The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1883-08-23

Isty IHeSc llldtleIS before the people lOl
their consideration, and especially to tel
Of the means and men used for their over
throw.
When began this letter ! had no IDEA
that / would spin it out to such great
length, but even now | can recall several
other questions which deserve more than
mention. These, however, must pass by.
From the proceedings Of the Lynehburg
Convention we may learn what is to be
opposed to these practical measures of
REIMBURSEMENT. AS will be seen the
resolutions which they convened to pass
make no allusion to any of them but the
debt They dare not contest them. Hence
they discard everything of any practical
Importance and throw to the surface the
same old party platitudes They renew
their declaration against an increase of
taxation as q way OF appearing to approve
the Readiuster decrease without employing
language offensive to the syndicate bosses
whom they brought into our midst and
fostered among us to the very verge Of
destruction for all our material interests,
including that of public education. From
this they take bold leap into Federal
politics, Notwithstanding there is no
Federal officer or question to be voted on
this fall by the people or by the Legislature
which they shall choose.
But in all this they simply copy after
the Readjusters, who have declared long
since for customs over internal revenue
taxation, and whose representatives in
Congress have so voted for two years
While Bourbonism was speaking and writ
ing in bitter denunciatiOn. The Readjuster
having reduced the expenses OF the State
government upwards OF two hundred
thousand dollars and put a surplus i'll the
fy>. 4l..,i x,t .,,f 20,
BourboniSm endeavorS to bridge over this
consideration by a huge and crushing de-
mand for economy in the Federal admin
istration.
They also come forward with an e;c post
facto demand for ''civil service reform
which will make merit the test of official
fitness.N The Federal Government has
this. and the ''commissi0n0 is at work.
Perhaps it is meant by this to endorse the
ReadjuSter civil service rules which
required heads of departments to appoint
snbordinates ratably from the Congression-
al districts on the recommendation of the
peoples representatives. The ''ciyil SER
vice rules" of Congress provide that APP
pointments shall be apportioned among
the States and made from the persons re-
commended by q commission" Only Il
year ago these same gentlemen were rep
Rotating such a plan as depriving the re-
sponsible head of Il department OF the dis
erection and control necessary to II proper
execution of the functions OF his Office,
and argued further that the effect of such
q system would be to put ''niggerS" in Of
flee, and retailing throughout this section
the concocted falsehood about the removal
of the female clerk in the Auditors office.
In this we may note a still further incon-
sistency. BY the 'scivil service rules
Virginia will get her fair proportion of
Federal oilice-holders. When vacancy
from Virginia (who is still far short of her
quota) we hear a howl go up from Bour-
bonism that this is but cumulative evil
dence of the corrupt bargain between the
Readjusters and the Republicans at Wash
ington. 1t seems, therefore, impossible
for the ReadjuSterS to please the BOurbOnS,
even though we lead them by q year OF
two in promulgating approved principles
and rigidly pursuing them.
OF course they are opposed to mixed''
Schools" but will give colored trustees
and colored teachers to colored schools.
This is all the colored people have asked
OF the ReadjusterS. First they wantedthe
schools which the Bourbons had well nigh
destroyed, and these we gave them in fair
proportion to those of the white people.
But when Governor Cameron appointed
two colored trustees i'll u city where there
are fifty-tWo colOred schools we were quick
ly told that the campaign OF this fall would
be made on that issue. 1t required but
one blast from boss bugle-horn in New
Y ork to rout and demoraliZe the Bourbon
hosts and coerce them into this quasi en-
dorsement of a Readjuster administration
that does what it conceives right without
regard to the wishes or behests OF outside
organizations and their organs.
In all respects this is the most remark
able plank in the platform. 1t is ingeniously
drawn, but cannot conceal the real animus
of it's progenitors. The call OF the eXecu-
tive committee for the convention was an
invocation in terms to the white people to
assemble and make the race issue. The
call was made before the spring elections.
In the white counties it failed OF its pur-
pose. If it had been otherwise we know
what action the Lynchburg Convention
would have taken. Contrary to their eX-
pectation, they elected some of their ''old
oilicers'' in half-doZen counties where
the colored vote preponderates, while they
could not truthfully lay claim to success
in one white Readjuster county. This
called the halt which the New y crk ram s
horn blew into a stampede. Then ensued
a change OF programme. The chairman
who issued the color-line call had to vacate,
and this resolution was made to supple
ment the barbecue tactics. Why. to make
the work more nearly complete, we do not
have mention of the removal of tile tax
qualification for suffrage, is somewhat Pc
culiar. There would have been no more
qualification in this than in the other.
unless the proposition of the reputed au-
thor of the platform. made in the Senate,
to increase the DISTINGUISHING force of the