Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-08-05
Namraslrl f,ltclhgcmrer.
FRIDAY EVENING, AUGUST 8, 1881.
The Virginia Contest.


mother of states and presidents! The
nominee and the platform of yesterday s
convention leave no room to doubt that
the honor of the state is safe in their
keeping, and little cause to fear that it
will not be left there. The reports from
the primary elections of the Republican
party, held in the state this week, point
to a capture of its convention by the CO.
alitionlsts and a fusion of the Radical
and liquidation parties in the state.
This is as it should be, and is a fit sequel
to the Riddleberger alliance between
Malone and the Republican senators last
winter. Nor do VIC see i'm it any pOr-
tent of danger to the Democracy. Such
a surrender by the Republican party
there will inevitably drive out its
best element, either into the Democratic
ranks or to a position of independent op-
position of the unholy alliance. The
Democrats have put themselves into the
best possible state of preparation for
this by bold and honest declaration of
principles and the nomination of bold
and honest man.
The party which goes into this contest
for life and death on the famous battle
ground of war and politics, litly calls it.
self ''Conservative Democratic" demo.
cratic in its federal relations and conser-
vative in its state policy: not disposed to
Opprcss and exhaust burdened COM
monwealth, and yet scrupulously jealous
of the states obligations and faithfully
earnest in its purpose to discharge them
to the letter. The declarations of this
party for Equality of rights and exact
justice to all men, special privileges to
none freedom of religion {; freedom of
the press freedom of the person under
protection of the habeas corpus, of trial
by juries imparIially selected, and of a
pure, upright and non-partisan judic-
iary elections by the people, free from
force or fraud by the citizens or by the
military or civil officers of the govern
ment, and the selection for public offices
of those who are honest and best fitted
to fill them," arc no afterthOught with
it. 1t has been its fidelity to these which
has made the state government of Vir-
ginia, controlled by the Democracy
from the days of reconstruction, an ex-
ception to the misgovernmcnts of near
ly all the late Confederate states.
The attempt Of Republican sympa-
thizers with Malone to make him out
the friend Of progress or of liberal
thought, and the Democratic opposition
to him rs the foe to equal rights and fair
elections, has been unfOunded and unfair.
An appeal to the history of state politics
there since the negro has had his vote
justilies the party in charging that
. any intimatiOn coming from any quar-
ter that the Conservative Democratic
party of Virginia has been, is now, or
proposes to he, opposed to Ill honest bal.
lot and fair count, is Il calumny upon
the state of Virginia rs unfounled in
fact as it is dishonOrable to its authors" ="
The Mahone party have, it is true, made
Il demasogical appeal to the negroes by
advocating the repeal of the slight suf-
frage tax, imposed to keep up the school
system, but this is simply maintaining
that the Virginia negroes suffrage
should not be hedged about by Il limita-
tion with which nearly every Northern
state guards the franchise of its white
men.
Virginia has maintained Il public
school system for the education of both
white and colOred children, established
by the action of the Conservative party
years before it was required 10y the con-
stitution, and there is no prctense that it
has not been faithfully protected or that
it is in any danger. The single real issue,
however, in Virginia, is the matter of
the state credit-whether or not
it shall be maintained. The Dem
ocratic party declares, with
tone of loyal Virginia pride and
in accordance with old fashioned notions
of public and private integrity, "tllat
the maintenance Of the public credit of
Virginia is the essential means to the
promotion of her prosperity that VIC
condemn reputation, in any shape and
form, as blot upon her honor, a blow at
her permanent welfare and an obstacle
to her progress in wealth, influence and
power; that we will make every effort
to secure a settlement of the public debt,
with the consent of her creditors, which
is consistent with her honor and dictated
by justice and sound public policy"
Such a declaration means that somebody
and some party mean something else.
The Malone party are for repudiation-
one of its candidates would apply the
d" sliding scale'' to the national debt also.
With this element a portion of the Re-
publican party proposes to ally itself,
and Senators Cameron and Mitchell.
and Hoar and others, who have been
synl'athizing with Malone, will find
themselves confronted in their own
states with the hybrid offspring of this
union.
Major John w. Daniel, eloquent and
magnetic orator, fearless and command
ing leader, is proper man to carry the
standard in this fight and to proclaim
its issues to the larger national audience
that looks to and waits on the issue of
the Virginia struggle with an interest
that attaches to no other state contest
this year.
m wa c.,, f1,,.o,,oI, &l,r o1o,, .,o.,I