Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1882-09-01
The Malone Exposure
COL. RUFFIN'S LETTER No. z.


We give in our supplement this week the other two
letters of Col Run, exposing the tricks of the Boss
They get better as he proceeds.
In a government like personal usurpaton
not long endure-at least a general thing. The
freedom of the press and the clash of conflicting in
terests assure its downfall; and though cupidty may
enlist the unscrupulous and violence deter the timid
the overthrow of the usurper will come sooner or
LATER and all the when the acts of usurpatlon
are conspicuousy multiplied and the usurper rules
by intrigue rather than by force of character does
General Malone Guided by narrow sefshness
and not by any enlarged views of policy for the State
he aims to keep up and increase his power by pander
ing to the thirst for Office and the love OF money!
which has made it necessary for him to enlarge the
patronage of the State and prescribe all, of whatever
party, whom he found in Office. This has provoked
resistance and resistance has brought on conflict
in which he has been compelled to charge treachery
and desertion of Readjuster principles upon all who
would not follow his lead. There never more
unfounded accusation. Let the reader co1slasr for
moment. In modern days parties act through
conventions. These lay down the principles and
purposes of their constituents in what the language
of the day, fifty following the mechanical proceeding
it would describe designates platform; and that
is composed Of what called planks, each plank
representing principle Of the party All but
idiots know. what all other if candid admit that
nothing outside of that platform is binding on the
party that stands upon it. In all things else the
right of private Judgment obtains and its exercise
cannot forfeit membership. Were it otherwise what
the of the platform? General Malone
knew this; and hence he pledged our candidates
under seal" to 'stand by the Readjuster party and
PLATFORM" and be guided by not the platform, but
the caucus, and to vote for all measures. nominees
and candidates that it might agree upon. This was
UsURPATIoN-
this the slegt hand by which he has deceived the
perceptions of the artess of the Readjuster
party-ths the ground of the mpudent charge of
deserton against all who adhering to the PLATFORM
reject and defy his caucus DEGREES. Fenced in my
position by the co1nmon-sense of every honest man.
repel the accusation, and say that since the organ
of General Malone, as also several OF his orators
have declared that the Readusers in the Legislature
Ibid all and than they promised" that there
cannot be the slightest obligation the part of any
man to go beyond his own discretion or judgment
Reimbursement looked to the settlement Of the debt
the restoration of suffrage to all but criminals
and mbeciles the application to the schools of all the
revenue the Constitution assigned them, improve
ment in administering our public charities to luna
tics and the deaf, dumb, and dstictly laid down
in the fourth plank of their platform of 1881 the
control and reform of the railroads of the State the
interest of the people That was all and that has
all been accomplished according to the Malone
men-al they should have said, except reform of the
railroads; of which in its place
What else was there to do? Nothing but to elect
to tbs bench of the Supreme Court, in the place of
those whose term of Office shortly to expire,
Judges whose opinions would back the constitution
ality of the debt bill, and promote final settle
ment of that matter. That was proper enough But
that was all that Readjuster party could in
fairness require of its members. But promises had
to be kept by rewarding partisans resistance to be
awed by punishment, influence to be increased by
the exhibition of power. What could well accom-
psh all this series of measures of which the
first was to depose
THE JUDGES OF THE CIRCUIT COURTS
and fill their places with Malone men-Read justers
if to be had, but Funders if not provided they
Malone men?
1t was in vain that even the best Readjusters-men
like Sayers, of pointed out that such legisa
tion if strictly unconstitutional yet violated the
spirit of that instrument, and was unnecessary and
vindictive, and would surely provoke retaliation,
thereby making the judiciary the football of polite
rooms of this city infested by scheming lawyers max