National Republican., 1883-10-09
Garfield on Virginia Politics.

We do not know that it is Of any conse.
quence at this late day whether President
Garfield was favorable OF unfavorable to tho
coalition between tho Virginia read ustcrs
and the republicans. No cause is either right
or wrong because any given man, living or
dead, espoused or opposed it, But President
Garfield, during all of his brief administra-
ton, was the open and avowed friend and
advocate of the Virginia coalition and was
well understood SO to be by all of his
cabinet and by all of tho republican
senators. He counselod as to the
manner in which the coalition should he
made, and his counsels were followed. As
carly as two days after his election as prosi-
dent he sent word to Gen Malone that he
was innocent of an, unfriendly remark at.
tributcd to him in newspaper. In December
following his election tho views of Gen.
Malone were presented to him in the form
in which they wero published; and to the
gentlemen who went to Mentor for this pur-
pose he said that the "Mahone interview"
was, taking the facts therein stated
as true, which ho did not doubt
"an honest document" lie furthermore
expressed his desire to have the support of
Gen. Malone, and declared it to be his pur-
pose to counsel with him as to Virginia af-
fairs, and to treat him at all times exactly as
he would any other administration senator
These things wero said to Senator j. ID.
Cameron, Charles L. Smith, and Frank A.
Burr, of the Philadelphia Press, and one other
person. To ex-senator John f. Lewis, of
| Virginia. who also visited him at Mentor, he
advised coalition between the Virginia re.
publicans and the readjustors. To all who
asked his opinion or advice he said the
same When the state republican convention
of that year indorsed tho readjusters he ex-
pressed his warm approval, and his special
newspaper organs, with the Now York Tribune
and the Boston Adrertiser in the lead became
Jealous champions of the Mahone ticket.
| The Alexandria (Va) Gazette ofF'ob. 8. 1881,
reported ex-senator John T. Lewis as having
just returned from visit to Mentor and as
saying that: "He (Gen. Garfield) seemed
perfectly familiar with Virginia affairs, and
the real gist of the interview was his approval
of n coalition of the republican party in Vir-
ginia. with the Mahoncites"
Washington letter to the Cincinnati Ga
=ctte of June 6, 1881, said:
1t can he stated with posiivenesS that the presi-
! dent is earnestly in favor of the success of the
| Malone movement in Virginia.
The Washington correspondent of tho Phia-
delphia Press of June s, 1881, said:
| Yesterday we learned from an entirely authcn-
| tic source that very prominent republican of
Virginia called on the President to learn his views,
| intending to be guided by his advice. He was
| told by the President that he should give the re-
adjuster ticket, nominated on the third instant,
his unqualified support, and that he advised
against any republican nomination.
| We could fill page of THE REPUBLICAN
with Malone editorials taken from the Gar
field republican papers of 1884, and runni ng
through them was the idea expressed in the
above extracts, that President Garfield was
heartily in accord with the cause led by Gen.
Malone. How any real friend of the dead
president can now engage in an effort to show
that in all this he was insincere, and that he
was secretly opposing what he was openly
advocating, is one of those mysteries which
we cannot undertake to explain.