Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1882-04-28


again appears in the field, AZ he will in the
person of his lieutenants in the congress
slonal race next fall, the result will both
surprise and mortify him.
THE CITY ELECTION NEXT
MONTH.
One very natural result Of the intensely
partizan character of the legislation at
Richmond this winter has been that it has
taught the Democrats of Virginia the les
son of self preservation.
In and around Staunton the lesson
has been indelibly impressed. Here we
have seen men of all stations, from the
most eminsnt in their profession down to
the humblest workman at his bench sx-
PEELED from place simply because they were
Democrats. It has been proclaimed here
in print as ono OF the leading features Of
this Coalition party that every office held
by the will Of people shall be made prizs
to be struggled for. The people Of Staun-
ton have not tho excuse that they were
not forewarned in this matter. On the
18th of November, after the election of a
Coalition Governor and legislature was as
certained, the Valley Virginisn announced
that 1.-The work, however, is not finished"
and laid down this programme for tho Co.
alition party in the future. .'Every Office
''ef county and citu, sohich is held at the
''aoiW of the people, must be contested. The
''insolent faction which has assumed to
represent all the virtue, intelligence and
''character of the Commonwealth, and
(which denounced every one who ques-
STONED the truth of this assumption, must
''bs made to feel the power of the popular
''revolt which was voiced on Tuesday Of
'slast week. There should DO no relocation
"of oraaaaization-no suspension Of endeav-
'or-no dallying with antagonizing inter-
'ests-no compromise of position and ad-
"vantage-but an aggressive, forward
movement, looking to an utter destrue-
'stion of the relentless power which has
sheen so mercilessly welded to the oppres-
'ssion of the people. The whole poDer con-
':ferred By the uerdict Of the 9Th inst, should
"be aarshaIled and engineered for the tmpor-
.'tant task that lies IN The near future, and
"the popular consciousness aroused to the
necessity of carrying forward the work
"the people have inaugurated to complies
land perfect contamination. The ital-
les are our own. Since that article was
written Coalition club has besn formed
in the city of Staunton.
The relative strength of the poiitlca l
parties in the city Of Staunton, according
to the last vote, is officially announced as
69s Democrats to 325 Coalitionists. With
such odds as this a straight party fight on
the part of the minority would be bad pol
icy and is not likely to be made. The only
hope of the Coalitionists will be in
free race or Independent candidates. With
such success as it might accomplish in
these through the apathy of the morgan
lied Democratic voters the result would
be doubtful.
The Democrats of Staunton have
plainly presented to them, and have had
before their eyes for months the question
whether after July 1st they will have city
officers, elected Or appointed, of their own
choosing or whether in the event of their
making no struggle to MAINTAIN the supre-
macy of their party they shall see the pres
ent.incumbents swept away by m 'ee-
ment looking to thsir cutter destructau
as political power. Our citizens isaye
just witnessed the scsne of set of gentle
men at a public institution in our midst
thrown out of employment simply because
they auere Democrats, and in few days
more will see another set of gentlemen
dismissed from service for the same crime;
do they wish to see the same scene enac-
ted with score of Democratic city ofic-
ials on the fourth Thursday in next
month? The Democratic cities elsewhere
in the Common wealth are organizing for a
struggle to retain their own local govern
ment, and it is for those Of Staunten to
say whether they will fall in line.
Men, poor men with the burden of fam
lilies, are walking the streets of Stanton
to-day who have lost the means of support
ing them simply because they are Deme-
Gratis. They have baeu victimized by
system of political management which if
it IS to BIZ beaten must be met in kind.
The Democrats Of Stauntou must meet
this insolent combination uf political fac
tions at the polls and make them feel the
power of the people. people aroused
to the necessity of the preservation of self
govern mant There should he no hes1ta-
tiou, no slackness of organization, no con-
promise of position aud advantage but an
aggressive forward movement looking to
the utter destruction Of this proscriptive
power which has been so mere ilessly
wielde to the oppression of all classes
of our citizens, a power of relentless
greed which has bounded every man
in its reach who dared to differ with
it in opinion; which has even hunted the
workingman from his bench in order that
his slender salary might be given to polit-
ical henchmen.
We presume that there lsp Democrat
in Staunton who would willingly see this
vindictive coalition get control or even
partial control of his city. But what sort OF
a contest can unorganized men make? The
Coalitionists already have club organ
lied. The Democrats have none, but with
our brother Democrats we are quite will
ing to leave the matter of organization to
those to whom the party has entrusted it..
Let it be attended to at once.
P. S.-Since the above was written, we
have received a call for meeting Of the
Democrats of Stanton, which will be
ound in another column.
nFOSE OF AN EXPERIMENT.