The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1881-09-15
Communicated.


letter of Gen1 WINS. G. Wickham setting forth his
views on the present political situation in Virginia
and concluding with declaration of his intention
to support the REGULAR Democratic nominees.
The General is held up by all the journals, North
and South, which agree with him in his views, as a
typical and representative Republican, and as such,
par ercettence, better entitled to represent and
speak for that party in Virginia than any other.
1t Is this fact which brings me forth from the
obscure retirement to which circumstances have
consigned me in order to deny theGeneras exclusive
right to speak for the Republican party OF this State
and to show that Republican who challenges the
record OF any man who claims to be better one
may differ with him I admit Gen. Wickham's
hepubl1can1Sm and admire the courage with which
ne mas advocated the unpopular principles OF that
party since the war, but am an older Republican
than he Is Mark That, in the language of Cassfus,
81 said an older soldier not better"
Gen. W1ckham was, i understands Union man and
elected as such to the Convention but signed the Ord
nance and afterward gave four years OF
his time, all of his unquestionable ability and some
or his blood to establish the independence OF gov
eminent to be based upon ethe cornerstone Of hu
man slavery and upon the successful result of q
rebellion against the United States. I. on the other
hand, gave three and onehaf years of my life, some
blood ana some health to the cause OF putting down
that rebellion. SO far 1t will be seen that my claim
to represent the Republican party is older If not
better than that of the GEL eral.
Again, have never In my life voted for Demo-
crat when had Republican to vote for; have
cratic party and don't propose TO do SO now Gen'l
W1ckham does, and there again our RepuDEcan1sm
differs. The General justi1es his intention to sup
port the regular Democratic ticket by invoking the
historic AMI smost vital principles OF the RepubH-
can party and he concludes that the most vitality
important principle Of the Republican party, one
on which the Republican party his built as on
rock, lis the honest unhesitating support
OF governmental obligations quote his letter.
Here again the General and differ squarely. have
always held that the smost vitality important prtn
ciple of the Republican party was the establish
ment and enforcement of the equal rights Of all men
before the law 1t used to be, know, that the Re-
publican party was a temple of refuge whittier re-
help towards Their rights. and questions Of State
debts or the like were relatively of very unimpor-
tant nature but If all this is changed and Repub
lican orthodoxy is to be measured by the rules Of
''the money changers and sellers of doves (as well
pluckers Of pigeons) of Wall street. then the Gener
al may be right and wrong, but 1t has never been
Applying this, as assert ''vtally important pr1n
ciple of the Republican party" to the present con-
dition Of affairs-wh1ch can do but briefly in the
space to which desire to limit this article recall
the Generals attention to the action of the Demo-
cratic government OF virginia during the last ten
years.
In that time it has passed amendment to the
ton tax as prerequisite to voting-a measure as
stated by It's mover or seconder designated to cut
down the negro vote in the heavy negro counties"
1t Is wonderful that in State where the average
wages of labOrer will not equal ten dollars month
and his own board, although he may have half a
dozen little children requiring all the time of-his
accomplished Its object. Iu violation Of the pro-
visions of the Act of Congress restoring vir
gtnia to her place in the Union, which act the
State accepted and agreed to be bound by,
it has made petty larceny a felony which
onense 1t has established anew the whipping post
and provided that lashes shall be the penalty of
petty larceny and several other offenses and has
given every justice Of the peace Jurisdiction to
try without jury, all charges OF petty larceny and
upon conviction to whip the party convicted, while
the law at the DISTINGUISHES him. 1t has
passed such laws with relation to the selection Of
jurors that until 1879 no colored man placed
upon any Jury in all the counties of the State
and enses, involving life and liberty, when charg
ed against colOred man were invariably tried by
white men, opposed to the defendent In politics and
dtnn Eynp trotn Ufv,yl
of election disputes were tried by such juries,
and the administration of justice in such re-
duced to farce so far at least as the negro was
concerned. Peter ]. Carter,an able colored man, in
speech made in the Legislature in 1878 cited the
cases of 100 colored mon murdered within a few
years previous by whites and asserted that white
man had ever been hanged for the killing of ne
