Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1883-11-23
THE DAN VILE RIOT.

The Coalition party can learn absolute
ly nothing. During the reign of Gen.
Malone it became so used to hanging on
him for its policy as we'll as its power, that
it shrunk into a dwarfed and dried up
specimen of Bour b0nism. There Is hardly
cast off political garment that it does
not pick up and try on. 1t is now engaged
in trying on that second hand garment,
the bloody shirt, which the Republican
party OF The North dropped for very shame
years ago. Aud even prior to this date
the Republican party at the South had
dropped it, for the reason that it had begun
10 excite the d:cule of the North nd
because Eliza Plnkston had given 1t u
finishing blow. Tue Valley Vtrgs'afan
thinks that !:
Not In all the history of Virginia is there so black
a page as that which marks the Sd Of November
1888 1t tells tale Of atrocious outrage, against
law and order, against the fair name of the Com
monwealth and against humanity.
The Richmond Wing just after the riot
used this language with reference to it
1.-THE excitement in Danville was intense. Tho
town Is quiet now, and people begin to realize what
a serious matter grew out of a trifling personal
quarrel. The ARRAY at Danville had nothing to do
Nth politics."
We agree with both of our cotempora-
ries. The Danville riot Das an outrage
against humanity, and politics had nothing
to do with it. 1t is an outrage for public
speakers who know better to 60 around in
State largely populated by ignorant slaves,
and by heated and incendiary language,
lay the train for deadly race conflicts.
And politics had absolutely nothing to do
With it. 1t was race, not politics, that
brought the Danville fight. 1t was the
fear of the blinded colored man that the
white men intended to abridge his
liberty-a fear with which his mind had
become imbued by insidious and artful
meaDs. His fears, his race feelings, ard
his hopes as well. had been played upon
publicly and secretly. There were no poll
tics worthy Of the name in the campaign
which these heated negroes had gone
through-and If there had been they would
not have understood them. Here is the in
cendiary sort of s'politics" that were adj
dressed to the ignorant negro in the past
campaign by the party which the Wing
and Valley Virqinian led:
''Vote the true Republican Readjuster Coalition
ticket for D M. Norton and R. G. Griffin.
Vote fol your freedom p!
Save your free schools
'Save your free ballot!
"Vete for low tax es!
''Spurn Democratic money, which will be offered
to ensIaUe you and your children, When the
shackIes are once on, you aoiI be lost forever.
1.-The Readjuster PARTY is the poor mans party.
Don't believe Funder lies and listen not to their
promises "
The VINDICATcR believes that it was a
riot as naturally the result of the situation
as any riot could be. For months the con-
duct of the ignorant negroes in Southsi de,
Virginia, elated by the fact that party
of which they formed fonr-6fths had come
into control of the State, had become in :
solerable. Private letters and public state
ments had been written IN reference 10 it..
The situation had become intense. To
bring it to a white heat the Governor of
the State had appointed ignorant negroes
90 the school boards. Long before Dan
vile circular appeared a meeting of white
people in Cumberland county had been
held appealing to the whites in the State
to make an effort at the approaching cleo
zion to change the government of the
State. A touching appeal from the same
race in Mecklenburg was already in circu-
lation. Hoping to ameliorate their own
situation, twenty eight we'll known mer-
chants. mill owners, and mechanics of
Danville-men of all trades and profess
sions. and not professional polit icians,
M ade a statement of their situation to
be used as an appeal to their race in
the State to mike a final effort for this
am-'liofation in the AZ p:os ching election.
To this statement they added the soiem-
,ity OF an oath duly made before a rnagis-
rate. 1t required but little insight INTO
The natures of men for the merest tyro in
government to have seen that affairs there
were in most critical condition and re-
quired the most careful handling. The
incest caution was required to preserve
the peace, the breaking of which meant
bloedshed. Toa man who wanted to bring
on murder the path was plain and easy;
to avoid it needed tina coolest head. Ga
one sid, according to the Worm state
ments of the most respectable and promi
nent men ct the community. stood an in
telllgent race that had suffered much,
whose city had fallen into the hasds of a
malic ious, partiZan and corrupt govern
ment. whose law officers were 80 base tn at
two of them bad been removed for embez-
element; whose trade had been driven in
part to neighboring towns whose magis-
trates were ignorant and part'z,n and last
Of all whose women had been insulted on
the streets. AS they mads aft lavis they
we're despairing psople. A II this they
had suffered without one acL of riot or
bloodshef in reprisal. They we've waiting
fur redress from Il public opinion based on
common humanity. On the other side
we're population Of lately enfranchsed
slaves, ignorant and easily excited. For
wet ks they had been auditors of harangues
flied With sentiments Git for the hot bed
of the commune, uppermost in their
ni:ids was the idea that this passing poit-
ical campaign Wis racs struggle. in
witch, if the black man was vanquished
his liberties would suffer. To them every
white man not on their side was a white
man ready TO deprive them of their free
dom. To their benighJed minds war with
the whites was war for personal freedom.
At such moment of intense strain
there came the man aud the speech to pro-
duce riot and bloodshel A Coalition or
ator, appeared at night, in public place
and harangued them il speech of unex
ceeded violence. He abused without stint