The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1886-09-09
THE CAMPAIGN OPENED.


THE CROWD LARGELY REPUBLICAN
- ENTHUSIASM FOR THE REPUBLICAN
CANDIDATE - SIGNS OF VICTORY IN
THE AIR - "A FAIR REPORT
LEX NOTION, VA, Sept. 6, 1856.
The first joint discussion between tile
candidates Of the Republican and demo
cratic parties for Congress from the 10th
District of Va, occurred in Lexington on
Monday last that being court day for
Rockbridge county. A large crowd of cit
liens of all classes were in attendance and
at no time were there less than $50 people
in front of the speakers, By the terms OF
the discussion Y ost opened in one hour !;
Bumgardner followed in one hour and a
quarter ! ost rejOined in one-half hour,
and Bumgardner closed in one quarter
hour.
Yost in opening the discussion said that
again he came as the nominee of his party
after two years frought with great events
to the people. go back with me,n said
he, two years and see whether vas right
or whether the position of my competitor
was right, and whether my successful
competitor has fulfilled his promises. :"
Continuing, he said that Tucker had pre-
dicted an era of prosperity unheard of be-
fore. When Doctor Cleveland, with his
scaIpel, became President, he would cut
off the corruption of Republication from
the body polite yes. he had cut off Re-
publican warts but had substituted in their
stead democratic cancers. Have you, me-
chanics, gotten better wages ? Have you,
farmers, gotten better prices for your pro
duce Have your schools improved ? Is
there father who can look his child,
husband his wife. neighbor his neighbor,
in the face and say he can any longer fol
low after the false gods of Democracy?
Under the cry of turn the rascals out. y
Democracy promised to expose Republican
venality and corruption clean books and
clean hands were shown by the Republi-
cans in reply. 1t promised to abolish the
sInternal Revenue but instead has es-
tablished an Eternal Revenue as a
refuge for the broken down Of the party
It promised to reduce the surplus in the
us Treasury but instead of reducing
the eight million dollars Republican sur
plus found by it. it has increased that sur
plus to seventy-fv million dollars.
Everybody feels and knows that he is in
worse condition than ever before. Labor
and capital are the great bulwarks of
society, each necessary to the existence of
the other as you depress one, just in the
same ratio you depress the other suppress
capital and labor is affected. On Jan. l.,
more than eUer before. was reported by the
New York Banks,and in the same ratio by
other money centres. Capitalists saw
that the Democratic party had elected
Carlisle ian avowed free trader) as speaker
of the House of Representatives that
Morrison (another ayowed free -trader) was
placed at the head of the most important
committee of the House that the Demo
Gratis wanted to take off the duty on iron
ore, coal, wool and other raw material !;
causing capitalists to become frightened
and draw in their money from circulation.
When the Morrison bill was first intro
duced it embaced iron ore and coal on the
free list the iron and coal men brought
the power of their organization to bear,
and scared the democracy SO that these
articles were stricken out /; but the agri-
culturists, who were unOrganized, were
disregarded and free wool and lumber were
proposed The bill was defeated, Count
| ing pairS) by 153 for and ITO against it of
| the 153 for the bill 148 were democrats !;
of the 10 against it 1876 were Republicans
every democrat from Virginia voted for it..
y He asked Bumgardner to say whether or
not he would have voted as Tucker and the
other Virginia democratic Representa-
tives, or whether he would have voted
against the bill as Brady and Libby, the
only Republicans from Virginia did
He then took up the position of the two
parties as to the education of the masses
He called attention to the fact that the
Blair Bill had twice passed a Republican
Senate, and had as often been defeated by
democratic House. John w. Daniel
drew the last Virginia democratic plat
form, and every body thought that he had
repented of his hostility to free education
and would support the Blair Bill, but with
a venom even worse than THE school
house torch, " he was the man who stabbed
the Blair Bill to death. when he could have
had that Bill passed had his action been
favorable to it. Bumgardner stood on the
State democratic platform which was OPP
posed in ''ternas there he read that part of
the platform) to the Blair Bill. and upon
the Virginia platform which John W..
Daniel, who drew it, construed it to mean
hostility to the measure. He asked Bum
gardner to say whether or not he favored
the Blair bill, and whether or not his re-
ported proclamation of hostility to that
measure in discussion with S. Brown
Allen, at Sherando, Augusta county, was
correct. He demanded from Bum gardner
definition of his position on the tariff,
and whether or not he now, as he did two
years ago, approved Mr. fuckers views of
the tariff.
Finally, Yost proclaimed himself un-
equivocally in favor of the Blair bill and
for protective tariff ; he said it was not
the office of congressman he was after, it
was the good Of his constituency. He
challenged his competitor that if he would
as firmly and unequivocally proclaim him
self in favor of these measures, then he
{ ost) would then and there ivithdraac
from the canvass, as these were the two
vital issues, and he did not think Bum
gardner would allow himself to be bull
dozed by his party from the position if he
once squarely, fairly and unequiyocally
assumed it. A voice from the crowd
said, Don t do it Jake, you cant believe
what any democrat promises. -
Capt. Bumgardner in opening said that
it was the second time he had ever ap-
peared before political audience in his
own behalf, though he had often spoken
for others.
That he appeared as the champion OF
the democratic party, and proclaimed then
as he had done in accepting his nomina-
tioD, that he would defend its standard
against all corners.
He was sorry his competitor had lodged
the issues of the campaign for the Blair
bill and the tariff were not party measures !:
that he had hoped to have heard why the
Republican party now claimed attention
from review OF what it had done in the
past.
Then he consumed over one-half of his
time in reviewing the reconstruction
period, which was commenced by the Re
publican party even before the close of the
war. and continued for the years imme-
diately following, giving q history of the
constitution of W. Va, Missouri, and in
fact of all the Southern States, showing
how everybody not favorable to the u. S.
during the war were attempted to be dis.
franchised during the period of recon-
struction he also gave q history of the
Underwood constitution Of our own State,
and how the Republicans attempted to
rule by bayonets instead of ballots,
He said the real issue in this canvass
was not the Blair bill and the tariff, but
whether the Southern States should be
4ot nv, ~ l,o