The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1888-06-21

SpllG Lne party! NO! SITS, mad Manor
allowed the people hearing and they ha
endorsed him we would all have come hon
solid and compact. l would have cheer
fully submitted these questions, and ha
the majority decided for them | wOul
have come home enthusiastically supper
ing the convention. There was nothin
in the questions | could not have yielde
cheerfully to the majority. All we aske
was fair convention and square ISSUE
Did we get it? Let us see. Shenandoa
county had county chairman by the nam
of Keller-a good Republican, an honest
intelligent respectable man. understan
he was elected by his people and commits
stoned by Gen. Malone. But in this con
| Lest he believed with Wise. He called
convention to elect delegates to the Stat
convention. Four days before its assem-
| bling Malone removed Keller and APP
| pointed r. j. Walker, a Mahoneite. a mai
who bolted the Republican ticket last fall
| in Keller's stead. The people of Shenan
doah would not submit to the outrage, bu
turned out en- naasse under Keller call
some 400 or 500-and elected delegation
| with Senator RiddleDerger at its head
Walker called meeting and with less thai
dozen, named Malone delegation will
himself at the head. Gen. Malone hat
made a rule for which there is ne
law, written or unWritten, that the
| credentials of all delegates must be coun
tersigned by the county chairman. Why
The sequel shows. When tie Riddle
berger delegation presented their creden
tlas, not having Walkers signature, they
were denied the privileges Of the floor of
the convention. Not only so but the re
port of the committee seated the Walker
delegation. Take Nottaway county
There convention was properly called by
the Malone chairman. The people ia
vored the Wise plan. II. FL. Dyson. the
I'D Readiuster I'd Auditor-a lifelong
Republican-Was with the people. When
The convention Was called Dyson says the
people were to l with him. The chair
man seeing this adjourned the convention
without action, went to an 8xl0 room and
with locked doors prepared a set of Ma
hone delegates and Dyson had to hold a
curbstone convention with Riddleberger,
Yost. the gallant son of the Valley, who
turned the 10th legion of Democracy into
Republican stronghold, the gallant boy
who drove free trade-anti school Ran
Tucker out of the district, though honestly
elected by his people, and an accredited
alternate from Highland was compelled to
join in the curbstOna invention of Riddle
meeting as did Shenandoah, when a mid
night removal OF their chairman reversed
the will Of the people. And Lynchburg
in our own district that elected Houston
delegation had to submit to similar out
rage. l might 60 on with the sickening
tale and tell you of Loudoun. of Albemarle.
of Rockingham, of Alexandria, and of
other counties. But Richmond was the
last straw that broke the cancels back.
Here the people were well nigh solid for
Wise, and the organization was in his
hands, he being city chairman. In this
case the people and the officers were one.
But white men and II negroes led by
S. Blair Morris bolted the meeting in
Richmond and set up an independent move
of their own. Well, sirs, when that dis
trict convention under the control and in
huence of Malone met they seated s.
when the Democratic legislature desired
control Of the State it required the I'M
seating of II members to accomplish their
ends. When they got the necessary two
thirds they stopped. But out of 113 con-
tested seats, the district conventions
seated every Mahonite, leaving not one anti
Malone man, with vote, to tell the tale.
Now with these outrages what were
honest men to do? Submit and be slaves
Never. Has not Gen. Malone done in
this-State what l might have done as a
county chairman between Haynes ard
Gill? Did he not write a seeToU letter
denouncing ona of the grdndest men IN
American histoyy-Jas. e. Blaine DID
he not urge that tho officers OF the party
secretly prepare resolutions instructing
fol sherman? Did he not require US to
assemble. and not only have our chairman
and secretary sign our credentials, but to
be countersigned by his county chairman
Did he not in counties where the chair
man would not do his bidding remove
them and appoint others that he might
crush prominent Republicans? Did he
not call to his home, two nights before the
convention, what he called d ''consulta
ton" of prominent Malone men from al
over the State and deliver to them a 81
hour speech advocating Sherman and
mapping out the whole plan of the conven
ton even to the hours and minutes OF re-
cess and adjournment And did he not
in that speech denounce those who opposed
his plan as kickers and say: ''StoneWall
Jackson never halted his column to debate
with stragglers, but hung them to the first
limb, and by Cd the time has come when
organization % Well, yes. How do you
know? apas there and heard at Not
only this but the platform was written and
| printed, and not even submitted to The
conference, but given out to press re
| porterS before any organization OF the con-
| vention. How do you know that? Well
happen to be newspaper man and hap
pen to know good many editors and press
reporters. One CT the leading correspond
ents, an old personal friend OF mine, gave
NE printed copy that had been furnished
/ him before any committee had been form
ed, that he might telegraph 1t to his paper
That platform was adopted without The
crossing of or the dOtting of an as i
came fresh from the brain of VIM. Ma
hone-with the laudations of his ''segac
ious administration" and all. l thought
platforms were framed by convention
reflected the will of the people, but father
Billy does not let mis- children worry owe
platforms.
But to the question. What Should WI
do9 Was |, a freeman of the mountain
"a delegate from old Montgomery, to 81
idly by and see the liberties of my PEG
pie taken from them ? Sirs, would rattle
be dog and bay the moon! | would b
unworthy the confidence you have place,
in me if permitted such outrages to pas
without rebuke. But they say we mus
submit to the majority. Right! But Re
publicanism never yet agreed that it wa
right to submit to majority obtained a
the democrats obtain it in louisiana
South Carolina, Mississippi and in Char
lotte, Halifax and Danville in Virginia
| 1t is the ballot box stuffing, cheating an
sWinding of the democrats OF the South
revised and corrected in new editiO
with illustrations by It's author.
Malone determined from the start t.
drive Wise out of the Convention an
} the party, if he could. He will have n
rivals. | believe he was the only happ
Republican in Petersburg after the split
But we are boilers. deny it, There wa
committee of twenty five appointed
the anti-unit rule men to present our caus
to the convention. Men in that confer
ence predicted what occurred. Wise
Houston and myself, with others, were III
willing to believe. We suggested con
mittee of three who were to determir
when forbearance would cease to be a vi
tue. 1t was there determined that .
: acould not bolt, but withdraw for consult
= ton. Here are John Wise's words:
5 said; am going to hold an honest conve
tion. l am going to Chicago and am G
ing to remain an honest Republican; bu
let the rascals who planned this outras
t keep out of the way Of the shot Pm goin
j to pour into them. Our time has con
9 when our plan of organization must
t changed and our manhood must assert i
$ self. l shall now leave this hall, and
: invite those who agree with me to con
: along and hold consultation.
: No xuopt RI 10 ut hpr hall and apnOiOtt