Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1882-10-31
The Vireina Boss.

from the seat Of power. The man who
OWNS Virginia has left his newspaper organ
to do all the dirty work for him here, while
he has been running the departments and
doing out the patronage TO serve his own
interests. Most of his clerks have been at
work in Washington and he has flooded The
State with documents issued from his head
quarters there. Within 4 Few days his
lieutenauts met him there and received their
fine orders.
They are back again now and in
every part Of the State the bread and butter
brigade is hard at work in the interests Of
the most disreputablc boss system that ever
disgraccd this nation. Since the Ohio cleo
ton Mahone's efforts have been rcdoubled.
1t was terrible back-eye for him. Not
content with Il five per cent. assessment on
all federal oi1ice-h holders from Virginia and
all State officials, he has made Il demand on
Jay Hubbell for. help. 1t is understood that
the sum he named was S25 900, and he
painted pictures Of defeat unless he got it,
His forced assessments are now being used
in all the Congressional districts and the
campaign has reached high pitch of en-
element
There may have been more disgusting
and degrading campaign than Mahone's at
some period in American history. If so
nobody can remember it. 1t is revolving
in every detail. The platform of the
Malone party, when analysed, consists Of
exactly two planks: First, personal pow
er for Malone; second, spoils. The only
respectable following is in the southwest
end Of the State, where railroads and tele.
graph wires are scarce and where the peo-
pie haven't found out yet that the debt ques-
ton is no longer one Of politics. These peo-
pie number Il few thousand. Outside ofthis
district the men who follow Malone from
honest conviction can almost be counted on
the fingers Of one hand. The white follow
ing is composed ofmen hungry for Office
The great bulk of the Malone army is col
ored, and this Malone can retain Just rs
long as he can get the money to buy up the
negroes at so much head Malone has :,
contract with Arthur. 1t is TO deliver sew
ell OF the ten congressman to the admins
tratiOn and to give the State to Arthur in
1881 In order to carry out thiscontract he
in the State has been overhauled. Worthy
officials have been everywhere turned out
and the most ignorant set of officials; that
people. Some of them are hardly capable o!
signing their names. And an this so that
the most dsreputable boss ever known to
American politics may remain in power.
Two or three things are required of 4 man
before he can have any kind Of an Office.
He must pay the Hnbbell and Malone as
| sessments. He must sink his own personal.
ity and live only for Malone. He must he
| able to control at least two or three votes
The very moment he fails to toe the mari,
OIL goes his head and some one else with
more votes at his command takes his place
This is the principle upon which all Offices
are filled in Virginia i'll these days. Il is
strange, but some people don't like it.
No one outside of Virginia can under
stand the bitterness Of this campaign.
There never was 4 man in politics more hu.
ted than Malone. He has pushed himself
into power by money and brute force. The
campaign has settled down to Malone and
anti-Mahonc. There is no other issue. II
is a struggle between disrcputabe boss ia
maintain the power of II petty tyrant and
the decent people Of the State. The debt
question is before the Supreme Court for
settlement, and the one question ut stake
is whether Malone shall or shall not get a
new lease Of life. Ever since he deserted
his seat in the Senate last winter, came here
and established his headquarters over n rum
shop and ran the Legislature to meet his
ends, he has lorded it over the people as il
they were mere slaves and were put here
for no other object but to obey his COM
mands. He is making desperate fight to
save his Large, John s.
Wise, and his rcadjuster Congressional tick
cts in the different districts. The chances
are against him. lie has a great, hungry,
ignorant army Of oilice-holders, from judy
es down to janitors in school houses. lie
has money, and if money and coercion can
win he will carry the day. But there is a
great cutlery against Bossism, and the only
fear ola Malone victory lies in the fact that
the spoismen have full control Of the cleo
ton machinery. To q man of Malone S
stamp this means great deal The majority
vote will be against him. Whether the f.
nal returns will be counted that way is all
entirely different thing. The democrats
are practically solid for Massey for Con-
gresham. at-Large. He Yves the orig
lnal readjuster, but the fears that rig.
id debt-paying democrats would not
vote for him are proving groundless.
His warfare against Mahoncisin and the fact
that Massey considers REIMBURSEMENT to be no
longer an issue have united the party and
the detection will be only slight. He will.
in addition, get the votes of the few white
Republicans. Dawson, the colorcd cand-
date for Congress, is making something of
an inroad into the coalition vote and. on the
whole, the prospects are excellent that Ma
hone can date the beginning of his downfall
from the It'll of November next.
The evil effects Of the Malone system is
readily seen in the postal service The Post
masters as rule are an ignorant set, and
business men tell me that they can no
longer rely upon receiving or sending letters
with any sort of regularity The Postmas-
tiers are pretty generally politicians of low
grade. AS on instance, one Dave Windsor
was appointed to the Post Office in Alex
andria last July over man who had for
years had the respect and confidence of the
city. A short time ago Dawson was an
nounced to have 4 meeting in Alexandria
Dave got five or six hundred negroes to-
gether, got them all pretty drunk on cheap
whisky and started to break up the meeting
at their head, actually marching through
the streets with his drunken army. He
brOk IN the aatjp, wac I'D , vi 49,