The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1886-09-16
An Honest Ballot.

character of that government and the laws |
under which we have to live. We can |
Of no higher Oh more pregnant |
duty pertaining to American citizenship
than the exercise of the elective franchise
1t Is the source Of our political morality,
and should be the expression OF our honest
1t is one Of the muniments
OF citizenship to trihe with which consti-
tutes an underlined crime against our IN
stitutions and reflects adversely upon the
capacity OF The people for self-goVern-
ment. To allow it to be Influenced and
controlled by any other consideration than
the public welfare-a sense of duty to
country and the interests of the peoples
to pervert its mission and prostitute its
nature. It is the method provided by
law for the citizen to participate in.govern-
ment-to make his impress upon the
statutes, and to mould legislation for the
promotion Of the public veal. To trlfie
with it, to rob it of its dignity, to divest it
of its true character, is fagrant wrong
to the body polite, a grievous offense to
the best interests of society. Our readers
will bear us witness that we have time al
ter time, in season and out or season, en-
deavored to impress this high estimate OF
the ballot upon the voter, and to protest
against any and every appeal that was cal
culated to blind the reason and confuse the
understanding as to the sacred character
of this privilege. We have protested
against the appeals to lace prejudice and
the insiduous devices which have been re-
sorted to to array one class against another.
We have protested against the wicked en-
ginery and proscriptive methods which have
been employed to drive men from their
honest convictions and force them to cast
ballot that did not reflect their sense
Of duty. We have adduced arguments, the
best we could frame, in behalf OF the
principles and policies OF the party with
which we are identified. to voters OF all
classes and both colors, for the reason that
we believe those principles are right-that
their enforcement would rebound to the
benefit of all the people, irrespective OF
classification, but we have never appealed
to race or color to array them in hostile at
titude, but have been free in denouncing
those who did as enemies of the State and
of society We want to see every man
cast his ballot in accordance with his best
Judgment, whether it be for or against
the party we support. If the colored man
believes that his interest will be promoted
by voting the Democratic ticket, it is his
| duty to so cast it. If the white man be-
| lieves that it is to his interest to vote the
Republican ticket, it ishis duty to SO cast
| it. Whether white OF cOlored, let him be
man and show his appreciation of his
citizenship and the responsibility that at
taches to that high designation, by voting
his honest convictions, whether for one
party or the other 1t is only thus that
the plane of our political contests can be
| elevated-their morale improved, and the
| ballot become the agent of executing the
freeman IS will. The man who trides with
the ballot,9 or by false appeals and pas
slonate invocations seeks to pervert It'll
nature, is unworthy of the privilege it con
| fers He is no friendof good government,
no friend Of statutory laws, or the peace
and welfare of community, but pesJlfe-
rous demagogue whom it would be base
fiattery to call william.
Entertaining these views as to the ma
ture of the oallot and the duty of the vo-
ter in. depositing it, we can sympathize
witt. every expression of our Democratic
| ,otemporaries which tends to divorce it
from passion and prejudice and clothe it
with its proper and legitimate dignity. We
concur with the Vaadicator in its protest
against everything that might be calcu.
! lated to infame race against race, or de.
| signed 10 warp the Judgment of either the
white or the colored voter in the use OF
| the ballot We think, however, our CO.
| temporary has magnified what it deems
| the offenses of Col. Allen and Col. Hub
| bard. in their speeches before the Repub-
lican Convention. The former related an
| incident as having occurred between a
Republican Senator from the North and a
Democratic Senator from the South. The
Republican Senator asked the Democratic
Senator why it was that with large col
ored majority in his State there was such
an overwhelming Democratic preponder-
ance when the ballots were counted. The
Democratic Senator responded that it was
easily eyplained-that they had Demo
| cratic negroes in his State. The Repub-
lican Senator expressed his doubt about
this. To prove that he was right the Dem :
ocrat proposed to accompany the Republi-
can along the streets of Washington to
test the truth of his assumption. They
walked street after street and catechised
colored man after colored man as to his po-
litcal identity, and invariably the response
was that he was a Republican. Finally
they came upon a greasy, half-naked, for
lorn looking colored man, and the ques
ton was put to aim whether he was Re
publican or Democrat. He said Nov,
boss, that needs little explanation. At
one time [ was decently clothed, had plen-
voted the Republican ticket. But l got to
drinking, and then stealing, and going
| from bad to worse, l reached the condition
am now in. when l could find no place
else to go but into the Democratic party"
This was substantially the story as dra-
matically told by Col. Allen, and when he
finished it there was excessive laughter all
over the Court House room, Democrats
engaging in 1t as lively as Republicans
That was the extent of Col. Allen S Of
Tense.
AS to Mr.. Hubbard, he was referring to
the manhood of men-to the fact that the
time had come when men are judged by
the merits they possessed and not by the
merits of their ancestry-that each map,
whether white or colored. had to stand on
his on his own character, and that as God.
for some wise purpose, made the black
man black and the white man white, it
was no disgrace in itself to be born black,
or particular honor to be born white,
emphasizing the idea he was presenting
by the familiar couplet
'sRonor and fame from no condition rise,
Act well your part, there all the honor lies"
Theinvocation as we understood it, was
for oil man To rpsnaet their manhood