Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-03-21
The Malone Sensation.


The course of Malone, Virginia, "
stnl continues to absorb the atten-
ton of the press largely to the exclu-
sion of much that is more important 1t
seems, too. that the little Virginia Sena-
tor is greatly delighted at the notoriety
he is enjoying. He appears to care
nothing for the very unenviable position
in which he is placed All he desires is
that The papers shall talk about him
even il the greater portion Of their talk
is anything but complimentarY-and that
fingers shall be pointed at him from the
Senate galleries-eyen if he is the mark
more of scorn than admiration.
Mahone's longing for notoriety, how
ever, will not be satisfied, and we pre-
dict that he will fail both in his personal
and political schemes. Personally, he
cannot remain, for any length Of time, a
prominent charactersbefore the country,
at least through the course he has taken,
in abjuring allegiance to the Democrats,
and going over body and soul to the
Republicans He may deny 1t as
much as he pleases. but it is a
matter beyond the possibility Of a sue
cessful denial that he has been guilty of
political treason. It is true, he was
elected to the Senate by party opposed
to the Virginia Democracy on the debt
question, but it is equally true that he
was elected as a Democrat, and it was
confidently asserted and believed that
on all national questions he would vote
with the Democratic party. His treason,
therefore, is recognized, and treason
never yet brought man honor. He
has forfeited the respect of both
parties, and, while the Republicans
will fiatter him just so long as
they can use him, the very moment
that he ceases to be of service to them
they will drop him. He will, therefore,
eventually sink out of sight nationally
more rapidly than he has risen into
prominence, and his future, unless he
displays more remarkable talents as q
man of power than he has ye; developed,
will be that simply of a cipher.
Mahone's political schemes are even
more certainly doomed to disappoint-
ment than are his personal ambitions
He evidently desires greatly to establish
a new party in the country, of which he
shall be the head and front. Already he
has failed. There can be but two great
parties in this country, the Democratic
and the Republican, and this is plainly
| illustrated by Mahone's very course. He
has ceased to be Democrat, and is now
a Republican pure and simple. Thus it
will be with all his followers in Virginia
They will leave the ranks of the De-
mocracy, and while they may for a
period call themselves ''Readjusters, or
by any other title they may see fit to
adopt, they will finally drift bodily into
the arms of Republicanism. Already
the negro Republican convention recent.
Iy in session in Petersburg, Virginia,
have passed resolutions declaring that
they, as a party, will adhere to Ma
hone, aud so it will be to the
inevitable end. Then, " lille Malone may
make very good leader of faction in
/ Virginia on the local issue of the repu-
diation of a portion of the State debt.
when he finds himself merely an item in
the great body of the Republican party,
he will lose his identity and become only
a commonplace individual.
These are our reasons for believing
that the Malone sensation will prove a
nine days wonder. Time alone can de-
eide whether or not they are correct.
There is, however, scarcely doubt that
they will be literally verified, provided
that the premises upon which they are
based turn out TO be true, viz: that Ma
hone is not a man of any extraordinary
political sagacity.