Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1883-06-08

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aTAUNTON. VA.
zR7nAY MORNING. JUNE 8. 1883.
ruE TRUE INWARDNESS OF THE
MAHONE FAILURE IN MAY.
II is very likely that when the true in
vardness Of Gen. Mabones failure last
oonth is developed, it will be discovered
hat when the Coalition party abolished the
,apitation tax payment as prerequisite
% voting, they unconsciously pulled out
he lynch.pin of their party. as far as the
.hso]ute command of the colored vote was
concerned. Under the old plan, not only
was it seen to that the c0lored man should
be registered, but be was pursued to
the very ba!lot-box by his tax receipt. The
abolition of the tax has set the colored
voter absolutely free Of such political con.
troll as was formerly exercised. He is no
longer required to observe che time and
place of meeting by the man who holds in
his pocket that which makes or unmakes
him as voter, and in consequence he il
free to be az prompt or as remiss as he
ljkes. ia his attendance as an elector.
That this has made a marked falling off in
the colored vots the retur ms of the county
elections last month makes quite clear. The
vote in the black counties indicates that
the colored man has discovered that it
ID just as profitable for him to stay at
home and earn his wages on election day.
or to vote against the Coalition ticket, as
it is to turn out and support it. At any
rate he now has the option of the matter
which he did not have before. 1t may be
set down, we think, a. a certainty that
Sheriff Lesner, of Norfolk county, could
never have won the sheriffalty of his
county in the face of the opposition OF
Gen. Malone, and President Arthur's
navy yard if the oapitation abolition had
not stood his friend. The county Of
Northampton also presents field for spe-
culation in this respect. 1t is the home OF
the Hon. Peter J. Carter, under whom as
presiding officer, our white Republican
friends 80 submissively sat at the Stanton
State Convention-the last exhibition Of
the Republican tadpole previous to its tran
sition into the Republican Coalition frog.
In that peninsula county. Costin, Demo
crat. was elected Treasurer by nearly three
hundred majority; Jacob, Democrat, was
elected Commissioner of the Revenue by
small majority; GUSTS, Coalition, was
elected Sheriff by only majority of fifty
and for the Commonwealth Attorney
there was no contest. And this in coun-
tY which had not cast Democratic ma
jority since the war, and under the stand
ing appeals of the State Coalition organ
to make party fight for even the place of
"a deputy boot-bIack to the county jail"
The EastvilIe Herald published in North
ampton gives this significant comment on
the result:
"We have always thought that the aboli-
'tion Of the capitation tax would work to
s'the interest of the democratic party. 1t
removes from the colored voters and
''others the obligation of voting the Ma
"hone republican ticket by having their
''taxes paid for them. Many voter IN.
''infiuenced by such means will vote the
democratic ticket. Besides the democrats
''were not as successful in raising cam
s'paign funds as the other side, and of
s'course could not hold out the same in
ssducemants. All this has been abund-
''antly proven by the election in North
hampton on Thursday last"
The Woodstock Virgiasam Coalition
paper, which is generally credited as the
organ of Senator Riddleberger, seems to
recognizes the point at which the fracture
in its party machine occurred on the Oath
Of May, and quite loses its temper in dis
cussing the Democratic victory in the
counties Of the Second Congressional dis
trict and other points where the Coalition
failed. It rejoices in the assertion that
the Coalitionists in the Valley and South
west are s'true to their plighted faith"
while sin the few rotten borough counties
of the Commonwealth, funderism has sneak
ed into success where it has not shameless
ly bought it. The U. S. Senator-elect, if it
is he that is writing, gives this handsome
notice to the late faithful allies' of the
Second District, "Butlafter all. the moral
Of the temporary alliance of funderism
with Dezendorf and his white file-leaders
Of negro Hessidns. il worth whatever of
temporary annoyance it costs faithful re-
adjusters in the few counties captured by
the funder-Dezendorf- alliance"
The italics are ours.
We apprehend that what our Woodstock
friend calls Temporary annoyance" will
turn out to be q chrome disease with the
Coalition party. It will be found much
harder hereafter to muster the faithful
allies now that their masters have let 60
the capitation tax rein. The colored vo-
ter is very apt hereafter to indulge more
freely in two things one IN voting where
his individual interest is promoted by it,
and the other In demanding more "recog-
milton" from those who profess to possess
the leadership and in fact the ownership
OF his vote. We say ownership for leaders
that didn't feel that they osoned the color
ed men would hardly venture to denounce
them as s'negro Hessians" or class the
counties they control as "rotten-
bor0ughs."
Under the Constitution. and according to the prin-
Office 30 iar IS we are informed no one viii deny
the proposition. and We are certain that no one
ise nsss4 s
What do tho Sfaunton VlNpIcAT0R