The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1882-07-23
work-Not Words.

The thing that has been Is the thing
that shall be, and there Is no new thing
undcr the SUM-" says the Wise Man. Th's
Is as true Of the movements OF parties as OF
ANYTHING else. The thing that has been IN
New York and Ohio and Pennsylvania,
and other States for years, is the thing that
shall be In Virginia. The causes which LED
n the abandonment OF the old stump-speak-
inc and Journalistic contests for supremacy,
and the substitution OF earnest, constant,
nersistent work amongst the voters by men
who were neither speakers nor writers VIII
operate also in this State hereafter. The
circumstances demanding the substitution
of the latter for the former mode OF con-
Quoting party campaigns baye existed in
Virginia for several years; but uniortu-
nately the Democrats have not been warned
nv those circumstances to follow In the
pathway so plainly pointed out to them.
We have used oratory where personal So
Icitation was needed, and editorials where
friendly conversations were demanded.
In the very nature Of things, the workers
must influence more voters than the orators
and writers. There are in every CON-
munity voters enough to hold the balance
OF power who are influenced at the last
moment not by speakers or writers but by
the workers. The workers are ana ought
10 be good takers; but not necessarily
good speakers. A club OF such
workers can secure more voters than
can dozen OF the most eloquent
orators in the Commonwealth. Our
northern brethren learned all this long
ago. Surely it is time we were learning it.
Were ever so many speeches, or so good,
heard in Virginia as in 1879? And yet
what was the result: As we heard
shrewd Democratic worker say the other
day, In talking OF what he had seen done
in one instance, so we may say OF many an
eloquent speech Of that year, that after al
the speaking had been finished the Read-
justers banded themselves together and
went 10 work and rubbed out all OF its
tracks.
How many negroes are there in Virginia
who can he reached by argument? Why,
il is foolish waste OF time to make
speeches to them. They are not open to
such influences. They are joined to their
idols, and might as well as not be let alone.
We doubt il fifty out of the five thousand
negro voters in this city ever at any one
election voted the Democratic ticket. Five
thousand white men voted here for DANIEL
last fall. Some three thousand negroes
voted for CAMERON. How many OF either
side were Influenced by speeches?
Why have speeches at all, then! And
why do our northern brethren still have
good many of them? Merely to crafty
the voters, and TO stir them up. General
PRICE said during the recent war between
the States that he used few cannon in
every battle Just to encourage the boys by
their noise, but that they never hurt any
body. Speakers serve the same good pur-
pose. They encourage the boys; and far
speaking ought to be counted a good thing.
not to say an indispensable one. Certainly
in Virginia the voters will not yet be salts
fed without speeches. twill require seve-
raj years more to educate them up to that
point. But we must have the work also.
We make these remarks as comments
upon the communication of "Monroe,"
which appears in another column OF to-
days Dispatch.