Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1881-04-29
!Ik< &t&>tt1t>t.
FRIDAY MORNING. APR. %. 1881.
The Meeting to Send Delegates to the
June Convention.


June Convention.
The meeting Of last Monday, happening
as it did on court day, and after the cali
of the county Chairman, had been well cir
culated for several weeks, must have been
q very depressing sign of the public SEN
timent of Augusta, to the leaders of the
Readjuster party. There were perhaps
from twenty-five to thirty members of the
Readjuster party present and this we think
liberal estimate. Compared with other
meetings of the same political faith held
before the recent occurrences in the u. s.
Senate, the change must have been very
discouraging. The absence Of the colored
people in the galleries of the Court House
was most notable. Instead of the long
lines of dark faces and shining teeth gen.
orally to be seen looking on at Readjuster
meetings, there were only some fifteen or
twenty of that sort. The meeting was
called to order by Mr.. s. Brown Allen,
County Superintendent, and on his motion
Col. Asher W. Hartman was chosen Chair
man. On motion of Col. Rudolph Turk,
Mr.. A. A. Arnold was chosen Secretary.
Mr.. Allen after explaining the object of
the meeting moved the appointment Of the
following committee to report a list of del
egates to represent Augusta and Stanton
in the Readjuster State Convention at
Richmond June I'd:
f,Ctorpfor-1cf Wor1 w Woddu. 0p1
Ward, T. s. Davis; Pastures, Fletcher
Vincent; Riverheads, Lewis Dull; Bever-
ley Manor, A. A. McPheeters, South Riv-
or, Hugh Hamilton; Middle River VIM. B.
Crawford; North River, Rudolph Turk.
During the absence of the committee
Mr.. Allen was called on for a speech and
delivered short one in a style of elocu-
tion much improved since we last heard
him on the rostrum. He said this was a
business meeting and not one for oratory
but in response to the call. and in the alb
sence of the committee, he would make
some brief remarks. The issue of the
coming campaign, he said, az far as the
Readjuster party were concerned had been
fairly and squarely made. AS to the 9TH
er side, Heaven only knew what they
were; if they themselves knew. And they
don't know themselves! Some are ready
to repudiate the whole debt; some think
the Riddleberger bill the wisest piece of
legislation ever enacted; some want to pay
all, some want to pay nothing and some
say the debt question has nothing whatev-
or to do with the fight. We can't tell
whether they will combine on common
platform or whether there will be sort of
guerrilla warfare. The Readjusters are
willing to 60 before the people on their
past record on readjustment and want no
better platform. They will 60 into the
campaign with the Riddleberger bill in
one hand, and point out the maladminis-
tration OF the other party with the other.
Mr.. Allen then went over much Of the old
ground which has been gone over in the
past campaigns. Under Auditor Massey,
he said, restitution of $165,OOO had been
made to the school fund, and one year Of
that gentleman 8 administration had given
ease and peace to the State not known for a
long time before. He called attention to
the old fact that the former store keeper
of the penitentiary whom he called an
''emissary Of Funderism" had been found
to, be defaulter, and to the new fact that
the penitentiary under its new Superin-
tendent Williams, had become self.sup-
porting institution. In the next campaign
he said, you will be invoked to reinstate
the very people who have abused the
trusts conided to them. Readjusters of
Augusta are you going to do it? tno re-
sponse). Mr.. Allen concluded by saying
that the close of the campaign would pre-
sent a Readjuster victory.
MR.. MASSEY S CHANCES.