National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1881-05-26
THE COMING CAMPAIGN.
A FiEorOus Appeal by a Virginia Stalw art
The Outlook for the Party.

To The Editor OF THE REPUBLICAN:
We acknowledge no man as our
leader. Our only guide is the Constitution
and the law. Our motto, Equal and exact
justice to all men," As to the policy of
the Republican party the writer has had
an opportunity of learning something of the opin-
ions of prominent Republicans in the State as to
what that policy should be, and it is safe to say
that four-tfths of them favor coalition with the
only party in the State which promises to give us
tree ballot fair count, and equal and exact JUS
ice before the courts. Experience of the last ten
OF eleven years satisfies that we are powerless to
throw on the burden under which we labor with
out ass1stance-assistance for which we can look
to no other quarter than the Readjuster party In
the face of and in spite of Bourbon ull-dozng
and denunciation, followed it is true, by coaxing
and fawning, they voted almost unanimously in
our last Legislature to eliminate from the State
constitution the clauses which put price upon
suffrage and give to every roads magistrate
the power to dsfranchise and disgrace every voter
i'll his district who is without the means and in
fluence necessary for his protection. These wrongs
have aroused aud engrOsSed the whole attention of
our people, and inferior grievances have naturally
lost their force The silly twaddle about the State
debt will no longer do TO cover up the real
SITUATION IN VIRGINIA.
The shallow pretense of the Bourbons that they
exploded. During the decade that followed the
readmissiOn of the State into the Union they had
uninterrupted control of the State government
and the debt not reduced to the amount of one
dollar except by Teadiustment. After the last
election leading men among the so-called debt
payerS and the Bourbon press of the State, appeal
ing TO the Readjusters declared their willingness
TO accept the Riddleberger BILL almost any other
settlement of the debt question which would pre-
vent the disintegratiOn of their party But, even
if they were really and honestly debt-payers, the
fact should not control us, for the present at least
The Republican party is
PLEDGED TO SOMETHING ELSE
besides the payment of debts. They are pledged
TO secure TO every citizen of every State i'll the
Union absolute equality of civil and political
rights. This obligation is of such paramount i'm
pOrtance that until it is performed the debt queS
ton is not worthy of consideration 1t is true we
have in our midst Republicans who advocate
different policy, and some of them are no doubt
honest but we also have few Office holders with
large patronage at their disposal who oppose now:
they have always DONE anything lik the liberal
movement inaugurated some time since IN this
State and followed up by Mr. Malone in the Sen
ate. They are few III number, however: and owe
whatever prominence they have oofical position.
THERE is 40 DANGER
that they VIII make big or little fight this time
either in or out of the party. They are known as
'fOur-year Republicans" or " half breeds Their
offices are filed TO great extent with Bourbon
Democrats, while their days are spent in apologize
ing for their utilization with the Republican party.
They naturally feel afraid that with the accession
of intelligence TO the party will come official I'M
rest to them. For this reason they wagcd open
warfare upon this Liberal movement until Mr. Ma
homes course as 4 Senator of the United States
opened the eyes of the administration and the Ma
tfonal Republican party. Then their warfare be-
came secret.
TO SHOW THE DEGRADATION
TO which their selishness carried them several of
them in obedience as usual to the first law of ma
tuTe, manifested disposition to pay court to the
new Senator and some of them were snubbed.
What else could they expect? They had Joined the
Bourbon Democracy in denunclatlOn of Senator
Malone and his party, a denunciation which ex-
hausted the vocabulary Of Billingsgate. and he
would have been lacking in Sclf-reSpect if he had
done otherwise. Tainted now about It by their
Bourbon friends, these " four year gentlemen
say: oh. Malone has come to the Republican
party now And pray, how? BY voting with the
Republicans to form the Senate committees.
FOR HIS EFFORT TWO YEARS AGO
to restore to the disfranchised Republicans of VT-
ginia the equal civil and political rights TO which
they entitled by the Constitution of the United
States he was denounced by them a demagogue
and political tTickster. do not charge that this
sort of selfshneSs and Sycophancy is character
iStic of all of our Oficehol of any special
born outside of the State rs well as The natives,
and there are some of both classes who would help
the Republican party if they would folG their
te;,tS like the Arab and silently steal away" into
the Bourbon party, where their inclinatiOHs lead
them.
THERE Will BE NO FIGHT
in our ranks and no trailing of the Republican
TO speak for the party now, at the proper Time it
will speak for itself, and all tremendously. BOur
bon Democracy and half breed Republicans
would do well to prepare for the battle
STALWART REPUBLICAN.
LYNCHBURG, Va, May, 1881.