The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1885-10-08


Yet what a spectacle have we here to
day! Fitz, the nephew of his uncle F'itz
one of two dozen nephews Of equal intel
lect and equal merit, churnipg up enthu-
siasm by waddling his fat body in his I'm
Gle Bob's saddle and heading professions
of men, some of whom are colored Re
publieans. hired at fifty cents and horse
furnished
have little to tell you of the speech he
makes. am told that the speech is nc
legitimate part of the entertainment. 1t
is an ''extra, = supplied as an incident to
the great show. Thespeech is to the page
ant, ? the 'cayalcade, " the enthusiasm, 2
what the song book is to the circus. It
comes from the bounty Of the management,
and is thrown in without extra charge. l
hear that it abounds in poetry, poetry
which may be from Byron, or Tom Moore,
or Ayers almanac.
AS my distinguished competitor has
launched into poetry may be pardoned 1
hope, for quoting from celebrated author
as apropos, a few lines somewhat descrip-
tive Of Fitzhugh Smith, have taken the
liberty of adding to them single line Of
my own
Rev. Gabe Tuck er's Remarks.
FOR FITzHUGH SMITH.
You may notch it on de palms as a mighty
risky plan
To make your Judgment by de name dat kivers
up man;
For hardly needs to tell you how you often
come across
A fifty-dollar saddle on twenty-dollar boss.
An workin' in dc low-grounds, you diskiver as
you go
Dat de fines shuek may hide de 1neanes' nub-
bin in de row.
nebberjudge q people dat meets along de
way,
BY de places whar de come from, and de houses
whar de stay;
For de bantam chichens awful fond of roosting
very high,
An de turkey buzzard sails above de eagle in
de sky
Dey ketches little minnows in de middle of de
sea,
An you find de smallest possum up de biggest
kind of tree
Which the initials of his name may be little
Gent Fltzhugh Lee.
Fellow citizens, [ trust that in the fore
going bit of satire 1 have not transcribed
the legitimate bounds of ridicule. Ger
tainly 1 have no such purpose and no in
tention to insult or make a personal issue
with General Lee. You will bear in mind
that he has chosen in this campaign to
ask whether was a fit person to be Gov
ernor, and illustrate his criticisms by an
anecdote which has been proved as utterly
false, in which he dragged in the name of
my dead father in a way that was, to saEI
the least, indicate and shocking to my
sensibilities. He cannot complain, there
fore, if ridicule him. OF his personal
character as a gentleman. I have no criti-
cism to make-nor would I behind his
back. But Of his vanity. of his self
of his ridiculous and childish
display, of his utter lack of intellect and
information fitting him for the Office Of
Governor, of tf9absurd way in which by
tin-horns, feathers and appeals to prejudice
he seeks to avoid the real issues Of the can
vass, Of his inability to meet his opponent
in fair and free and manly and friendly
discussion of the great and throbbing
political issues Of the day, l have a right
to speak, and l will. l intend on every
stump to hold them up to the ridicule and
contempt of the thinking people of this
Commonwealth until show him to be as
compared with his great uncle what Louis
Napoleon was to Napoleon the Great, I'M
fit to fill the least of his high stations.
unfit to be trusted with any Of his respon-
sibilities, and nothing more and nothing
less than ssthe nephew Of his uncle.
If he is more than this, let him drop the
tomfoolery of his gauge and tinsel pa
geants. Let him stop blowing his tin
horns! Let him show that he has an IN
tellect as well as o uniform and meet me
in courteous debate where the people who
are yearning for joint discussions may
hear both sides of the political issues of
the day!
] charge that the present canvass, as
now conducted, is doing this State great
and irreparable damage. l charge that
the democratic leaders, instead Of seeking
to enlighten the people by joint discus
sions. are studiously endeavoring to keep
their people from hearing our side of the
question. l charge that their only hope
of retaining supremacy in Virginia is by
suppressing the discussion of the real
political issues and feeding and inhaming
their followers by partizan falsehoods and
bitterness not only against our leading
measures, but our men.
/ see it stated that General Lee does not
deal in harsh terms and abuse in his
speeches. | do not know how this may be,
as he has never permitted me the
honor of hearing him; but be that as it
may, no man is honest who denies that
the canvass, now conducted by the Dem
ocrats and led by Lee, is canvass Of bit
terness, malice, abuse, and bloodthirstf-
ness against every man inVirginia who is
a Republican.
There is not a prominent Republican in
Virginia whose honesty Observation-Disclosures
whose courage, whose private life, whose
domestic circle, is not invaded and assaled
in this canvass both by the Bourbon press
and by Bourbon Speakers. There is not
not a Republican in Virginia whose social
life and business status is not affected by
his politics injuriously as far as Bourbon
ism can affect it. There is not an active
Republican in Virginia, whatever may
have been his past record or his present
character, however long he and his people
may have been identified with Virginia
interests, who would not be driven with
bowls and jeers and dissertation from the
State forever if it were in the power Of
the Bourbon leaders to do so. ! say this
solemnly and thoughtfully, and I say it
with sense of responsibility, both to my
God and to my fellow-c citizens. say it
mournfully because 1 know what blight
and curse to my beloved State is the pres
ence of such a spirit. | do not believe
that spirit exists in the masses of the