Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-04-02

Arthur converted the whole State OF
virginia into one grand iicf, and IS
signed ID to Malone - lord thereof Or
boss Of al the people therein.
OF coufke, thetitlc to all the Offices
within the fief emanated from the king,
Arthur himself; but none Of them, not
even the pettiest postmaster, could hold
Office except Immediately Of Malone.
Under this system the olIice-holders
were the yassaIs Of Malone, and the
uon-ofBce-hoIding whites and the negroes
were his slaves.
There was to be no divided ale
giance-aii had to swear feslty and do
homage to Malone, and through him
to Arthur the king, whose vassai Ma
hone was.
No man in Virginia could say, ~
owe my elevation to office, or my pre-
fermenl in any way. to my party for
services rendered. or for my quali6ca-
tions. nor to Riddlebergcr, our other
senator, so called, nor johnny Wise,
Mayo, Cooper, or any other congress-
man, nor TO the State Committee. nor
to the influence Of the petition Of my
neigbbors and fellow-citizens in my be-
half. but | owe all to the power and
influence of Malone /; and as long as |
can retain his goodwill can hold my
place in defiance Of all the peo-
pie, not only Of my own party,
but in the face of the adverse
opinion of all parties and peoples"
Under this odious and tyrannical feudal
system the right Of the citizen topeti-
ton the President or the heads Of de-
partmcnts was denied, or if the petition
was received, it was only examined far
enough to ascertain whether it was en-
dorsed " Approved, William Malone"
If this approval of the lord of the fief.
or boss of the State. was wanting. the
petition went into the waste-basket or
pigeon-hole unread, no matter if it were
signed by every officer and member Of
the party in the State. Once installed
in Office under this beautiful system, to
hold it the vassal was compelled to at
tend the lord of the fief in all his wars,
fight his battles. contribute of his hard
earned salary, surrender his manhood,
and his freedom Of thought and OF ac-
ton.
Such was the Malone 8" one
man-power in Virginia. "Will any
class of citizens be willing to continue
it?" Certainly not. Has not the press
Of Virginia educated the people to de-
spise the system and its authors? Are
not the better class of Republicans all
over the State in revolt against the sys-
TEN and the tyrant who devised it for
their subjugation and ruinS
Is there any man in the State except
the tyrant himself, or one of his vassals,
who will say that every man who com
plains of this abominable system is a
- sorehead "?
What Of the proposed modification Of
this Arthur Malone plan, which, it is
said, some Democrats are asking Mr..
Cleveland to adopt for the distribution
of the Offices in the State? Ii is to
divide the State into ten fiefs, and to
appoint over each lord, or boss, who
shall have absolute control Of all the
offices in their respective fiefs. The
Offices extending over more than one
fief shall be filled by the ten bosses in
caucus convened. In the event Of
vacancy in the bossship Of any iief the
bosses Of the other fiefs shall have the
exclusive right to fill the Offices until
a boss of the fief is elected and quail
fed.
BY the modified plan the "one-man
power for the State is abolished, and
the ten-man power " is established in
its stead. Still the main features of the
one-boss plan are retained. Each dis
trict is to have its boss. and no man in
that district can get Office or have his
petition heard at Washington unless
he is recommended or endorsed by the
boss Of his district, and that he will
never get unless he swears fealty to
the boss, and binds himself to do
knights service" for all time, or I'M
less he be pet or Of kith and kin to
the boss.
Under the proposed modification we
are to have ten bosses without head
instead Of the one boss with a head.
Each petty boss will look after his own
interest and favorites in his own iief;
but who will take care Of the affairs Of
the party in the State:
Malone was State Committee aud
Executive Committee Of his party, but
the ten bosses of fieis will be mighter
in their party; and still by the powers
proposed to be conferred on them. or
arrogated to themselves, the State and
Executive Committees of the Democratic
party will be reduced to insigniiicance
and rendered powerless to save the
party from harm-perhaps destruc-
tior-by the injudicious distribution OF
the patronage by the plan proposed.
No disrespect is meant to our mem
bttS VI Nou,icoos iutJ htsnt W
exercise the usurped powers exercised
by Malone. They have equal rights
and an equal voice with all other Demo-
Gratis in the distribution Of office; but
to say that no man can or will get Office
at the hands Of this Democratic Admin
istration without any endorsement
would Malone Malone. and be sim
ply usurpaton, tyranny, and oppres-
sion.
To say that all who complain Of Ma
honeism and its proposed modification
are soreheads, begs the question and is
absurd and ridiculous. No one will
make such reckless assertion except
the tyrant who exercises, or wishes to
exercise. the power, or his vassals and
slaves.
The writer is not and will not be an
applicant for any Federal office, but
This is not said by way Of apology.
ALLoD.
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