The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1886-06-10
The Recent Elections.

The methods adopted in the recent mu-
nicipal elections in Norfolk and Peters
burg. by " hich to defeat the will Of the
people, ought to arrest the attention of all
rejecting men, considerable for the good
name of the State. It is stated upon re-
liable authority that in each of these cities
judges were appointed by the Electoral
Boards for the express purpose of prosti-
tutingssthe ballot box to corrupt partizan
ends, and to effect this men were appoint
ed totally unsuited for such responsible po-
sitions. In Norfolk twenty Democratic
Judges. generally of the most offensive
class, and one Republican Judge, we're
chosen to conduct the election. BY the
agencies they employed to suppress the
vote Of Republicans, a Democatic major
ity was counted Of LOO, when on fair
vote and honest count that city is Repub-
lican by at least 1000 majority. In Pc
tersburg the most disgraceful and out
rageous conduct was observable in several
of the judges. and in almost every ward
the evidence is so strong OF corruption
that the result in several of tie wards IS
to be tested in the courts. AT one OF the
precincts, the 9th, one of the judges was
guilty of the most tlasphemous utterances
and several of the strikers for that party
attempted in various ways to.incite dis
turbance so that preteXt might be fur
nished for not counting the ballots, mas
much as large majority of them were
known to be for the Republican ticket.
Through the integrity and courage OF the
Democratic Circuit Judge this outrage
was prevented, and the ballots ordered to
be counted. This gave the Republicans
the control of the city but it does not re-
lieve the Democratic Legislature of the
odium of having passed the Mccormick
| Anderson bill, nor the Electoral Board OF
that city Of the appointment of officers to
l conduct the election, who used their posi-
l ton to secure a result other than that
| which an honest vote and count would
| have assured.
1 1t will, indeed, not be denied by any one
familiar with the facts. that the election
I in Norfolk was the result of a conspiracy
1 against the law as well as the people. nor
4 that the result in Petersburg was designed
/ to be of the same nature. Nothing but
/ an upright judge could have arrested the
I plot to steal the government of that city
\ nor could different result in Norfolk
| have been expected, considering the man
ner of appointment and the action of the
| Bourbon judges of election.
l This prostitution of the election ma
chinery to such base ends ought to arouse
1 the more considerable people all over the
State. and receive from them strong con
| domination. To corrupt the ballot is dan
I gerous blow at our free institutions, ant
it ought to be the business and considered
| the duty of every citizen to froWn doWr
all such attempts. If this is not done
we can see that nothing surer than disas
| ter will come upon Virginia. 1t is ques
ton that ought to engage the serious at
tention of every citizen and invite his ai(
to the correction of such grievous wrongs
Keep the Rascals in.
There has been a change of the Demo
I cratic shibboleth since the Presiden
| tial campaign. In the absence Of an.
| other issue Democratic orators and organs
raised the cry of turn the rascals out,
| and boosted about the frauds they wOul(
| unearth were the opportunity granted
Well the opportunity was given them
and although they failed to find any ras
| cality, still they proceeded to GUST homes
office holders and install their own pets il
the positions vacated. One of the frs
] of the official fayors bestowed was upon i
F. Warder. of Jeffersonville, Ind, who was
I made assistant door keeper of the House
in the early stages of the reform move
4 ment. Warder's native town was visited
by a flood and much valuable propert,
| destroyed. Application for aid was made
I to Congress, and it is charged that purse
of 81, $50 was gotten up by the citizens O.
Jacksonville and paid to Warder to lobb.
for the measure. Together with Warde
| the private secretary of Speaker Carlisle
/ was also implicated. The charges wer,
made with much minuteness and specili
cations fled. Congress was at length
forced to order an examination into thu
matter. The investigation must have
1 been very exhaustive for two months
elapsed between the appointment of the
committee and the committees report.
The report did get in, however. 1t wa!
presented on Friday. Mr.. Carlisle's sec
rotary was exonerated, but Mr.. Wardel
was adjudged guilty. When the report
fcame before the House long debate
ensued. Messrs. Cox, Blanchard. Finley
land others of the committee, strongly
urged the dismissal of the offender. Mr.
| Oates offered a substitute for the COM
mittee' S resolution, in which the guilt Of
| Warder was practically admitted, and The
| severest condemnation of the House in
fvoked but the substitute concluded by
asking that the culprit be retained in the
position Of assistant doorkeeper. The
Redistribution was strongly advocated by 9
number of the prominent s'reformers, ,
among them Jno. w. Daniel, and pre-.
vailed.
And thus another chapter was added to
the reform record, and still the good
work goes on.
| 1t seems from recent developments that
the outrage perpetrated upon the Chinese
| in Washington Territory by unnaturaliZed
! foreigners has a wider significance than