Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-11-19
MAHONE'S USELESS IRE.
HE ISSUES A VINDICTIVE EX-
PLANATORY SCKEED.

! Aggression-Pavingt the Way for BayO-
net Rule.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 1s.-The following
are extracts from the address of Senator
| Malone:
TO the Reodjaster Party Of Ftrg,nia
When a dominant party, organized
around great and enduring prin.
ciples and composed of de.
cided majority of voters in State, is
suddenly overwhelmed and made to ap-
! pear a minority, it is of the highest con-
| sequence that every member of the party
should inform himself whether that result
| has been brought about by free and
honest expression OF the popular will.
THE RECENT ELECTION.
| II our public servants have been honest
and faithful, as the record shows they
| have been, then a large portion of our
| people have either abandoned their prin-
| ciples and willingly voted all these good
works into the hands of those who would
| fain destroy them, or else the recent cleo
| tiOn is not fair and unrestrained express
| sion of the popular will. That the latter
| is the true explanation of the result will
not be doubted by the candid people of
the country when they are brought face
| to face with some of the means employed
! by the bourbon faction.
| 1t is not pleasant to hold up crime and
| lawlessness to the worlds gaze, but when
| the fruits of these are made to seem the
| honest will and opinion ofOur people, it is
| a patriotic duty to let the truth be known,
! Virginia, so long exempt from the
| bloodshed and violence which has left
such foul traces upon the political records
| of some of her sisters, has, under bourbon
instigatiOn, been dragged, even at this late
WI a Nxrhn ,f,axv f,,,.
peace, into scenes and methods no whit
less bloody nor less brutal than those
which flOurished in the palmiest days of
ku kluX and white leagues.
THE COLOR LINE.
When the bourbon faction assembled in
Lynchburg in July last to formulate a
platform, a large element of it's member
ship avowedly and openly favored the
adoption of the ''cOlOf line" Bourbon
journals proclaimed that the true issue of
the canvass was the race issue, and that
the contest should be forced into a strug-
gle between the whites and the blacks.
That such plank would be incorporated
into the platform adopted seemed highly
probable until the final action taken de-
YelOped the fact that, for reasons best
known to themselves. the bOurbons had de-
termined not to make written prOclama-
tiOn of their purpose to draw the color line.
pretend that this failure to draw the color
line in the platform sprung from lack of
purpose so to do, but it was admitted on
all hands that it had not been formally
adopted from motives of policy. The tenn
pOrary Chairman of the convention ad-
dressed himself to ''the lch1te people of
| Virginia." leading bourbon organs recon-
mended the platform adopted, as ga 1chjte
| mans PLATFORM" and while bourbon CO.
tpls s,rfn 1.
| Republicans, were sent into the black
districts to disaffect cOlOred voters, the
whole burden of the bourbon leaders in
the white districts was to excite the race
prejudices and passions Of the whites
against the blacks.
The debt question was not the issue on
which bourbonism hoped to win, for their
attitude toward it was one Of abject
abandonment of all pretense of principle
and acceptance OF every measure they had
| Denounced.
Their attitude upon the questions of suf-
irage, education, economy, and taxation
| was equally abject and cringing. They
| therefore sought to find other issues upon
which they might appeal to the voters of
| Virginia.
| In their written platform they sought to
sound keynote against Republicanism,
| but their own support of Heretofore pro-
| clamor and paralyZed the power of this
| appeal. On the tariff they assumed po-
sitiOn so incomprehensible that the people
| recognized them as impostOrs. On the
subject of repeal of the internal revenue
| system, which they sought to make an
| issue, they found no opposition. In the
weak and gabbling clam0r Of opposition
| to bossism, they found it impossible to
| produce facts or sustain public interest.
N q q Of Off Of
and commission against our party, with
which they adorned their platform, it was
| found, as soon as our canvassers met
| them, that there was not a good count i'll
the indictment.
And so, the bourbon faction, finding
naught i'll their platform, naught in the
| record of the Readjusters wherewith to
break the solid front of our party, delibe-
rately abandoned all other issues and
threw the whole power of its speakers, it's
press, and its organization into the race
cry with the energy of despair.
AS late as July 26, when their conven-
tion adjourned, in the faith that other
issues might prove available, the race
issue had not only not been made prOmi-
nent by the bOurbons, but had been
ignored. So long as it was not agitated,
| and, indeed, up to the last week of the
| canvass, when murder became rampant,
from every section brought confident
assurances of victory.
BOURBON DESPERATION AP FEAR OF
DEFEAT.
But as the election drew near the bour-
bon faction, realizing that on every other
issue 1t was hopelessly defeated, in
furiated by knowledge of impending
disaster, seized upon the race issue.
chanted, chOrused and intoned it, until,
wrought up to fever heat, it became their
sole, only and absorbing theme-screamed
in threatening frenzy. fierce and bewild-
ering as the dance and song of the Car
magnOle in the days of the Sans Culotte.
AS early as September a leading bour-
bon editor announced to a member of our
party in public place that the bourbon
plan of campaign was s'tO buV all they
could and bully the remainder How
faithfully this programme was carried
out the sequel Will show. What was at
the time regarded as a sententious piece
OF badinage has now been realized as the
dim foreshadowing of a bloody truth,
WARLIKE PREPARATIONS FOR AN ELEC-
TION,
AS the excitement thus begotten be-
came more Intense--as the huving of
blacks became more and more apparently
impracticable-the viOlent-pOlicy became
the more necessary to intimidate blacks
and infiame whites. Arms began to pour
into the sOuthside regions, the supply of
small arms in our larger cities was
exhausted, and the demand extended as
far as Baltimore, until one Democratic
headquarters within 20 miles of Richmond
had 40 stand of muskets, and the Danville
region was a walking arsenal. The cry
that ''White men should rule or diev the
announcement that a war of races was
upon us, swelled in volume and ferocity
Threats of the lives of our leaders became
more common than any other argument.
THE DANVILLE MASSACRE.
Murder in cold blood began in Madison
county. Days before it was repeated in
DanYille rumors of the shipment of arms
filed the air, and during the fair week at
RichmODd-long before any outbreak oc-
curred-the knowing ones were heard to
whisper and mysteriously predict what
might be expected at the proper time.
In due time it came. With what pre-
meditation and design it came, let any
impartial man who read the bourbon
press and heard the preparations made
for it judge for himself. Who provoked
it? Who perpetrated it? Let the bour-
bon journals themselves testify. With
what purpose it was perpetrated let the
thousands Of false circulars turning it to
political account, spread broadcast by
the bourbons almost before it occurred.
and the effect they produced, speak as no
argument can.
The massacre in Danville is dignifed by
bOurbOnism with the name of riot The
facts, as gathered from all sources. are
that upon Saturday evening preceding the
election, just after the Danville negroes
had received their weekly pay and were