National Republican., 1886-10-04
WOODWARD & LoTHRoP,
1913 F st.
A Political Assassiu.


EDITOR NATIONAL REPUBLICAN,: Your
promise, since assuming conttof' Of the RR-
PUBLICAN, that It's columns should be open
TO the people to right their wrongs. OF to
give their grievances a hearing, independ-
ent Of partlsanshIp, has been well kept, and
] Twill avail myself OF the privilege thus ac-
corded to vindicate Gen. w. III. II. Lee
from the unwarranted, underhanded, and
desplcable attack made by a so-called Dem
ocr6tic delegate to the convention at Cul-
peper that nominated Gen. Lee for Con-
gress,
The Critic Of the Goth Of September, uu.
der the caption OF "Men and Things About
Town." published the following
/ am surprised, said delegate to the con-
YentiOn at Culp per that recently nominated
W. H. =. Lee for Congress TO the critic. that
that speech re-ulade. A man, especi.
ally southern man who-fought on hli sila,
during the war, Is generally very cautious,
generally ve7y Complimentary iu referring to
bis late enemies, but Geu Lee was no. He
referred very Indignantly 10 the jrthern
hordes' who few years ago. overran, pllu-
dered, ana devastated the fair county OF Cul-
peper, without regard 10 the laws aud or lclices
OF war" The members of tue convention az
tcrwGtd told him that he should not have used
such language, but have us yet seen no men,
tion of these facts In print.
The Culpeper Exponent, of Sept. "a last,
contains full report Of the Culpeper con-
Vention, at which the Hon. A. Med. Green,
presided as secretary, a gentleman suls
pUfr, sans reprOche, and no such language
as quoted Is to be found In the reported
speech Of Gen. w. II. F. Lee, which ls sup
posed TO be correct What he did say was
that, "when powerless and stripped OF all
worldly goods, our Democratic brethren OF
the north stood bv US, and In defeat and
after defeat kept on the same. We can
congratulate ourselves on the strides our
state has made in twenty years. WITH
smoking chlmneys and desolate fields every
where then, we now see fine buildings,
fertile fields, and every comfort, and We IN "
truly say, IN view of the progress OF Vir.
ginia in that time, that the grand old state
is greater In peace than she is IN war"
But admitting that Gen. Lee did use the
language which this Democratic % dele
gate was surprised escaped criticism,n he
took care to see that II should not long
escape the attention Of the enemies OF Gen.
Lee, by communicating it to the Critic for
publication. And II is only more surprising
that journal Of the southern Democratic
procliviues OF the Critic should publish suah
rot.
What makes the hypocrisy OF this "sur-
prisedh delegate more glaringly apparent Is
that he pledged himself under the resolution
"to support the nominee OF this conven-
tion.n Notwithstanding this solemn pledge,
affirmed by his own vote personally In the
unanimous adoption OF the resolution, he
thus carries out his pledge by attempting
the political assassination OF the nominee OF
the convention by obtaining the publication
OF pretended ESCAPED chticlsmn whicn
the honest opponents OF Gen. Lee, whether
true or not, were not mean and despicable
enough to notice.
Was the "surprisedn delegate for Foster
or for Hume, or does he intend running him-
self as the independent candidate against
Gen. Lee Let him come out,
JUSTICE,