The Red Cloud chief., 1884-02-01
The Virginia Republicans.

of the party. -Indianapolis Journal.
The Virginia Republicans.
After a defeat which was comprised
by duplicity and force and in the midst
of more desperate obstacles than have
ever before confronted a political party
in this country, the Republicans of Vir.
ginia have proved themselves true te
their principles and loyal to the cause
of human liberty. for if any issue is in
peril in that State it is that of liberty.
The Republican State Committee, de-
serted by its Chairman, who either has
rome over to the enemy or has fallen by
the wayside, has issued a ringing mani.
festo to the party. and made an appea!
to voters to rally once more for thu
struggle of 1884, with an earnestnes:
and enthusiasm of courage which goes
to show that while Bourbon bulldozins
and the shotgun policy may have won
a victory, the ranks of the opposition
are still unbroken and ready for another
trial at the polls.
The address of the State Committee
contains a s~uccinct history of the st-ug-
gle between Bourbonism on the one
hand and Mahoneism on the other; or,
to state it in its true color, between re-
dictionary conservatism relying upOr
force and the progressive, lib~erty-lovine
people. 1t shows how One method
after the other failed. Bribery. cor.
ruption, appeal to race prejudices, pur.
chasing Of votes, ostracism and bull.
doing were tried one after the Other
without effect, and then the Mississippi
shotgun policy was adopted, with
what result is clearly shown in
the address. "A change of nine
| thousand voters would have given US
the State" says the address. "Whe
doubts that these unparalleled Tin Vir.
ginia) tactics swept more than twice
that number off their feet above thu
Blue Ridge alone?" The greatest gains
made by the Bourbons were in the vicin.
ity of Danville. The massacre of ne.
groes had done its work. The shotgun
accomplished its purpose of terrifying
the negroes. In Pittsylvania County
and Danville 2,100 registered cOlOred
| voters did not vote at all. The massa-
ere was also utilized with good effect in
remote parts of the State. ''DOdg-
ers" Swere printed containing milan.
matOry accounts Of q negro uprising at
| Danville and were mailed to various
places in the more inaccessible south
western counties, where they were de-
livered the morning of e~lection-day.
The ignorance and credulity of the
whites in these remote counties are
well-known. The accounts were re
ceived too late to be cOntradicted, and
were implicitly believed and had their
effect. They were made to believe that
there was a negro uprising in a State
which has 206, 900 whites and only 12S,.
OOO.colored men. They know now that
instead of a negro uprising it was a negro
massacre-that no white men were
killed or in danger, that seven colored
men were slaughtered and others were
injured for political reasons The
Bourbons had no other way of maintain
inc their a%scendency except by the shot
gun. They utilized it and carried the
election, and, as they 10Y suppose, they
have made Virginia solid for 1884 and
added her to the Solid South by the
Southern method.
The tactics of Grant Parish, Hamburg
and HaZelhurst have answered one in
Virginia, but it is doubtful whether they
will answer again in a State whose
white population is twice as numerous
as the colored. The shotgun defeated
Malone, but it did not exterminate his
party, nor did it wipe out the Republic
ans. 1t has only reused them to fresh
efforts and confirmed them in the de-
termination to join hands with the Re.
adjusters on their platform of .'NatiOn-
4 lilo ~ IAr l~or<u
manhood and Republican Govern
ment." which are the cardinal points
OF the Republican party. and to make
common cause with the MahOneites
against prescription, and bigotry Of
caste, class, and race prejudice" In
the extreme Southern States where the
cOlored men are the large majority OF
the party it is possible to d~isfranchise
them by fOrce or destroy their majOri-
ties at the polls by fraud and trickery,
but it will not work a second time In .
State where there are large numbers OF
whites arrayed against BOurbonism.
The Danville massacre scheme has been
sufficiently ventilated to be understood,
and the BoIrbons will not dare to at
tempt it a second time. The Republic
an Committee has done well to issue its
appeal thus early in the campaign, and
to send it forth not in an apologize or
complaining manner, but with the ring
of the trumpet in it, summoning the
party once more to the combat and de-
clarng that 1.-THE Bourbons must be
taught that tits full time the shotgun
and pistol should be eliminated from
American politics, and peaceful meth
DDS should alone be resorted to in car
rying elections. Chicago Tribune