gro, while the hanging of negroes wereof weekly oc
currence and this statementwa sneverdisproven and
scarcely denied. 1t has diverted and msspent the
moneys belonging to the school fund. though that
fund is specially provided for by the Constitution
the amount of million of dollars. 1t has CIV
en- to county judges the appointment of judges Of
election and in certain districts of the State these
judges of election that fair election and count
of votes simple 1mposs1bility. know that
grave Senators have risen in the Senate Of the |
United States and denied this. know that the
Bourbon press, almost without exception, de- |
it absolutely false but II the whole par
ty of all sorts denied 1t upon oath should not be-
lieve them against the evidences of my own senses
and the records. Witness the Platt-Goode contest
of 1874 the contest of Brady for the senatorshp Of
the Norfolk district the year, the frauds and
bloody riot at Petersburg In 1875: the attempted
frauds In the same city in 1876: and the conviction
of Vaughn, judge Of election, at the place in
1878, for stuf1ng the ballet-boX. Look at the 2nd
district which returned John Goode as elected oCon-
gress for three successive terms, L. e.1S74 1876 and
1878, but which in the election 1880, under change
of judges and fair election gave to the Republican
candidate, whom John Goode,had beaten two years
before, majority Of 1900 over the same John
Goode and popular Re-adjuster candidate combtn-
ed and this too without any considerable increase
of the party vote.
In 1880, thanks to the Readiusters and their
Republican allies, the county judges throughout
the State were generally changed and the evils OF
the jury and election laws in great measure abol
ished but these laws still remain the same and
1t is at the will of the county judges to return to the
old practices at any time. The cruel whipping post
and petty larceny laws and the capitaton tax laws
are also unchanged.
Dilletanti Republicans of the stripe of George |
William Curtis, VIM M. Evarts set i'd oanne genus
may moraltze and lecture over the payment Of pub
lie debts s'the most vitality important principle
of the Republican party they afford to do So
they are in no danger Of nine and thirty on the
bare back or Of dtsfranchisement on any trumped
up charge that may be made before political enc
my and tried without a jury. General Wickham |
g ne pas neen for Isl bo9
ticuarly noticed these sad facts, but to the rank
and file of the party they are of the lastlmportance
So important are they that venture to say, that
represent the great mass of the Republican party
when state that If the matter were left to me- and
the abolition of these infamous laws and the estab
lshment Of the equal rights of all men before the
law on an 1mpregnable basis, could only be accom-
plshed by the reputation of the state debt and the
destruction OF all the public property, would re-
pudtate the debt the last cent and put fire the
public buildings tomorrow
In 1879 appeared in the field, fully organized, the
Re-adJuSter party, born not alone of the State \
debt issue but of the breaking forth OF the talent
and enterprise and progressive liberalism of the |
Democratic party, for years depressed and held |
down by the Iron tyranny of the regular Bourbon |
Democratic party It promised to every man the |
enjoyment Of his full rights. The leaders of the |
Republican party almost without exception shrunk
back at the cry of 'trepudtation," but large pro-
portion Of the oolored VOTE with better sense and
wiser forecast than their leaders, allied themselves
with the new party What else were they to do ? |
The laws Of Congress passed to secure their peliti
cal rights at Congressional elections even had |
proven insufficient for that purpose. The great
Republican party could give them no further help,
of that faction Of the Democratic party which had
dared to defy It's regular organization. The new |
party was successful and 1t kept Its promises far
as 1t could do so, giving Us fair election and NOV
ing to repeal the tax law itnow promises,
If successful, TO complete the work of reform and
again invites the assistance of the Republicans to
that end Gen. Wtckham don't trust them! He
prefers to trust to the stereotyped lie which has
disgraeed every Democratic platform in the State
their equal and full rights. He Is asked by the
latter party to trust them to carry out any specific
promises of reform, the repeal of the obnoxious 4
legislation above complained Of the Ike because
that party makes no such promises and intends no /
such measures If successful. He finds repudiation
In the Riddleberger bill, put mona in the Bourbon
declaration that they can't pay but half the interest
under the present rate of taxation and that they
wont raise that rate in order to pay more, He finds
ship and "the honest unheSltattng support of pub
lie obligations in the MGOullOOh law which