
complsh any good.
9Th. They excluded the colored man from
the jury box and tried all questions, whether
affecting his rights of life, liberty or prop
erty,, by iuries composed entirely of persons
"alien to him in race and in sympathy.
These are in brief some of the acts of this
bitter, 3roscraptioe and lntolerant Bourbon De
mocracy which is lead by the most disloya
and disaffected leaders in the Democratic party
Of our State.