Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-07-17
FRIDAY..................JULY H. 1883
The Malone Platform.

The platform adopted oy tue hep"o-
lican State Convention OF We'd esday Is
one Of the most singular documents
ever presented for the approval Of the
public. II was drafted in some OF Its
parts 50 as to cast doubts over the
minds of the northern Republicans IS to
the designs OF the MALONE Republic
cans. in others entirely for home con-
sumption.
II would seem TO be q waste OF time
and labor TO criticise platform made
for party two thirds Of whose mem
hers would vote the Republican ticket
next fall If their platform declared
against instead Of for local OPP
ton, q protective tariff. the BLAIR
bill. &C., &C., &c. What do the
negro voters. who constitute so large
proportion Of the Republican party Of
Virginia. care whether their platform
declares for or against the payment Of
the State debts? How many negroes
would have quit that party and voted
with the Democrats if it had declared
against local option or protective
tariff. or in favor OF receiving coupons
for taxes and Of paying the bonds Of
1871 and those Of 1879! We
call attention to this remarkable con-
dition Of things to enable our readers
abroad to understand how strange n
battle we shall have to fight in Viz
ginia next fall.
The platform goes to such lengths
that it must necessarily defeat its own
objects. 1t would be ludicrous, il il
were not too serious matter, for the
men who were assembledin the Theatre
on Wednesday to charge the men who
constitute the Democratic party Of Viz
ginia with being regulators, ballot
box suffers, and assassins For
nothing is more certain than that IL in
this State one party can be declared
superior to another, that superior
party is the Democratic party. No
body in the MALONE Convention
would, we suppose, question the
statement that two thirds Of the
white voters OF this State are Demo-
Gratis. And as the whites constitute
the law-abiding, tax-paying, school
supporting, Misunderstanding element
Of the population, it follows that these
outrageous charges are made against
what the Mahoneites are so fond Of
ridiculing as /" the best people"
The Mahoneites declare for biennial
elections They would have congress
men and State officers elected at The
same time, so that such Republican
Judges az HUoHEs or BOND may be
enabled to appoint supervisors to over
see the election of officers Of this Com.
monwealth. The Democrats, they
ought to recollect, will hereafter sp'
point the deputy marshals. We are
not authorized to commit tho Demo.
cratic party on this or any other cues.
ton Of policy; but we think that party
will show that they understand whaI
the Mahoneites mean by demanding
biennial elections.
The. Mahoneites charge the Demo
Gratis with having had "various former
aliases.'' This comes with gooC
grace from the man who in March, 1881
declared himself to be q better Demo
crat than BEN. HILL from the ma,
whose chief organ was in 1873 thu
organ Of the Greenbackers; from tn,
man who claimed in 1880 that his fac
ton was the only genuine HANcocf
party, and predicted about week be
fore the election that the AAHoSl
ticket for HANCOCK would carry Wiz
ginia by u plurality Of $4,000 iron
the man who made WILLIAM LAM
the chairman Of his convention in 1885
though his followers treated the sam
LAMB shamsfully few years ago q
the temporary chairman Of the Demo
cratic State Convention.
The platform charges the Democrat
party with having passed the fundiu
bill Of 1871 by bribery and corruption
II was the Republicans, then, that wsr
"bribed and corrupted for the join
vote on the passage Of the bill was a
fellows:
Republicans for the
Democrats toT Abe bill .
Republicans against the bill
Democrats against the blli........-....-..~....s
We have 50 often printed the vote
the United States Senate on the BLAi
bill that our readers know how muc
truth there is in the charge that h
Democrats in the House Of Represent,
tives defeated that bill.
The Democrats are charged wit
having endeayored TO restore 18th
freehold qualification Northern Dec