The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1886-08-12
Too Thin.

The Lynchburg Advance is fast losing
its reputation for candor and fairness as
the Congressional contests in the State ap.
proach. AS an evidence of this we refer
to the following paragraph taken from an
editorial on the rejection of J. c. Mat.
thews, of Albany, N. Y, to be Recorder
of Deeds for the District of Columbia
States Senate of Mr.. j. c. Mathews colored OF
New York: as the recorder of deeds in the Dis
also colored must be bitter pill to the colored
| people of the country who have tied all their
| faith and fortunes to the republican party ever
| since the war
| Mr. Mathews is a colored man of fine capacity
and the nominee of President Cleveland. We
think Mr.. Cleveland was wrong in making the
nomination, because the nominee should real
| ~ have been chosen from the District of Column
| bia. or from some other portion of the country,
thews was rejected by vote of thirty. eight to
Io nnee,' and Mr.. Van Wyck was the only re-
democrats, all of the others having voted
against the colored nominee!
What will our colOred friends of the South
| think of this Stumbling of one of their color by
Inc republican party OF the country? A demo-
cratic President made the nominations re-
publican Senate has rejected it. And yet the
republicans claim to be the "best friends of
the colored man. and the colored people of the
Sonth. in great measure are so simple as to be-
i!eVe Them. AT least, in nine cases out of ten
they have voted with that party in nearly all
OF the States. They will hardly be foolish
enough to do SO in the future.
1t would have been more creditable had
our contemporary stated all the facts con-
nected with Matthew'S rejection, and why
it was that thirteen Democrats voted for
him. 1t was in evidence before the COM
mittee to which the nomination had been
referred that he was regular ballot box
suffer and stool-pigeon for the ring Demo
Gratis of Albany, and scrupled about moth
ing to do the bidding of those who pur-
chased his services. The thirteen Demo-
Gratis who voted for his confirmation, did
SO solely in Difference to the President who
had sent in his name, to pay political
debt. The people, too. of the District,
were unanimously against the confirma-
ton, irrespective of party, because it was
peculiarly district office. the fees COM
ing from the deeds recorded in the district
and paid by the residents and owners of
property there. Not only this, but the
Democratic press of Washington and
throughout the country, in unmeasured
terms, condemned the appointment and
appealed to the President to Withdraw it,
AT first. the Republican Senators were
disposed to vote for confirmation, but
when it was learned that his political re-
cord was SUCH as to unfit him for so i'm
portant position. they refused to endorse
the nomination.
For the AdUdnce to endeavor to make
party capital out of such case, shows to
what straits the Democratic party are
driven to find material for canvass. Our
contemporary is welcome to all he can
make out of this case. He will find that
the colored people are not SO easily gulled
as the article above quoted would PIE
suppose, and that they are fully capable
OF understanding the spirit and the mo-
tive of the contortion that has been given
to the case of Mathews. He was justly
and properly rejected. and the vote would
have been nearly unanimous, but for the
fact that few superseryieeabIe Demo
cratic Senators did not want to offend the
President and possibly 5eopardize their
chances to control office in their oWg
States.